 Action/Adventure: July 04, 2018 Issue [#8993] |
  Action/Adventure
This week: Run! Jump! Hide! Edited by: Leger~  
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The purpose of this newsletter is to help the Writing.com author hone their craft and improve their skills. Along with that I would like to inform, advocate, and create new, fresh ideas for the author. Write to me if you have an idea you would like presented.
This week's Action / Adventure Editor
Leger~ |
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Flight or Fight!
In Freytag's description of narrative structure, a story needs these things: Exposition - Rising Action - Climax - Falling Action - Resolution. In writing action - adventure stories, your character will probably encounter several bouts of rising action before the climax is revealed. If your character is strong, they will overcome some of the obstacles and continue. In writing this action, think about not only the dialogue in the situation but their personal response to danger. Not every character will charge into a volatile situation and conquer their fears. Some may cower behind a rock and reassess their strategy.
When involving your characters in action, it is crucial to understand the body's response to fear. Built into our human genetic code, is a "fight or flight" animal response mechanism, once used to deal with threats to our survival. When such a threat is perceived, a part of our brain called the hypothalamus kicks a series of nerve cell firings and chemical release (adrenaline) into action and gets the body ready for response - running or fighting.
These patterns of nerve cell firing and chemical release cause our body to undergo a series of very dramatic changes. Our respiratory rate and pulse increases. Blood is shunted away from our digestive tract and directed into our muscles and limbs, which require extra energy and fuel for running and fighting. Our pupils dilate and tear production is inhibited. Tunnel vision can occur. Hearing loss could be a response. Our perception of pain diminishes and our immune system mobilizes with increased activation. Flushing, paling or sweating can happen.
It is also helpful to know that the rational mind begins to bypass what we would see as "normal" and begin to perceive everything around us as a threat. And if the body is unable to react, for example - in a car crash, inappropriate fight reactions might occur as the body needs to react to the stimulus from the adrenaline. Males tend to react more with a "fight" response and females tend to activate the "flight" response and turn to others for help, or attempt to defuse the situation – 'tend and befriend'. During stressful times, a mother is especially likely to show protective responses toward her offspring and affiliate with others for shared social responses to threat. In other words, Moms form a posse and circle the wagons to protect the children. 
Stress response can also be a result of mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, in which the individual shows a stress response when remembering a past trauma, and panic disorder, in which the stress response is activated by the catastrophic misinterpretations of bodily sensations. The trigger for these can be a myriad of things, smell, a sight, even words.
Knowing how your character's body should respond in a "fight or flight" situation is important, whether you decide to twist that response in your scene or use it to enrich your description. Using the right responses will give your story authenticity and your character more dimension. Write on!
This month's question: What are some of your typical character responses? Any clever responses?
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Excerpt: The dusty gray military truck rambled down the dirt road. A tire hit a rut, but the vehicle didn’t stop. I sat on a bench in the truck bed, my eyes drifting past the canvas walls. It was twilight, that time of day when the sun and moon were on opposite horizons battling for control.
“Look at the floor!” my Soviet guard shouted.
Excerpt: Tenrai waited eagerly with his contingent of bandits on a cliff-side, overlooking the lush Haujutan Forest, having marched for nearly a day, as they hunted for one man. It wasn't just any man they were hunting for, but a warrior with unprecedented prowess, who claimed to have fought and defeated a great demon.
Absurd as it was, Tenrai could not help but be intrigued, as he was no mere mortal himself, for he too was a demon – who thrived for violence, cruelty, and challenge. To him, humans were a weak inferior race, who existed as mere fodder for amusement, or to grovel at his feet in servitude. No human was capable of defeating a demon, especially one as strong as himself, but the desire for a good fight compelled him to confront this man.
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Excerpt: Those eyes and the smile beguiled me, but with me being ten years older, I knew she could do so much better.
Excerpt: I’d never been to a Ghost Club meeting before. In fact, I’d never even heard of one. But they are out there, and last night I went to my very first one.
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#2162467 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: It wasn't a good season for me. In Spite of all the holiday cheer, it was hard to want to get out of bed in the morning. Everyone has those days, but this depression had been going on for weeks. Usually, doing something for someone else would help me shake myself out of it. Nothing seemed to be working this year
Excerpt: Each day around 12pm NOON WDC time, one of our dedicated volunteer judges will judge the previous day's entries and post a writing prompt. The contest for that prompt ends before NOON (11:59am WDC time) the next day.
Excerpt:
The task is simple: get inspired by the music linked above and write a short story using this inspiration!
Excerpt: Your poem must be about the first snowfall of the winter and it's Christmas Eve.
Excerpt: Opens 1st of the month and closes last of the month. Prizes will be awarded on or near the 15th of each month.
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This month's question: What are some of your typical character responses? Any clever responses?
Last month's question: Do you like to escape into a good story? What's your favorite read?
StephBee  replied: Ledger, I always enjoy a good escape. I prefer to escape into history, enjoying historical fiction, romance, and sci/fi-fantasy. For Fantasy, I enjoy escaping to "games of thrones" styled stuff with more of medieval setting and dragons. Or... I enjoy something along the lines of "Harry Potter." For Sci-Fi escapes, I prefer something kinda "spacey" like Star Trek, though I did enjoy "The Martian." Sharing an "escape" with you.
Osirantinous  answered: I was all set to say 'heck, yes!' to this but then I realised I don't actually read to "escape", like or no like. Hmmm. I read to be involved/part of or to experience or learn, and it doesn't matter if it's fiction or non-fiction. Having said that, there is nothing better than a story that you have to read in one sitting and then think about for days afterwards. I suppose those powerful ones have caused a sort of 'escape' in me. I think I've puzzled myself.
Quick-Quill  responded: For years I used books to escape my life. I read every book by Katherine Woodiweiss, J Lindsey, R. Rogers and many other authors of the day. It wasn’t until I began to have better self esteem that I didn’t need that escape. It’s also the time I began to write more.
Thank you, for your responses.
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