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7 Tips For Writing Action Scenes

Anybody Can Write a Novel

Chapter 7 “From Story to Art” – Section 7 “Action Scenes”

With Links to Supplementary Material

Action scenes in a novel are a difficult tool to master, but well worth the time and effort to create dramatic an memorable scenes that will engage and entertain your readers. To pull them off effectively, you must be able to keep a quick yet varied pace, keep a tight focus, reflect your story, and make it all quick and crisp. Today, I'm going to give you a starting-point for honing your skills in this method of storytelling.

Tip 1: Create a visible plane of space to work within.

Blake sat in a dark bedroom—the white light of his computer glancing off his face and hands as he typed. Against the wall to his left, there was a closed and curtained window and an unmade full-sized mattress that took up most of the room; and immediately to his right was a small closet with sliding doors. The closed entrance to the room was to the immediate right of the adjacent closet, and Blake's desk was on the far wall so that anyone who entered could easily do so unseen. But Blake didn't have time to worry about this problem; he had to explain to his readers how it was essential to begin an action scene by creating a visible dimension of relevant physical details—beginning with light, then dimensions, and then specifications—so that readers had a mental frame/background/scene in which to visually place the characters and the action.

Tip 2: Work tightly within your story's Point-of-View (POV) and Narrative Style.

Blake, remembering his article on Narrators, noted that he was writing with a third person, omniscient-limited, past-tense, present, trustworthy narrator. As such, it was a great surprise when a dark cloth fell over his face, and a force began to pull him backwards in his seat. He had no idea what was doing this, what they looked like, how many of them were present, or when they had entered, and so he could not reveal any of this information to the audience. Even in an action scene, he had to be sure to Narrate only the limited information that he had from his previously established POV. And as he was blinded—this wasn't very much info.

Tip 3: Clarity is key. Use short paragraphs, and avoid the passive voice.

v

Afraid that something terrible was going to happen if he didn't act, Blake rolled backwards out of his chair and broke the hold that his attacker had on the cloth.

The attacker—a large, furry, creature that Blake could not see in the dark—struck with a right-hook.

Blake ducked and evaded the blow.

The attacker threw another punch—this one connected.

^

Blake fell down to the floor beside his desk—winded—and looked up. His only solace in the face of death was that he had communicated the actions clearly when he used short, active-voice paragraphs that switched every time the character who performed the action changed. These short sentences also reflected the quick pace at which the action had occurred. If he died, others would be able to clearly picture the sequence of events that led to his death, in quite a thrilling fashion, as there were no passive-voice “ing” words to slow the pace.

Tip 4: Make sure that your action is creating progress.

“Do you know why I'm here?” asked the shadowy figure who stood over Blake.

“To demonstrate how to make an engaging action scene,” Blake said, slowly reaching my hand towards a cup of mold-covered coffee that had been left forgotten, under my desk, for weeks.

“An engaging action scene,” the shadowy figure said with a scoff. “We've gone through three Tips, and yet no progress has been made toward advancing the plot or scene!”

Blake's fingers touched the ceramic handle and he threw the nauseous goop in the creature's face.

The figure screamed, blindly swung his arms at Blake, tripped on the mattress, and fell—his arm snagging the curtain and filling the room with morning light that now illuminated his thick, black fur. As he rose to wipe the moldy coffee from his face, Blake realized that the shadowy figure was a blackbear!

Tip 5: A dynamic action scene is created by varied pacing and stages of development.

“I described my room, a stage which gave my readers a mental frame to begin imagining the scene;” Blake said, verbally listing the sequence of events that had led to this reveal. “Then I was blindfolded, which created a stage of mystery and suspense; then we fought, a stage which increased pace and tension; then I threw coffee on you and saw what my attacker looked like, a stage which served as a step closer to solving the mystery and as a conclusion to the action scene.”

“Yes,” the blackbear said, his eyes burning with rage. “Your sequence of stages in this action scene did make it feel diverse and engaging—much more so than if I had just continued to punch you for several more paragraphs. That might have bored the readers, even though it would have suited me just fine.”

Tip 6: Get detailed feedback and then tinker and adjust.

“So what, now?” the blackbear asked. “Will you publish this sequence of events as you've just written it?”

“As if!” Blake said. “I've already gone through several revisions to adjust the pacing of this tutorial/narrative. And I'm sure my readers will find other inconsistencies to fix and ideas for improvement. Action scenes are difficult, very individual, and require countless adjustments and drafts to get just right. For now, I just want to know why you attacked me!”

Tip 7: Retain the charm and feel of the rest of your story.

“You want to know why I attacked you,” the blackbear said. “I'll tell you, but you have to realize that the answer—which is part of the overall plot of this story—will be just as goofy and ridiculous as the action scene you just wrote. If it weren't, the action scene wouldn't match with the plot, and would need to be revised or cut because a writer must always put the plot first.”

“Obviously,” Blake said, rolling his eyes. “Quit stalling!”

“The truth is that I am part of a proud race of beings that live in the southern forests of the United States. We are blackbears, and we serve as the 4th wall, border patrol. Our job is to keep characters in the fictional world, and people in the real world. And you are under arrest for illegally crossing that border.”

“Well... I guess that's a story that allows the ridiculous nature of the action scenes,” Blake said, with a groan. “I guess I need a blackbear attorney.”

Fin

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