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One of my pet peeves with action scenes, whether in film or book form, is repetitive action. I can only watch the same chase so many times or read endless thrusts and parries for so many pages. Keep action scenes interesting by making them unique.
Every fight, explosion, or gunshot needs to have at least some level of uniqueness to it in order to keep the various scenes from all blending together. If a reader comes to an action scene that sounds too similar to the last one, the likelihood that they will start skimming is high. Skimming a scene can lead to putting down the book all too quickly.
The Princess Bride is a great example of making every action scene unique. Granted, the writer takes that to a level of silliness that may not be appropriate for all stories, but dissecting how the scenes differ can still serve as a great lesson in how to add unique elements.
Every action scene in The Princess Bride has a unique element, whether it be odd weaponry like Count Rugen’s torture device which is not-so-uniquely (but humorously) name The Machine, unusual locations like the Fire Swamp or the eel-infested waters near Florin, interesting people who unexpectedly get involved the action like the disillusioned Miracle Max, or a surprising goal for the action such as Count Rugen not actually wanting to kill Wesley after his capture, at least not right away.
Accomplishing this level of uniqueness, in level of variety if not level of absurdity, consider all the aspects of the scene.
Use different settings for fight scenes within the book, or at least within close proximity to each other in the story. Repeating a fight scene location may be integral to the story, but other elements can be changed to make it a unique scene overall.
When considering locations for an action scene to take place, consider how different settings can create interesting challenges for the characters. For example, going into a gunfight from a stairwell presents different challenges than bursting through a window. Line of sight will be frequently obscured, it will be more difficult to catch up to the other person, and the person being chased has multiple opportunities to exit the stairwell and escape.
It may also be possible to pair the setting with specific characteristics of the participants for an added layer of uniqueness. If a character has a physical limitation, choose a setting that will play to that weakness when appropriate. The same may work for particular fears, aversions to locations, etc.
Vary the number of people involved in each action scene when possible. The main character may need to be in every scene, particularly if the story is told from that character’s point of view, but the other participants can be changed up.
This not only changes the actual faces involved in the scene, it changes what skills and abilities are brought to the action. Consider the goals of the scene to determine which sets of skills or persons will best serve that intended goal or outcome. Reading about the same skills or techniques being performed can get boring, so try to highlight different abilities in each action scene.
The number of participants also changes the flow and composition of action. A one-on-one fight will play out much differently that two groups battling, as will an unbalanced number of participants.
The type of participants involved can also make a scene more unique. Consider both physical types and skill types, whether realistic skills or fantastical skills. Size differences can have a major impact on the outcome, or the level of believeability of the outcome. David and Goliath-style action is a common trope, but it still needs to remain within the reader’s capability to suspend disbelief.
Change the tempo of scenes that happen consecutively. The nearer they are to each other in the story, the more need there is for them to have differing tempos.
A chase scene has different pacing than a single explosion. A chase is long-lasting and the focus of the action, while an explosion is short-lived and the focus will be largely on the aftermath of the action.
Tempo can also refer to whether the main tension is an undercurrent, such as emotional tension building between two people through small actions, or direct action such as a screaming match that erupts during a meeting.
Tempo is an important consideration when building to a main action scene. Layer different tempos with a trend toward escalation when building to a large event.
Utilizing different weapons in action scenes helps avoid repetition of moves or actions. A spontaneous fight will use items lying around the setting, providing a very different feel than fighters trained to use particular weapons.
Even in action scenes that require specific weaponry, such as military stories using professional-level firearms, a situation may arise where the character is unable to use her normal weapon, must engage in physical combat, or is forced to improvise mid-scene.
Learning a new weapon or set of weaponry also provides opportunities for uniqueness. The same is true for fighting styles.
Create different goals for each action scene, or for scenes close together in the story timeline. A change in goals will often necessitate slight changes in the other elements of the scene. Rescuing someone requires different types of action than wantonly killing everyone in the room.
When planning scenes, aim for a variety of goals that will create a need for more unique scenes within the story. Always trying to accomplish the same goal can easily become routine and uninteresting to the reader.
Action scenes don’t stop when the last punch lands or the escape is made. It doesn’t matter whether the scene was verbal action or physical, there are consequences to what just happened that needs to be taken into consideration.
Action scenes are intense, either emotionally, mentally, or physical, or a combination of two or all three of these elements. Not just for the characters either. The reader is also experiencing these high emotions as they follow the characters through such scenes.
The reader needs a break to process everything that just happened, so it’s generally a good idea to follow up an intense scene with a scene that allows for that processing and rest to occur.
Changing the pace is also important for the characters, because without giving them time to recover and work through what they just experienced you risk losing an some of the realism of the story.
