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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 3, 2019 5:40:23 GMT
What are your best tips/preferred methods for writing action scenes?
Do you rewatch your favorite scenes from movies? Do you re-read favorite battle scenes from books? Or are you able to just shut your eyes and watch the scenes play out in your head?
*You're so lucky if you can do this. I can't visualize for shit and it's tragic*
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Post by robertlcollins on Aug 3, 2019 13:41:31 GMT
I can watch the scenes play out, sometimes. If there’s anything specific that has to happen, I note it while I’m outlining.
One good tip I’ve heard a few times is that, when writing action scenes, fights, and so on, is to keep the sentences short. Keep the paragraphs short. That gives the scene a similar sort of pacing to a filmed action scene.
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Post by Jeff Tanyard on Aug 7, 2019 3:18:16 GMT
Or are you able to just shut your eyes and watch the scenes play out in your head?
This, basically.
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 7, 2019 7:32:23 GMT
You guys are very lucky: I’ve had a few action scene dreams, which means my brain must be capable of creating them. Just wish I could do it while awake. And on call.
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Post by robertlcollins on Aug 7, 2019 13:42:28 GMT
You guys are very lucky: I’ve had a few action scene dreams, which means my brain must be capable of creating them. Just wish I could do it while awake. And on call. I’d suggest practicing by writing a description of a scene from a TV show or a movie. Watch it then write it down. Then see if you’re pacing it right. Maybe try with other scenes to figure out how to do it. Of course, I have heard of authors who cheat and just write something like, “Bob and Dave fought for half an hour. It was so epic that words couldn’t describe it. Suffice to say, Bob emerged triumphant.” I don’t think you can do that in a serious work, but I think serious works have also avoided details of fights and battles if it wouldn’t keep the story moving.
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Post by Jeff Tanyard on Aug 8, 2019 3:47:06 GMT
Keep it short, chaotic, and limited.
You want to keep the sentences and paragraphs short in order to make the pace fast and to give it a choppy, frantic feel. It's an action scene, so it should feel kinetic. Also, keep it short. A sword fight is probably going to last about a second. A fist fight will last a little longer, but the average person will become exhausted after just a few seconds of fighting.
You want to make it chaotic because real fights aren't the choreographed stuff of the light saber fights in the The Phantom Menace. They're more like street brawls and other such stuff you see on YouTube. People fall down, things get broken, other people interfere unexpectedly (or don't interfere when they should) and so on. Punches and kicks sometimes miss, throwing the assailant off balance. Also, people don't always fight fair, especially when they think their lives are on the line. Have your characters get tangled up with each other and then start biting off ears and noses and gouging eyes and whatnot.
You want to keep it limited in the sense of your POV character's limitations. If he takes a punch to the face, then he'll probably be too dazed to see the second punch coming. So have him feel that second punch, but don't have him see it. Have him end up on the ground without exactly knowing how it happened. And so on.
Hope that helps.
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 11, 2019 3:55:37 GMT
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Post by davidvandyke on Aug 15, 2019 19:03:14 GMT
I tend to give my fight scenes blow-by-blow detail, sometimes quite lurid, because that's my wheelhouse and the fans seem to like it.
Not pointless detail, but the details that matter, that provide atmosphere and impact.
Not "He pulled out his Sig Sauer P320 XFIVE LEGION with the flat matte grips," but rather, "He fast-drew his custom handgun and placed a shot precisely into the space between his attacker's eyes. The brain matter exiting from the back of the man's head splattered a Pollock painting onto the wall behind him as he shifted aim..."
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 17, 2019 1:39:33 GMT
Those are great tips, thanks David. I am writing about wars, so I'm going to need to learn how to write battle scenes.
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Post by robertlcollins on Aug 17, 2019 13:46:01 GMT
Those are great tips, thanks David. I am writing about wars, so I'm going to need to learn how to write battle scenes. Good luck! You may have already gotten this advice, but if not: you could check nonfictional accounts of battles from soldier’s perspectives to help. They might give you ideas on relaying confusion, sense of fear, the adrenaline rush, and so on.
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Post by davidvandyke on Aug 25, 2019 20:33:01 GMT
Those are great tips, thanks David. I am writing about wars, so I'm going to need to learn how to write battle scenes. Good luck! You may have already gotten this advice, but if not: you could check nonfictional accounts of battles from soldier’s perspectives to help. They might give you ideas on relaying confusion, sense of fear, the adrenaline rush, and so on. Only if you want realistic battle scenes rather than adventure-action scenes. One is realistic, one is total fantasy. One is Saving Private Ryan, one is John Wick.
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