 Action/Adventure: December 30, 2015 Issue [#7394] |
  Action/Adventure
This week: Action Sequences on New Year's Eve Edited by: Cinn  
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I am now a full-time editor for the Action/Adventure newsletter, and I hope that you are all as excited about it as I am! There is action in everything and some measure of adventure in most stories. I think that it will be fun to explore the genre with all of you. Of course, you might know that I write predominantly poetry and nonfiction, but I am an avid reader of short stories and novels. I am part of your audience, if not an active writing peer.
I tend to use on-topic snippets of poetry in my "About this Newsletter" sections, so you might as well get used to it. I believe that everyone can learn something from poets, who express themselves in the most unique of ways. They tend to offer an excellent lesson on conciseness, word choice, and emotional appeal. On the topic of the New Year:
Letters swallow themselves in seconds.
Notes friends tied to the doorknob,
transparent scarlet paper,
sizzle like moth wings,
marry the air.
--Except from "Burning the Old Year" by Naomi Shihab Nye
Now, I am not suggesting that we all burn our writings from 2015.  That would be a bit rash, no? I do think that this excerpt reminds us of the beauty found in both releasing the old and embracing fresh beginnings. It is a new year... time to try something new. Personally, I intend to try my hand at writing an Adventure story. It seems fitting to me!
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I have seen and read many New Year's scenes in espionage, crime, and other subsets of the Action genre. I imagine that you have as well, whether it is a heist taking place while party people are distracted or a car crashing through a black-tie affair. Somehow, these always feel a bit false to me. Have you ever been to a black-tie New Year's party with fancy decorations, champagne running from fountains in sheets, and waiters in matching uniforms marching around with trays of catered decadence? No? Me neither.
I suppose that this stiff and formal sort of party is great for juxtaposition-- boring and stuffy in the ballroom while hectic action takes place upstairs or in the next room or on the fire escape outside. The stillness adds force to the explosion (be it real or metaphorical). However, the action and chaos that I personally associate with New Year's Eve can be a great source of confusion and add an additional layer of intensity to your scene. Here are a few fun ways to utilize the holiday, putting the action back into your adventure.
   A Means of Escape
If your character needs a place to hide on New Year's Eve, you could always have him or her follow the sound of thumping music and ruckus laughter and cheers. If you walk down any given street in a city, you'll hear parties going on, and parties on New Year's, in my experience, are often open affairs. Everyone is stumbling about in varying degrees of tipsy, standing outside smoking or talking (because you cannot hear yourself think indoors with that music blasting), and there are people everywhere, just milling around and spilling into the street.
Okay, so I have been to some wild parties. True. I also have crashed strangers' parties and know how easy it truly is. If a character rushes up the steps of an apartment building, shouts "Happy New Year!" and hugs a few people, no one will think twice, especially when they are hours-deep into the party. Everyone will assume that someone else knows them. A simple, "Happy New Year, man! Where's the booze?" will have party-goers pointing inside and patting your character on the back.
How easy would it be for your character to slip into a party, grab a paper hat off the floor, and blend into the crowd? Very easy. It could also add a bit of humor to a scene where the tension is building too much. Your hero darts into a party to hide, and when the villain follows, what does he stumble across? My guess would be all sorts of rowdy craziness. Use it to your advantage.
Ill-Advised Car Chase
A car chase on New Year's Eve is best avoided in real life, but in an action sequence, it would certainly up the ante. Why? Police patrol like crazy on New Year's Eve-- they are everywhere! And why are they out in force? Drunk drivers, fighting pedestrians, and public intoxication issues are the most likely culprits. All of these could add to your scene.
Two cars race down a street, and almost instantly, the police are all over them. Blue and red lights flash behind them, ahead of them, and creep from allies as your character flies past. A pedestrian stumbles out into the street, requiring unexpected maneuvering. The car crashes, and the hero takes off on foot with police and villain trailing behind him. He runs through a party, grabbing a drink on his way by, and peers behind him just in time to see a party-goer grab the bad guy's shirt and try to start a fight.
From one holiday-related mishap to another, it would be easy to keep a steady pace because you have lots of details at your disposal. Decorations, fireworks, loud music, plentiful appearances by police officers, and an extreme amount of energy everywhere-- that is New Year's.
As always, I may have exaggerated my examples a bit. I'm not writing a scene for you so much as packing a whole bunch of extreme stuff together so that you might mute it and meld it to whatever you happen to be writing. It is always easier to pullback a little than it is to inject a boring scene with some energy. Go for it! Write something ludicrous but intense... you can always edit out the ludicrous.
Happy New Year!
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If you're going to make history, do it in a big way!
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If you wanted to set your story during a holiday season, which would you choose?  What unique details would you incorporate?
 
In the last Action/Adventure newsletter I edited, the topic was unique weaponry. The one prior to that was about setting, and I asked about the most unique setting used for a story. Here are a few excellent responses:
In addition to drain cleaner and death by meat-slicer don't forget that even weapons designed to kill don't always work in inexpert hands. What if the uzi you grab has a safety, and it's on? What if the weapon you rip from your opponent's hands is out of bullets? What if your flamethrower is all thrown out? What then? It's time to get back to basics, impact weapons rule the day. From L. Stephen O'Neill
That is a very good point!  What happens when things go awry? It's a question that is always worth asking yourself. After all, whoever heard of an Action/Adventure story where it was all smooth sailing for the main characters?
Well, I don't know about the weirdest setting for a story, but I can tell you the weirdest setting for a dream which I keep thinking I should write for a story because of the fact I just can't forget it after almost 30 years now! Ok, this is a classic musical. Think something like Mary Poppins. (only musical I could think of) Setting is a pirate ship on the open ocean. Captured on deck is a family of three - a mom, sister and brother. The ship is manned by cartoon pirate pigs who are singing a rousting pirate song. From Elfin Dragon-finally published 
Wow... that is an eccentric dream!  It does have a very unique flair to it, so I say go for it! No one could accuse you of being unoriginal.
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