action – Page 2 – USA Today Bestselling Author DelSheree Gladden

Writing action scenes can be extremely challenging due to their chaotic nature, the pacing, and the possible lack of firsthand knowledge. It’s also very easy for action to overtake a scene to the exclusion of the characters and story. Below are some tips to writing strong and balanced action scenes.

Man with Sword

Do NOT write an entire action scene as blow-by-blow description

This becomes tedious and confusing for the reader and slows the pace. Action must be balanced with description, exposition, internal dialogue, and emotional reflection.

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. Use simple language and shorter sentences. Be clear about who is involved, where it happens, weapons/powers used, risks involved, and consequences.

Focus on the experience, not the individual action

Use all five senses to describe the action. Don’t rely solely on visual and physical elements. Tastes, smells, and sounds are important factors in action scenes. Make the character connect with and react to the devastation going on.

Know the purpose of the scene and write in a way that fulfills the purpose

Why something is happening is just as important, or more important than, what is happening. Makes sure the WHY is clear during an action scene so the reader knows what to pay attention to and absorbs information relevant to the purpose.

Pointing a gun at someone

Avoid the passive voice

The characters are involved in the fight scenes, it’s not happening to them as passive bystanders. The scene should be told through the character’s experience. For example, “Alan was punched by Greg” is a passive description while “Greg punched Alan” is an active description. In the first example, something HAPPENS TO Alan while in the second description Greg actively TAKES action.

Use action scenes as opportunities to explore a character’s motivations and goals

Why do they fight or make the choices they do in the scene and what is the source of that action or decision? Guns are pulled at pointed at people for no reason. It may be a panicked reaction in the moment, or a lifestyle that breeds that type of reaction as instinctual. There are also consequences to taking action. Does the character consider the consequences first, or are they too in the moment to think beyond it?

Make action unique

Use different settings (going into a gunfight from a stairwell presents different challenges than bursting through a window). Vary the number of people involved (a one-on-one fight will play out much differently that two groups battling). Change the tempo (a chase scene has different pacing than a single explosion). Give them different weapons (a spontaneous fight using items lying around has a very different feel than fighters trained to use particular weapons). Create different goals for each scene (rescuing someone requires different types of action than wantonly killing everyone in the room).

Integrate action into a story to drive the plot forward, improve characterization, and provide excitement.

And now, here’s a little about the book!

Rule #1: Always work to benefit the village.

Rule #2: Obey the leaders, or become exiled into the nuclear war-decimated wasteland.

Rule #3: Never bring an outside back to the village.

Harmony has always had a tough time blindly following anyone, let alone the village leader intent on seeing her exiled. So when she stumbles across a not-quite-dead body during a scavenging hunt, she’s determined to take him back to the village. The other members of the hunting party tell her to leave him, let him die, it’s too risky. Even Pace is wary of helping her. He knows what the price of her aid will be.

Harmony refuses to let the emaciated and strange looking man die alone in the desert. That’s not the only reason. After having been told her whole life that they were the only humans left in the ravaged Southwest, possibly the world, she wants nothing more than to expose Luther for the liar he is.

For most of the villagers, survival is all that matters. They wear themselves out, day after day, just trying to stay alive. Harmony asks herself daily what the point of staying alive and safe is when it only inflicts misery. Her desire to share this one small truth and give hope to the villagers, backlashes when Luther finds out. His son, Zen tries to step in on Harmony’s behalf, but Luther is relentless.

So is Harmony. She now knows the truth is somewhere outside the walls of the village, and she won’t stop until she finds it, with or without Zen and Pace’s help.

Tag: action

Writing balanced action scenes