  Action/Adventure
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When Does Action Feel Action-Packed?
We’ve all read the blurbs on the glossy covers:
“Riveting!”
“Fast-paced!”
“Razor-sharp!”
“Nonstop action!”
“A spell-binder that will keep you turning pages to the very end.”
“Pulls out all the stops!”
“Tension upon tension!”
“Action-Packed!”
That last one got me to thinking…and we hear it so often. Just what is Action-Packed?
The dramatic reference to the word ‘action’ refers to an event or series of events that form part of a dramatic plot. And the word ‘packed’ refers to something crammed or crowed into one small place.
So, I’m only assuming that ‘action-packed’ means a lot of written action crammed in-between the glossy covers of a paperback novel.
Well, how do you get that much action into one story? It’s inconceivable!
Actually, there is a way. And it’s not because the book is filled with scene after scene of unstoppable action. It’s basically a magic-trick that writers use when writing an action sequence.
Instead of it being ‘fast-paced’, a good writer will actually ‘slow’ everything down. And therein lays the ‘magic’.
The trick is not to go really fast and miss important details, but to only give the ‘illusion’ that everything is moving really fast. The action feels ‘packed’ because the writer is taking his time to describe everything that is happening. It feels 'fast-paced' because he is using words/verbs that make the reader feel that they are rushing through the story.
You think I'm 'nuts', don't you? Yeah, I can see it in your eyes. All right then, let me show you how it is done.
*rolls up sleeves* Notice, there is nothing up my sleeve. Behold!
A moment later, the killer rose from the corpse. Quickly, he moved toward a young woman.
She tried to scream but could not make a sound. She jolted into the wind-driven rain. Her hat flew off, and her yellow hair streamed behind her, the only brightness in the storm-blackened day.
The killer pursued her. He found indescribable pleasure in the feel of his feet pounding on the hard concrete, the waterlogged pavement. He splashed across the flooded parking lot, gaining on her by the second.
She was heading toward a dull red pickup truck. She glanced back and saw him drawing nearer. She must have realized that she would not reach the pickup in time to start it and drive away, so she turned toward the interstate, evidently hoping to get help from the driver of one of the infrequently passing cars.
The chase was short. He dragged her down before she had reached the end of the parking lot. They rolled through dirty ankle-deep water. She flailed at him, tried to claw him. He sank his razored talons into her arms, nailing them to her sides, and she let out a terrible cry of pain. Thrashing furiously, they rolled one last time, and then he had her pinned down in the storm runoff.
Notice the verbs and words I have highlighted. They are used to give the writing a sense of urgency. Your eyes gobble up the words as fast as they can, your heart beats faster. Your mind believes that what you just read was 'fast-paced', 'action-packed'.
Ta-da!!!!
*takes a bow* Thank you, thank you very much.
Now you know how to do the trick. Get out there and write some 'riveting, nonstop action'.
Until next time,
billwilcox
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Action-Packed Picks
Excerpt: The man roared and gave chase, closing the distance between them with relative ease. The boy’s legs worked overtime carrying him toward the woods on the outskirts of the property, where he knew he could lose the man. He had hidden there on many of his previous escape attempts; he found it to be much easier to hide there than in the open fields where his movements could be heard.
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#1325979 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Traveling in excess of a hundred miles an hours, the seven staggered cruisers barreled in flashes of white and blue onto Rt. 10 protected by a screen of light and sound. Up ahead, they could see the Shelby slowing down as it screamed in a blur up a highway that came to an abrupt end 75 feet in the air. They began closing in.
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#1426772 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: An opening in the crowd sent her dashing ahead. She glanced over to see him running parallel to her in the crowd and gaining. She shifted into overdrive and moved ahead, but a broken chunk of sidewalk caught her heel and snapped it off clean. She stumbled forward, right into his back.
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#1485894 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Tim grabbed the door and slammed it against the demon’s arm, who howled in pain as its limb got pinched in the threshold. He seized Margaret’s arm, jolting her out of her frozen state and yanked her back down the hallway. He turned the flashlight on, its beam bobbing up and down in a frantic motion as they ran. The demon hissed furiously behind them in pursuit.
Excerpt: The wind screamed and howled as if cursing in a brutal language. Gabe’s feet were immediately sucked out from under him, and his legs shot out the door. If it hadn’t been for the belt, he would have been plummeting to earth. His body flapped around like a kite in a hurricane. And there was no air. He couldn’t breathe. Looking down, he saw the bomb wedged in between the door and the fuselage.
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Action-Packed Email
Thomas 
Submitted Comment:
Thanks for the write-up on Historical Fiction. I enjoyed it and learned a bit. 
Acme
Submitted Comment:
Bill, I love your newsletters -- they're always so encouraging, insightful and informative. History makes a cracking backdrop to action-packed writes. Thank you for highlighting the History Contest  .
spidey 
Submitted Comment:
Great info on historical fiction! When I hear "history," I automatically think boring... But you've made me re-think my initial reaction! Historical fiction can be quite creative and fun! 
NanoWriMo2018 Into the Earth 
Submitted Comment:
Your closing line is on target! great advice, Bill 
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Action/Adventure: November 19, 2008 Issue [#2721]
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