How to write action scenes that zing with excitement
All stories need some action—even the most emotional family drama will have some action. But if you’re writing a crime story, a thriller, fantasy, adventure, historical or science fiction, you’re going to need to master the action scene. That goes double for children’s and young adult books, where you can’t afford to waste a word.
A great action scene excites and enthrals the reader, moves the story along and develops the characters. The reader won’t be able to put the book down. But you need to make sure it’s believable and written at just the right pace for your story.
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[description] => “This seminar exceeded my expectations. Pamela Freeman knows her stuff. She is always entertaining and opens up a much deeper perspective to the course content. I will now go back through my work and look for action scenes that need more work.”
Karen Payne
It’s not easy, though…
Action scenes can drag a story to a screeching halt with blow-by-blow details, overdo the gore for the reader, skip over important character moments, and be confusing, inaccurate or implausible.
What are the crucial aspects of writing action scenes—or even action sequences within larger scenes?
How do you maintain pace while you’re getting all the moves in the fight on the page?
How do you reflect your character’s mental and emotional state without slowing everything down?
This seminar is perfect for anyone who’s ever struggled writing any action at all, whether that’s a big fight scene or a kid’s birthday party!
Action should be everywhere in your story, and the techniques apply to all genres of fiction. If you don’t have great action writing in your writer’s toolkit, you’re fighting against the tide of good storytelling!
This Focus On seminar will clue you in on the techniques great action writers use to:
- Speed up the pace of the story,
- Make each movement and plot event clear for the reader,
- Keep the main character at the centre of the story,
- Give the physical action impact on the reader as well as the character,
- Use style to show the characters’ reaction to their situation, and
- Raise the narrative tension with each sentence.
FOCUS ON improving your craft
Each of our popular FOCUS ON seminars explores an important aspect of the art of writing – in an accessible and efficient way. The session consists of a 1 hour expert presentation plus an additional 30 minute Q&A – designed to entertain, educate and inspire you to improve your craft.
“This gave me a better understanding of action scenes and how to enrich them on the page for my readers and not to write them just for my entertainment.”
Gail Killen
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