 Action/Adventure: December 07, 2005 Issue [#753] |
  Action/Adventure
This week: Edited by: NaNoKit  
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Welcome to my December edition of the Action/Adventure Newsletter.
Not a very Christmassy edition, I admit  .
But I wish you all  Happy Holidays!
kittiara
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First of all, a big thank-you to everyone who responded to my previous newsletter. It was not easy to admit that I did not have much experience with this genre and I was not certain of the responses I would receive.
Especially billwilcox made me see that I was totally in the wrong about Action/Adventure. His response made me realise that I have more experience with the genre than I originally thought and offered me a whole new viewpoint. Thank you!
One email I received made me ponder about action scenes. How to create tension, how to make them come across as believable?
I think there are a few key elements to an action scene but the two I will talk about in this newsletter are motive and emotion.
One book series that immediately springs to mind when I think about action scenes is the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. I think most of us will have read the books or seen the movies.
Envision the big battle at the end. Throughout the books the author made it clear why this battle had to be, which makes the reader feel involved in the story. There was a good build-up to the battle and as a reader I have chosen a side I want to win and care about the fate of the characters. This makes for good reading.
It is important for me to know why something is happening. Why are those armies fighting? If I don’t know then I don’t feel that same involvement nor do I really care about the outcome of it all.
The same goes for other action scenes. If I don’t know why person A is chasing person B, why should I care if person A will catch person B? I want to know if person A should catch person B, or if I want person B to escape…
Emotion is important as well. As many a Newsletter editorial will point out and as you no doubt already know, it is crucial to every story that the reader starts to care about the characters they are reading about. This does not mean a story needs to be dramatic, but offering insight into the characters is very important. How do they work? What are their responses to the situations you place them in? What is important to them? What makes them tick? And, too, what are their motives for their actions?
How does an action scene affect them? Portray their emotions. Are they scared? What goes through their minds? What are their physical reactions?
A classic example is a person walking through a dark alley. They hear footsteps behind them… what is their reaction?
If you just write it down as:
Sophie walked through the dark alley. Suddenly, she hears footsteps behind her. She is scared and starts walking a bit faster.
This will not really grip the reader.
Why is Sophie walking through the alley? Is she on her way home from work? Is she cold, taking the short-cut against better judgement? Perhaps she has had a long day at work and is very tired.
What are her responses to the dark alley? What is the dark alley like? Has it been raining, are there the usual litterbins?
Maybe she hears something, is startled and realises that it is just a cat. Only to then hear the sound of footfalls behind her.
It could be that she has good reason to fear those footsteps. It could trigger images in her mind of news articles she read, a past experience or something that happened to someone she knows.
What does she feel will happen?
Perhaps, even, Sophie is not supposed to be in that dark alley. Perhaps she is the person that is up to no good... which puts a whole different spin to that scene and a whole different set of possibilities about her emotions and feelings.
It all comes down to the “don’t just tell, show!” advice that authors much better than I would give.
But I hope that my ponderings are of some help to someone.
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Thank you so much for all your wonderful responses!
Airplane1285  - to tell the truth, I think alot of fantasy and action/adventure go together. I saw that you said that you read fantasy. I think of books like J.R. Tokens books lord of the rings. Where set in a fantasy realm surrounded by action of the wars and battles and the fanatic.
Thank you so much! This is something I have indeed come to realise after my last Newsletter. Very helpful! .
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billwilcox - Kitti,
I think you are looking at it all wrong. Action/Adventure is two *click* two *click* two genres in one!
Why, I remember when...*goes into a flashback sequence complete with music*...I was but a tyke, and how thrilled I was when I read 'Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn'--my God, that Indian Joe, what a character. I fashioned my life after Tom Sawyer and even got my school chums to do my chores for me when we lived on the diary. And then I was swept away by 'Treasure Island' and Long John Silver was my best bud. When I read 'War of the Worlds' my life changed, and I haven't been the same ever since. These stories all had action, but what drew me in as a kid was the ADVENTURE!
W.D.
Thank you so much W.D.! You've helped me to see Action/Adventure in a whole different light. Which is a huge help with writing my Newsletters, too.
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Ara Crae - I am having a huge problem drescribing battle scenes and tense moments, could you help?
thanks
Dragongirl
I hope that this Newsletter has helped a bit with the tense moments. Battle scenes is definitely something I will look into for an upcoming Newsletter *smiles*. Thanks for your feedback!
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Marguerite - Most of my "Action/Adventure" is attached to mysteries, like the Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody series...but I love old-fashioned 30s serial adventures, both the real thing with spooky names like "The Crimson Ghost" and "The Skeleton Key" and modern versions like the Indiana Jones series and "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow." Perhaps you could research the evolution of such pulp fiction-type dashing hero-daring conquests-type stories? It would certainly make for interesting reading!
Thanks so much for your feedback! This is an intriguing idea and I agree that it would make for interesting reading - and research for me. I will certainly look into it!
Btw, I love the Indiana Jones series
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scribbler - I think I wold like a lot more on writing action sequences and "action" dialogue. Most pieces I see have a hard time with this. The action is too dull and the dialogue too hurried. Anyways good luck!
I agree with you on the "action" dialogue. This is also something I will look into and write about in a future Newsletter. Thank you so much!
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Nikola~Thankful  - Welcome Kit! You'll do a great job!
Thank you Nikola! *hugs*
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Please feel free to submit your comments, questions and thoughts. I welcome them all! .
Don't be scared, I don't bite
kittiara
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