 Action/Adventure: November 28, 2018 Issue [#9247] |
This week: Action Requires Movement 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
Welcome to the WDC Action & Adventure Newsletter where we explore adventures both mundane and spectacular, and act to make them real for our characters, ourselves, and our readers
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Greetings,
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 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 your reader involved, on edge, and needing (not just wanting) to keep reading
Repeat = Action is movement. We don't want to see it interrupted by reflection, internal thought. We want to see the characters react to the situation, their environment.
For example, I don't care if "Mike ran across the street, thinking the bear he was sure he saw might be following him out from the park" - boring and static. Instead, how about, "Mike darted out of the forest, racing across the road, certain the bear was almost upon him."
Not perfect, but you see that I traded adverbs and adjectives for descriptive words to make it more vivid, more active, less introspective. When we keep up the pace with shorter, cleaner, sentences and paragraphs; temper the picturesque descriptions, the action stands on its own. Rather than contemplating his next move, your character is engaged in the action.
 Movement. An Action and Adventure tale moves the characters from one place to another. The story moves from one locale to another; from a jungle with insurgents chasing potential hostages to a city with fearless, motivated villains chasing your hero. 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.
 Cull Backstory. In an Action & Adventure story or epic poem, readers don't want to spend a chapter on the hero's childhood fear of spiders. Dialogue, or disgust expressed with a shudder upon finding one 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 Real - Minimize pathos. For example, when in hand-to-hand combat, your hero can trade a comment or two with the villain, perhaps recall a past battle or maybe a time they were on the same side, in a few words. But your hero would not engage in such a discourse if the battle were being waged by trading fire a block away, or across a field.
 Know your facts. Readers of Action & Adventure do. Embellish with realistic possibilities.
If you like to write adventure stories or verse, you already do this - read and watch Action & Adventure books and films. The challenging movement, action, plot advancement, to a satisfying end is what keeps you reading, and writing it!
Keep it Active!
Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Check out these adventures ~ engage the action ~ engage as well the writers with your thoughts, perchance a review
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Thank you for sharing this exploration with me, now go out and observe with your senses that which you encounter, engage the adventure with action
Write On
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading |
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