Action/Adventure: January 11, 2023 Issue [#11735] |
This week: Time Edited by: Annette More Newsletters By This Editor
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“The time for action is now. It’s never too late to do something.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
"I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now” ― Edna Mode, The Incredibles |
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Time
Every story has several timeframes. Each of these timeframes has an effect on the reader.
Author time is the time when the story was originally written.
Narrator time is the time in which the story's main character or narrator lives and acts.
Plot time is the time of the actual story happening.
Reader time is when the reader experiences the story through reading or watching it.
The way time moves in the story also has an effect on the reader.
Chronological narration starts at the beginning and keeps going as the events unfold.
Flashbacks give information about events that happened before the time of the current narrative.
Flashforwards describe events that happen after the time of the current narrative.
Real-time narration doesn't really work in written fiction because nobody reads 24 hours a day, every single day. It does work for movies or TV shows and for video games too. A scene or a battle is timed to go for the same amount of time as it happens in the real world.
As the writer of a story, you have to choose a time frame for your story. Will the whole plot happen in a few minutes? a day? a year? Any of these choices will affect the reader. Action/Adventure storytelling benefits from immediacy. As the genre name already says, actions and movement are at the core of these stories. Time jumps can happen, but they shouldn't take up a lot of narration. Readers aren't here for every single footfall and hoofbeat. They are here for the gallop, the sprint, the jump, and the shoulder throw.
As you think about your next Action/Adventure story, make a conscious effort to decide the timeframe before you start writing. Give yourself that limit and try to make your plot begin, rise, peak, and resolve in that time.
What is a good timeframe for an Action/Adventure story? A day? A week? A millennium? |
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Replies to my last Action/Adventure newsletter "Earth is the Biggest Gangster" that asked Would you trust a dormant volcano?
oldgreywolf on wheels wrote: You obviously know nothing about time attenuation, where you've got all the time in the world to do what needs to be done, including rescuing comrades under fire or being a cop surviving a firefight.
You are 100% correct. I had never heard of time attenuation. I looked it up. Now I understand why movies have 100 miles long runways for airplanes that never lift off.
BIG BAD WOLF Feeling Thankful wrote: A natural disaster can be a bigger killer than a human.
Absolutely.
brom21 wrote: I would have to see the scientific data concerning its last eruption and the state of its dormancy. However, I do not think it is possible to predict the exact day of an eruption. I would err on the side of caution and not live too close to a volcano that has a potential to erupt. Thanks for the NL. I struggle with action scenes and the suspense of dangerous weather phenomenon is much easier than grasping for animating characters.
Action scenes can be difficult to write, but looming bad weather should give any story some texture.
Monty wrote: John boy on the Waltons had some adventures also.
He did. |
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