Injuries are the most technical aspects of action’s aftermath to address. Adrenaline does crazy things to the human body and it takes time for the body to flush it out of its system, especially if the character is injured, and that rush of epinephrine keeping him or her from feeling the extent of the damage. Give characters time to come down from the rush, either by jumping forward in time or giving them room to breathe on the page.
Take the time to research wounds in order to accurately represent how long a character will need to recover from various injuries. Walking around two days after breaking an ankle is unrealistic and irritating for readers. Don’t try to slip something by the reader just because it doesn’t fit with your desired timeline.
Short of magic or highly advanced science, bones take a minimum of six to eight weeks to heal. Learn what areas of the body can sustain being shot without killing a person and how long it takes muscle tissue to heal to various stages of use. Authors are known for being “jacks of all trades and masters of none,” but don’t let lazy research put you in a bind with readers.
Defining and understanding the healing process of mental and emotional trauma is much harder than scanning bones to see if they’ve knit themselves back together well enough to bear weight.
Understanding the effects of a terrifying experience, being betrayed, having confidence shattered, and other extremely hurtful experiences takes really digging into the character’s psyche. Carefully consider why they were mentally and/or emotionally wounded by the experience by asking questions.
When a person’s world is greatly altered by an event, it create wounds that may be very slow to heal. Losing trust in someone can have a ripple effect and keep a character from trusting others. Being pushed into a mental confrontation the character wasn’t ready for can cause him or her to shut down or rebel and cling tighter to the original belief.
If a friend lies about being sick when you had plans to go out because they got a last minute invite to go out with someone else, it hurts and may keep you from being too quick to make plans with that person again, but it will not shake your core trust in other friends or family.
If, however, a deeply guarded secret is suddenly revealed by a trusted friend or family member and the revelation causes great harm to the character, he is unlikely to easily trust anyone for quite some time.
This can also be a good way to gauge if the action scene is appropriately paced and weighted in the story as well. If an action scene is highly dramatic but the fallout is relatively inconsequential, something is out of balance and it may be that the action was given more importance than it should have been if the aftermath can’t be made it match it.
Even if only one character is directly harmed or affected by an action scene, there are still ways that the other characters will be affected, even if he or she did not actually participate in the action.
A character being brought home covered in blood paired with cries for help and chaotic energy can be quite traumatizing to certain individuals. Watching other people be harmed and feeling responsible for the outcome can have a profound effect on a character as well. Seeing someone you think you know behave in a way that is frightening or completely unexpected can shake a character’s sense of who that person is and what he or she knows about the world.
Similar to what was mentioned in the previous section, the effect on secondary players should also be proportional to the actual event and it’s effect on the main participants.
High-intensity moments are when many people show their true colors, and that can be just as true for characters. Action scenes can be great opportunities to delve more deeply into your characters’ motivations, fears, and limitations.
Why does he or she fight, flee or freeze? Why does a character make certain choices in the heat of the moment of an action scene and what is the source of that action or decision? These questions can help you as the writer better understand a character’s motivations, which will then help you better communicate that to the reader. These questions can also help you assess if you are writing the character in a truly representative way and not forcing the story in a certain direction.
Are the characters making conscious decisions that may hinder them from reaching their goal? Is a decision made to benefit or hurt someone else or that individual character? How do those choices reinforce who a character is?
Snap reactions say a lot about a person’s psyche. Make sure gut reactions match the character and their goals. Did writing a particular reaction ring true with you as the writer, or was it a planned reaction that may or may not match the character now that you know him or her a little better? Characters change and grow over the process of writing. Something you planned at the beginning of the project may no longer work as well as expected.
Consider how a character’s actions and choices impacts his or her internal and external goals. People often makes decisions that are not well thought out or don’t have the desired or intended results. Characters shouldn’t be any different. Understanding why a character does something, whether something that develops spontaneously while writing or planned actions and decisions, will help you write more realistic characters.
Ask whether a character is fighting for or against something. How the character sees a situation can greatly affect how he or she responds to it. Characters who are constantly fighting against something may have a more pessimistic worldview or be more wary of positive changes, while a character fighting for something may see things more optimistically or trust more easily.
A character who has never had things come easily or expected failure may self-sabotage or miss good opportunities that can delay or prevent her from reaching his goals. A character who always sees the best in people and occurrences may unwittingly get involved in something he shouldn’t have or trust someone to easily and end up betrayed or hurt.
Action scenes are often the culmination of consequences. How a character acts and responds in a high-stress, high-intensity moment comes from all of those experiences and decisions that led to the action. Consider that trail carefully when writing action scenes.
