Hello and welcome! Today is part four of the four part writing series on what I learned at the Utah League of Writers Conference. The official title of the seminar was called 'Pacing - Writing at the speed of life' and it was taught by this guy -
Alexander Gordon SmithHe wrote this series -
He has a totally wicked British accent and boy can he write action. He read us a little snippet from his book and I that was really compeling. It's on my TBR list just from that one minute read.
He was shy about his writing, which I thought was great, but he had some great tips when it comes to actions scenes.
His #1 piece of advice - Don't describe everything!
Action scenes should be fast paced and you want the reader to be hanging on the edge of their seat, so if you're telling everything that is going on in the battle around you the reader is going to lose interest. Focus on your Main Character and only tell what they see. If your MC is dodging jabs they aren't going to notice everything around them.
Keep your sentences short and avoid using, he, she and I a lot. Condense everything you can (i.e. Blood in the mouth. The edge of the sword. A flash of teeth. etc.) Most rules of grammar don't apply becasue you want your reader reading quickly.
He gave us quite a bit of time to write, but I found his advice very useful. What tips do you have for writing action scenes?
25 comments:
The nearest I got to an action scene was a fight scene, and it was pretty bad :-)
Have you ever noticed how British accents make people sound smart? A year ago, I didn't even know what pacing was. Thank heaven for conferences. :)
Action scenes can be so tricky so I am glad you shared this. I think I will put this on my TBR list just for that reason! Thanks for sharing!
I love British accents. I could listen to someone talk all day if they had one. ;)
Action scenes can be way tricky. I like the challenge they give me. Most of the time. lol :)
Ooh, a british acccent. Swoon. I have re-written my main action sequences a couple of times. I think the best advice I've seen, is try to act it out. This can be impossible for some things, but it helps. The other thing I do, is watch movies and try to describe what the main character is doing.
Some brilliant advice here. I certainly do agree that short punchy sentences give the reader a sense of urgency which you need in an action scene.
This is just what I needed for my edits today. Thanks!
Action is one of my weak spots in my writing. I take every tip I can get!!
One thing I try to do in actuon scenes is focus on what the character would be focusing. If I am fighting for my life - I am not going to be looking to see how my sidekick is getting along.
It's interesting how we can change the actual grammar rules to change the pace of a reading. I've done this in my work, and always enjoy using the language in that way.
Action scenes can be so tricky and difficult to write, even when short. I just recently wrote one that I read back over and am just not pleased with at all. This is great advice! I'm bookmarking this post so I can come back to it when editing comes. Thanks for sharing!
I love Alexander Gordon Smith's books! I'm always drawn in by his writing.
Thanks for sharing advice!
@The Golden Eagle: I meant "sharing the advice". :P
Great advice! I would also add to the tone of the scene by making sure the descriptions fit the character's point of view. It just adds another layer of goodness. :)
Awesomeness! Action has always been a favorite of mine. Writing it, even more so. I enjoy plenty of cause and effect. Cool stunts never hurt either.
Action scenes can be a challenge to write when you want the reader to know what the MC is doing, what's their motivation for their reaction and other stuff that slows the scene down. Really got to work on that.
thanks! i needed some action writing advice!
time to go kick some bootay!
British accents make me think the speaker as an authority on anything. I wouldn't be able to resist this feeling even if a British speaker said Chocolate is horrible. Kinda sad.
Another trick I've found with writing action is go find a book that writes it how you'd want to read it and break it down.
I like action scenes. They provide an opportunity to get to the point, forget description and create tension. Oh and the British thing - I live in England - they all speak like that here! Except for the millions of us who migrated here. I'm Irish and I have kept my accent!
Great blog here and full of useful information. Thank you for sharing.
Wordsmith
This is very good. I love action movies and books.
Have a super day.
XO
I needed suggestions for the book marinating in my head. Current WIP doesn't really have action/fighting scenes, but next up will.
Thanks! Look forward to following your blog.
Thanks for sharing this! My story for Nano is going to have a lot of action scenes. :)
Oh, I am like anti-action because it is so hard to write.
How was the conference, by the way? Are you currently a member of a chapter of the Utah League of Writers? I went to one meeting once, but everyone (nearly) was over the age of 80...
Great tips! Thanks for sharing. As far as my writing, I always talk too much and describe a lot during action scenes. I didn't realize it until I got my awesome beta reader's! Now I know better :)
@Kim It was fantastic! I am a member and I totally love it! There where a lot of old people at the conference, but I met quite a few blogging buddies as well. It seemed strange to me since the group in Tooele is so young. I think it's getting younger all time:)
Maybe I should give it a second chance... and not that I have anything against seniors - I was just a little surprised by the age gap...
Kim Karras
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