Action scenes

[ValkyrieRaven88]

Does anyone have any advice for doing action scenes? I have/need several of them, but I feel like it sounds like a cooking show or something. (You know, John did this, Anna did this, John did this, Anna did this...repetitive and boring.)
I would like to spice things up, make it sound more realistic. I'm a martial artist, so you'd think this would be easier for me, but it isn't. I am going to take fencing lessons (as soon as I find them nearby) so I know more about what kind of fighting my characters do. I've also read several books with lots of fight scenes in them, but I still feel a little lost when I'm writing.
Please help! Thank you!

 

[TerishD]

Reply

Keep the story moving, but remember that most consider 'action' scenes fun. Don't bog down in technical details. Keep everything flowing with enough description to set the motion and its results. The final feel should be a series of actions that the reader will wish that he made due to their excitement (whether they are actually physically able or not).

Most modern writing stays focused on a single character, so the action moves and flows by that perspective (don't worry about Anna unless John has a moment to check on her status, then just give a glimpse). I tend to use a more floating point-of-view, but I still keep the reader's attention on the central characters. Note that action scenes should feel intense and fast paced, so don't get wordy (but keep the description -- yep, that's tough).

Work at it. Find the words that make the scene work. It sometimes takes effort, but if you got into writing because you thought it was easy, well, you thought wrong.

 

[Doug Johnson]

I'd say the keys are probably the same as any scene: conflict, believability, suspense.

 

[GreenKnight]

'The thing about battles is that they get boring very quickly' – Peter Jackson.

I think the trick (so PJ says) is to try to keep telling the story even through the battle. The moves and so on are not important; what is important is what it says.

E.g. it is not important how Boromir hacks down 26 Uruk-Hai; what is important that he redeems himself for his earlier crime against Frodo. The story is in the people, not the swords.

p.s. Valkyrie, if you want any fencing tips, let me know! I am not too bad with foil and epee, but I don't do sabre...

 

[ValkyrieRaven88]

Oh, seriously? Yeah, I'd like some fencing tips. Still looking for the classes, though...I might not be able to take them, because we're trying to find the money to send me to England and France next year. But I'd definitely like tips...

 

[The waveguide]

Most impressing action I ever read was in Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I do not know how he did it, but you feel like you are inside the book. The main character there is only training on his computer, only playing - but everything is in action. He goes to sleep and dreams- and still, you feel that he is awake, that things are happening. If somebody could explain what is the secret of such action scenes, I also would be curious to know

 

[ValkyrieRaven88]

Thanks! That would be a good book for me to check out. I'd actually considered reading a couple of those books.

 

[Justin91]

When you write an action scene, first go through it step by step in your head...like watching a movie in slow motion. If there is dialogue involved, think about the flow of the language and if it parallels the action taking place, (Tarentino movies have great dialogue rhythm).

When you sit down to write the scene alternate between description, dialogue, thoughts and then action itself, taking your time with each one. Then read through what you have written and ask yourself how is the rhythm of the scene?

Now a couple of things to consider when building up the tension before writing the scene:

What is the worse that can happen to the character here; will it happen or will you simply allude to it. Then see if you can take it up a notch if you think the scene warrants it.

Does the reader know what is at stake before the scene?

I know this is a long way from answering your question. I apologize if this is a reiteration of what you already know.

J