Once you have answers the the relevant questions, reevaluate your action scenes to make sure it is accurate to the character and that it teaches the reader something new and important about who he or she is.
An action scene needs to fit the story’s overall tone and pacing. It will seem out of place if the majority of the story’s style is light and silly and the action scenes are dark and gritty. If the story is written in a direct and confrontational tone, it will likely work well in action scenes and may not need many adjustments. A conversational tone may require more adjustments, but action can still be described in a semi-causal style that will work well with the overall style.
Action is naturally faster paced than exposition, but should still be similar to how the rest of the scenes are written so the style of writing doesn’t feel completely new. Pacing can be adjusted by using different lengths of sentences and words that convey intensity while still maintaining the overall style.
Stick with vocabulary and syntax that is similar to the rest of the story in action scenes. It may be necessary to include terms specific to the fight scene, but don’t overload the reader with jargon. Keep your reader in mind when determining how much to change the vocabulary in a fight scene. Use terms you have already explained when possible to avoid inundating the reader with new information.
If the majority of the prose is simple sentences, don’t suddenly switch to mostly complex, multi-clause sentences, or vice versa. Again, consider that your reader has gotten used to a certain style while reading and does not want to be asked to get used to a new style for a short scene.
Character tone should stay consistent as well. A generally arrogant character may go through a fight scene with confidence and calm while a more flighty character may dart around frantically. Consider each character’s traits and what he or she would be most likely to do or think in a stressful or frightening situation. It’s also important to consider how you normally write a character’s movements, actions, or thoughts in a non-action scene and only make those changes that are necessary to make it clear to the reader that the situation has changed.
Keep the general writing style consistent as well by avoiding major changes in the balance between exposition, description, and internal dialogue. Adjust each element to fit the pacing and situation only as much as is required by the action taking place.
Don’t talk to the reader about a fight or chase scene, show it to the reader as it is happening. Showing instead of telling allows the reader to better experience the fight rather than just being told about it.
Focus on what the character is experiencing more than each individual punch or crash. Use all five senses to describe the action when possible. Not every scene requires all five sense, but use as many as possible to set the scene well enough that the reader can picture the scene and what is happening.
Describing sensory experiences helps the character connect with and react to the devastation going on around him or her. If the character connects with the scenes, the reader is more likely to connect with it as well.
Have the character interact with the scene (using available resources, feeling textures, struggling to move around because of a lack of light, etc.). The fight or other action is not happening in a vacuum. Even if the main action is a heated argument, there are still sensory elements that can be noticed or interacted with, such as scents (smell of burnt dinner or roses brought by an unwanted suitor), textures (rough fabrics on a chair the character is unable to get up from), etc.
In expansive action scenes, use different perspectives to show what is happening in all areas. Each character involved will see, feel, and hear the scene differently. If you are working with an omniscient POV or multiple POVs, make use of that to more fully build the scene in the reader’s mind.
Avoid tell-y words like “felt” and show how it feels instead. For example, “He felt pain course through his arm” is less engaging than “Pain raced through his arm, stealing his breath.” Evaluate each sentence in an action scene for its effectiveness at communicating with the reader. If it is simply telling the reader that something happened, rework it to help the reader experience what the character did in that moment.
The same idea applies to character thoughts. Use internal dialogue for introspection or description of emotion instead of telling the reader how a character feels or thinks about what is happening. For example, “She was confused by his yelling,” simply tells the reader how she reacted while “His arguments bombarded her, loud and sharp, too many at once to make any sense to her” gives the impression of confusion and being overwhelmed more fully.
When writing an action scene, there will be some changes in style depending on the scene elements involved, but the scene should not feel like someone else wrote it because of drastic alterations to the writing style. Maintain the style used throughout the story with small changes to increase the dramatic tension (more high emotion descriptors), change the pacing (shorter, more urgent sentences), remove any comprehension barriers to move the reader through the scene smoothly (avoid using complex or unfamiliar words that might trip the reader up), and so on.
Actions scenes will necessarily have slightly different language and structure than exposition, but it should still mesh with the rest of the story. Sudden, drastic changes pull the reader out of the story. If you tend to include detailed description in other scenes, be more sparing with such language during action scenes, but don’t necessarily cut it all out completely. If movement and technique are important to the fighting style and have been included in less action-based scenes, include some of that in an action scene, but don’t overload the readers or sacrifice the flow of the scene in order to include it.
The characters should sound the same when it comes to spoken dialogue or thoughts, as well. Characters involved in an action scene should not suddenly sound like anime characters, not should they start spouting Shakespearean-style soliloquies. Internal dialogue should not vary widely from the character’s norm. If the character is highly internal and previous scenes have included a significant amount of internal thought, include some in action scenes where appropriate but keep in mind the pacing of the scene. Slight shifts to mimic panic or desperation work well, but complete changes make the character feel like a different person.
