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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/8364-Ordinary-Heroes.html
Action/Adventure: June 28, 2017 Issue [#8364]

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Action/Adventure


 This week: Ordinary Heroes
  Edited by: Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Do we need the One Man to save us, or can the lady from the corner shop have a go? You'd probably have more faith in the former option, wouldn't you? But why?

This week's Action/Adventure Newsletter is all about ordinary heroes...

Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline Author Icon


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

Have you read the story of Betsy the plumber, who goes off on an adventure with her loving partner and their two kids? No, neither have I. But now that I think about it, I’d quite like to.

A lot of action heroes are cops, (former) soldiers, people trained in martial arts, scientists or professors. Jada the secretary (who might well be Betsy’s partner), Joe the builder, Anthony the barkeep, Dave the primary school teacher, Darnell the GP and Jill the dentist have much less of a chance to make it into an action/adventure novel or movie, unless they’re secondary characters. Even then, it’s not very likely you’d catch more than a glimpse of them.

What is it about regular, every-day people that doesn’t scream adventure? It is true that most of us tend to go about our lives without getting caught up in car chases and sudden treasure hunts. It is also true that if I were to be called on to be an action hero I would probably act like Bilbo Baggins at the beginning of The Hobbit – it would be a polite no, thank you, and if you really wanted to have me along, good luck! When it comes to survival skills, I’m pretty sure that I was somewhere at the end of the line when they were handed out.

I mean, I have a lot of theoretical knowledge gained by watching Ray Mears and Bear Grylls, but you don’t really want to depend on me starting a fire or building a shelter – you’d be waiting for a long time and I have no doubt that it would begin to rain before I was even halfway finished. In the event of a zombie apocalypse, I might be able to bore the zombies to sleep with many philosophical theories and not-very-funny jokes, but other than that I’m honesty the worst person to have around if you want to have a good chance at survival.

Except... we don’t truly know what we would be like when it came to it, do we? What if disaster struck? What if the world suddenly reached a state in which we were dragged into action? What if our lives turned upside down and we had to be the hero or heroine of our own story? Sometimes, when you have no other choice, you’re capable of a lot more than you ever thought you would be.

Contemplating what we would do is interesting. And whatever you come up with can turn into material for a story. Do we need yet another hardened action hero or can Tim the wedding photographer have a go at saving a city, or maybe even the world? How about Betsy? Can a 40-something mother-of-two be who we have been looking for? Can it be that she doesn’t need to be single and have a man come along to save her?

Would you read a novel or watch a movie if Tim or Betsy were the focus of the story? If not, why not? Is there something that’s just more appealing about the hardened or the intellectual hero, and the pretty, 20-something heroine, than being saved by the kind of people you may encounter in your day-to-day life? Someone like you, perhaps?

It’s much more likely that Tim, Betsy and the others will be the victim of a crime that is going to spark an action/adventure movie, than they are to save the day. They’re even more likely to be villains than heroes and heroines. Because it’s easier to suspect them of having dark secrets than for them to have the potential to do great deeds. And that’s kind of sad, isn’t it, when you think about it?

Perhaps it’s time for us to change that.

Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline Author Icon



Editor's Picks

Some contests that might inspire you:

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Opening in January for entries!
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Write a story containing no dialogue, in 700 words or less.
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And don't forget:

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Quotation Inspiration: Official Contest Open in new Window. (ASR)
Use the quote provided to write a story and win big prizes!
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Ask & Answer

The Action/Adventure Newsletter Team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in! *Smile*

Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,

The Action/Adventure Newsletter Team

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