 Action/Adventure: December 27, 2017 Issue [#8671] |
  Action/Adventure
This week: Adventures are Reactions to Actions Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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Each day is a blank page, an adventure
to be written, action and re-action
~ be pro-active
Greetings! I'm honored to be your guest host for this week's Writing.Com Action/Adventure Newsletter. |
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One can say that life itself is an adventure, as we daily encounter (fellow writers, we don't merely pass by, we notice) something to solve, surmount, answer, question - you get the point - Action - and we can write of such adventure, real or invented, in a number of genres. Adventure stories and poems can be romantic, historical, science fiction, fantasy, mystery....
Action, by definition, is movement. Action and Adventure stories and poems therefore are intense, forceful and maybe violent. The action keeps the reader involved, on edge, and needing (not just wanting) to be part of (reading) the adventure.
Action is movement. We don't want to see it interrupted by reflection, internal thought. We want to see the characters act in reaction to the situation, their environment.
 For example, we wouldn't want to read that "Fred ran quickly across
the parking lot, thinking that a sniper could be in one of the cars.
 Instead, how about, "Fred darted across the parking lot,
gun raised to pan the tangle of cars, each a potential sniper's shield."
Not perfect, but you see that I traded adverbs and adjectives for descriptive words to make it more vivid, active, less introspective.
 Keep up the pace with shorter, cleaner, sentences and paragraphs. Again, if we eliminate the picturesque descriptions, the action stands on its own. Your hero (or villain) would not be contemplating the myriad stars lighting his way beneath a cerulean sky as he/she plots the next move. He or she would be acting or reacting to engage the adventure.
 Action is Movement. To have an adventure, the character moves from one place to another - again, an action - across town, across continents or oceans, or through space or time.
 Clean, crisp transitions from one scene or sequence to another. This maintains momentum and keeps the story or plot on track. We don't see the hero or heroine sleeping and dreaming, or having a nice relaxing dinner, or in the washroom (unless perhaps he/she busts through the door after a villain).
 Dialogue that's on point and moves the plot along. This means few, if any, extraneous dialogue tags. Stick with "he said," or "she replied," ejecting the spent shell casings. - Then move, once again. Dialogue can also thus introduce a shift in point of view.
 Forget pathos and descriptive backstory. In an Adventure, readers don't want to spend a chapter on the hero's childhood fear of spiders or the loss of life for lack of anti-venom. Dialogue, or disgust expressed with a shudder upon finding a spider in a weapons cache akin to his mother's utensil drawer gives the reader the picture and forwards the plot (weapons cache - utensil drawer - both have knives).
Keep it active, keep it real, and your characters will act to keep your readers in the adventure.
Write On!
Kate |
Moving about our Community is an adventure ~ and you will encounter some good action. Enjoy the read ~ and I hope you let the writers know how you enjoyed the adventures, then jump on in. 
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Thank you for welcoming me to your virtual home.
Wishing each of you joy, inspiration, and success in each adventure (real or envisioned) you create the coming year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Until we next meet,
Write On!
Kate
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