Writing style should stay consistent. Don’t suddenly change stylistic elements like syntax, tone, mood, exposition, or narration. The scene will feel out of place and confuse the reader.
Action scenes aren’t technically realistic in many cases. Characters don’t take as much damage as they should or are able to maintain stamina way longer than is reasonable, or have skills outside the normal human range. Even so, actions scenes should maintain an air of realism to keep the scenes grounded, even when set in a completely fantastical world.
Action scenes must be real enough to convince readers to suspend their disbelief. The action taking place should make sense for the world and the characters. There may be surprises, of course, but a piece of action should not make the reader stop and question the reality of what happened. This halts the scene and can frustrate the reader.
Avoid impossible abilities to keep characters from coming off as indestructible. Whether a completely realistic world or a non-realistic one, there are still rules the character must comply with and work within. An ability or action that breaks rules with no explanation not only stops reading progress, it risks alienating the reader.
Use realistic (for the world) healing times and make injuries impact future events. Broken bones take weeks, if not months, to heal without magical or advanced scientific methods. Injuries can be great barriers to a character reaching a goal if used properly. If you don’t want a character out of commission for a long period of time, choose a more appropriate injury for what you have planned.
Research weapons and how they work, including the sound, feel, power, weight, construction, impact, etc. Different types of guns feel very different to fire, and metal swords are much heavier than what is typically portrayed, with the exception of fencing and dueling types of blades. You want to be able to accurately describe the action using all five senses.
Watch videos when possible to better describe movements and reactions of people engaging in the type of action you’re attempting to describe. Ask people who participate in the activities involved when possible to learn more about the feel of the movement and the difficulty of responding when in a high-intensity situation. This will help you to be more consistent in writing how characters fight, as well. Learn the proper terminology and work in enough to sound realistic without overwhelming the reader. Experts are usually very willing to help with this.
Writing effective and interesting action scenes requires appropriate description and careful pacing.
Use simple language when describing action. Technical terms or jargon will get lost and can easily confuse readers in a fast-paced scene. If certain terms are important to the story or scene, be sure they are explained in an earlier scene so readers are familiar with them and don’t have to stop to look up or wonder at their meaning. This slows the pace and breaks the reader’s focus.
Action scenes aren’t the place for similes and metaphors, either. Large-scale metaphors may be communicated by the overall scene, but avoid using metaphors and similes in fights scene because they slow the pace and can be distracting.
Use shorter sentences that match the pace of the action taking place. Long-drawn out sentences slow the reading speed and ask the reader to more carefully consider the meaning of the sentence. Shorter sentences keep the pace moving in time with whatever action or movement is taking place.
Be specific when describing what is happening in the scene. Vague descriptions slow the pace and can confuse the reader unnecessarily. Clarity is crucial during action scenes or readers will miss important information. Be clear about who is involved, where it happens, weapons or powers used, risks involved, and consequences of the action or overall scene.
Avoid the passive voice. Action should always be described using an active voice. This makes the action feel more immediate and draws the reader into what is happening rather than making them feel like they are being told about what happened after the fact. For example, “Mark slapped Adam” is more active and compelling than “Adam was slapped by Mark.” Draw the reader in with active description. Remember, the characters are involved in the fight scenes, it’s not happening to them as passive bystanders.
Appropriate pacing keeps an action scene from dragging on and boring readers. It also helps to keep the scene from seeming too short and inconsequential. Pacing of the scene should match the action taking place in it as well as the overall importance of the scene.
In order to appropriately pace a scene, vary sentence length to match what is happening in that moment. When you need a break in the action, use longer or more complex sentences. This gives the action a break as well as gives the reader a moment to take in everything that has happened.
Mix dialogue with action to give the reader a mental break to process the action and learn something important about what is happening in the scene. Limit internal thoughts and dialogue to avoid slowing the pace too much. Use these when a pause is intentionally written into the scene.
Don’t drag the scene out unnecessarily. An important part of pacing an action scene is determining how long it reasonably needs to be in order to communicate what is happening and why. Fight scenes and chase scenes, especially, only need to be long enough to accomplish their purpose. These types of scenes can quickly get boring for readers when they are not concise.
Action in a story always serves a purpose when done well. To make sure action scenes are effective, consider what they ask of the reader and how they advance the plot.
When it comes to the nature of action scenes, it is important to recognize that a big difference between movie action scenes and written action scenes is what they ask of the reader.
