 Action/Adventure: June 29, 2016 Issue [#7723] |
  Action/Adventure
This week: Too Much Of An Adventure Edited by: NaNoKit  
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Action and Adventure are great. Sometimes, though, your characters need a rest. So do your readers.
This week's Action/Adventure Newsletter, then, is all about finding that balance.
NaNoKit |
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As you may have noticed, the UK's had a bit of an adventure as of late. Some would say that it's too much of an adventure, and I agree. I would personally have voted to remain in the European Union, as flawed as it may be, because I didn't fancy a crash of the worldwide economy. As it was, I wasn't permitted to vote due to not being a British citizen. All I could so is await the ride.
Just as in real life, there is such a thing as too much adventure in a story. Sometimes, your characters need a break. So do the readers. And it can be those times when your characters get to rest, that can make for the best scenes of character development and character bonding.
Take the Hunger Games novels, for example. The time when Katniss and Rue struck up a friendship between the action scenes, and had time to bond, magnifies the impact of later scenes, and is necessary for later developments.
The peaceful moments allow characters to take stock, to nurse any injuries, to make plans, to talk, and if your story involves romance, for that romance to take shape.
Everyone who likes the Action/Adventure genre enjoys the thrills and the tension offered by action scenes. Whether those scenes involve car chases or dragons, mountain trolls or a dive out of an airplane, or combat scenes of various kinds, they add to the relationship between reader and character. You want your favourite characters to do well, to defeat the enemy, to survive, to be victorious. But it's difficult to truly get to know them without times of calm.
As always, then, it's about balance. Where that balance lies is up to the kind of story you're writing, and the type of audience you are targeting. In some cases, only small breaks are necessary to move the adventure along. In other cases, those breaks need to be lengthier, and of greater depth.
How do you determine exactly what is necessary? First of all, think about the kind of novels you like to read. Have you ever wanted there to be more action, or less? How would you have changed the story? What worked for you, and what didn't? If you read a story in which the balance seemed perfect to you, how did the author manage it? What techniques did they use?
Secondly, compare those novels to your own work. Do you want to create a similar impact? Speed things up? Slow things down? If you were a reader who'd picked up your novel in a store, ready to curl up with it, would you be satisfied with it, or feel bored, or exhausted at the novel's pace?
Are your characters developing properly? Can the reader truly get to know your characters, relate to them, bond with them, dislike them where necessary? Or is that relationship between reader and character difficult to establish?
Do the characters have the time and space to connect to the other? Are their relationships, and the development of any romantic relationships realistic?
Does each of your characters have a true place in the story, or are they crowded out by action scenes? Will the reader know them, or do they need a character map? (Honestly, I have felt that way with some novels.)
If you are uncertain that you have find the right balance for your story, ask some others to give it a read. Either people you know offline (but make sure they won't just praise you because they love you), and/or here on Writing.Com.
It may not be easy to get it right straight away – it can be tempting to get on with the story and all its thrills, or to linger on special quiet moments – but when you do, you have a good chance at winning a loyal audience. Above all, you will have created a story that you can be very proud of, and that is always a satisfying feeling for any author.
Good luck!
NaNoKit
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Here are some of the latest additions to the Action/Adventure genre:
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Some contests that might inspire you:
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And don't forget:
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The Action/Adventure Newsletter Team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in! 
Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,
The Action/Adventure Newsletter Team
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