 Action/Adventure: November 26, 2014 Issue [#6685] |
  Action/Adventure
This week: Word Repetition, and How to Fix It Edited by: Sara♥Jean  
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I'm so excited to be your Action/Adventure Newsletter Editor this week! Please let me know if you have any feedback, or if you have any topics you'd like covered in a newsletter. I will be glad to research it for you and do my best.
Sara Jean |
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Word Repetition, and How to Fix It
Have you ever read your story, and you see the same word over and over and over? So much so, that you start counting?
I have. More than once. I find myself in the of some action or some other sort of delicate scene, I read through it, and I'm like, "My goodness, how many times do I say the word fast? Can't my character do something other than just be fast?"
Well, according to my scene, no. He has one constant pace. Fast.
So, the first thing I started to pull out was a thesaurus. And then, I found out that I got even more frustrated. Not only do most of the words not seem to match what I am really looking for, they sometimes get overly complicated. When I have a fast paced fight scene going on, it isn't the right time for a word like, "velocious" or "posthaste". I could only imagine:
He moved across the floor with velocious speed, slamming his fist into the bad guy's gut, posthaste!
No.
Just... no.
Not only am I confused on how exactly to use the words, I am simply making the writing chunky.
This is a very common issue with action/adventure stories. I'm not the only one, I swear. With scenes that involve a lot of action - which involves description of surroundings as well as description of movement (and everything else), there are simply a lot of words to juggle.
So, I found another fun tool that actually exists on this particular website. It is called the "Ideanary", and it is found on the left sidebar within "Writing.Com Tools". It is amazing.
Unlike a thesaurus that shows synonyms and antonyms for the word in question, the Ideanary shows ideas based around the word you search for. I find it so much easier to use that tool for alternative words.
So, instead of the above, I was able to come up with something like this:
He moved headlong across the floor, abruptly slamming his fist into the bad guy's gut!
Much. Better.
I hope it comes in handy for you, as well! |
Let's take a look at some flash fiction this week - it is a great way to get in a quick action scene.
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First, here's some feedback and comments from my last newsletter, "Action/Adventure Newsletter (October 1, 2014)"
billwilcox said, "Hey SJ,
I've found that good writers are just very creative people and don't usually run out of ideas. But you gotta keep your edge honed, you gotta read and use Google Images to inspire your mind. Personally, I Googled myself, and believe it or not, there were pictures of my book covers, and an assortment of anthology book covers I was in. Plus, a photo of me with my four kids. Spooky right? *whispers* They're watching...they're always watching.  "
Well, I do run out of ideas. And exactly when I want to have them, too. I'll be sitting and staring at the screen, ready and waiting to write, and nothing will come out. It's horrible!
You, though. My goodness, I can see how you would be one of those who actually has to pull back some of those ideas. You seem to have a slew of them! If you ever want to share, let me know. 
Jeff  said, "Great suggestions for inspiration in this week's newsletter, Sara Jean! The one caveat I would probably add is related to the Google Images suggestion. You might just want to make sure your SearchSafe settings are at an appropriately comfortable level, otherwise you might receive a rather jarring surprise depending on the keywords you use! Underestimate at your own peril the internet's ability to have a graphic sexual fetish for just about anything.  "
Or, maybe having it not checked is key....  Kidding, kidding! Yes, make sure you have your safety settings to where you are comfortable with what might come up. I have searched the strangest things... and gotten the strangest things back.
BIG BAD WOLF is Howling  said, "Sometimes you need to take totally different topics, and combine them - let's see, how about, a bunch of Army guys Fighting a pack of Werewolves? Oh wait! That's the plot of Dog Soldiers, where a group of British Army soldiers find themselves in the fight of their lives when a group of werewolves begins to hunt them."
You are right. That is another way to really push together some unexpected situations and ideas.
monty31802 said, "Again a fine Newletter with some great advice."
Thank you so much. |
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