Action scenes in movies require no audience participation, but in written form they require a lot of reader participation, particularly with fight scenes. It takes effort to understand what is happening in a fast-paced action scene. Action, in general, is often chaotic. To readers, action scenes can easily become confusing for the reader to follow what’s going on if it is not written clearly and interwoven with other components. Action works best when balanced with description, exposition, internal dialogue, and emotional reflection.
Why something is happening is just as important, or more important in some cases, than what is happening in the scene. Makes sure the why is clear during an action scene in order to prevent the reader from getting bored or lost in an endless description of movements.
Asses an action scene to make sure what you are asking of the reader provides an equal payoff, by having a purpose that is understandable and clear.
Action must matter to the story itself, or it won’t matter to the reader. When considering what is the point of an action scene, ask what you are hoping to accomplish with the action scene.
Purposes behind action scenes might include revealing information, providing character development, affecting the rest of the story in some way, making the reader ask important questions, showing or revealing a character’s skill or talent, providing a transition, etc. Once you pin down the purpose of the scene in relation to the overall story, make sure that is also apparent to the reader.
If you cannot define the purpose, or the scene seems to be accomplishing nothing, cut it or rework it to fulfill a clear purpose. Then evaluate the scene again. Does the action scene actually accomplish its purpose? Critically assess it to make sure the scene adequately addresses the purpose in a clear way. Beta readers can be a wonderful resource in assessing single chapters to determine its purpose. A reader should finish the scene having learned something important about the character or story.
An action scene isn’t really about the action. It’s about how the character’s experience the action and how they are affected by it. Focusing on the sensory and emotional information of the action taking place can help you avoid tedious recounting of every movement.
An action scene should move the story forward. Action for action’s sake get old very quickly. It begins to fill like filler very quickly and can bore the reader. Always consider what the action is or needs to accomplish when writing an action scene.
Whether the hero wins of loses, he/she should learn something important from the experience. This may be actual information, understanding something out his or her self or the antagonist, or a skill or talent revealed (particularly in non-realistic storylines).
Action scenes should improve characterization. Consider why the characters are engaging in this action and what their feelings are about the encounter. Did they enter willingly, reluctantly, under duress, etc. What are their reactions during the experience and how will it affect them once the action is over, including long term?
The reader should learn something important about one or more of the characters during or as a result of the action. What does the character’s motivation to be involved in the action say about him or her? Similar questions help the reader become more personally invested in the story through their connection with the character.
Action scenes should help fulfill the purpose of the book. This relates to action needing to move the story forward, but it goes deeper. It asks that action scenes relate to the overall purpose of the book. Is that purpose to fulfill a quest, reveal hidden abilities, understand the self, etc.? Action can easily become an easy way to provide momentary excitement in an otherwise slow section, however, it will lack depth if that is its only purpose.
Action is often movement, though not in every situation. When writing action scenes such as chases, fights, combat, etc., it is important to balance describing movement with story needs. Avoid writing an entire action scene as blow-by-blow description. This quickly becomes tedious for the reader, and if the reader is not familiar with specific terminology it may be skimmed and important information might be missed. It also slows the pace of the story progression. Intersperse movement description with other story elements to keep the focus on the overall story as well as the immediate action.
When writing action scenes, strive for clarity. If the reader can’t understand what’s going on because it’s too chaotic, they will likely miss the point of the scene. Be specific on what is happening, but don’t overdo it with technical terms or pack in too many movements with little or no explanation on what is actually happening.
Focus on the experience, not the individual actions. Give the reader periodic breaks from the action with glimpses of what the characters are experiencing. These may be thoughts, emotions, observations, sensory input, etc.
I’m a few days late in posting my best wishes for 2023, and a lot late on updating the blog.
I took some time off from blogging to deal with some family stuff the last 6 weeks or so. Things are, hopefully, calming back down and getting to a place where I can focus on writing again.
Writing and everything book related has been on the back burner for more than just the last few months for me. I had some major changes in my life take place over the last two years that made writing damn near impossible because not only was my head not in the right place, there was simply too much going on in my life to have time or room for writing.
My major goal for 2023 is to get back to writing. I don’t know what exactly, as I have half a dozen starts and half-finished projects tucked away on my computer somewhere, but I am determined to get back into the habit of writing something. Hopefully that will mean a new book eventually, but I’m not at a point where I can make any definitive plans.
Life certainly brings the unexpected, but that’s just inspiration for more stories, right?
I hope all my readers are having a great start to the new year and I send all the positivity I can to everyone with hopes that whatever goals you set for yourself this year will come to fruition and you’ll be happy and healthy on the journey.
USA Today Bestselling Author DelSheree Gladden 