Anybody out there good at action sequences?

Aug 04, 2012 23:41

And/or writing "around" action sequences instead of writing the literal action therein ( Read more... )

fanfiction, clint/natasha, writer-y things

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Comments 19

lar_laughs August 5 2012, 04:53:49 UTC
I'm crap at action although I had a friend tell me the best way to write action was to pick the important details and write those as clearly as possible. Everything else will fall in place in the reader's mind.

But if you're uncomfortable with it when you get back to it, it might just not be the right scene. Usually the difficult ones are either the perfect scene that the writer isn't ready for (and coming back will usually fix that) or the wrong scene that the writer is pushing too hard into place.

Believe in the words. *grins* *takes of yoda mask*

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ashen_key August 5 2012, 05:25:58 UTC
Seconding this!

It's a question of not over-explaining - so you have the flashes of detail, but if you explain too much, than the 'breathless' quality of good action scenes is missing.

Also, it's bloody difficult. I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate it.

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lar_laughs August 5 2012, 05:27:47 UTC
Ah, BREATHLESS. That is a good way of describing it! Pick the highlights and people don't get bogged down and they retain their sense of wonder and BREATHLESSNESS! Love it!

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allisnow August 5 2012, 05:28:07 UTC
Yup. Something I always try to remember with writing action is that you don't have to describe every little thing like you're giving an eyewitness report to the police or teaching someone fighting choreography. You're just creating a picture in the reader's mind. So you have to find that happy medium between accurately describing what happened and just making it sound good and letting the reader's imagination fill in the rest.

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allisnow August 5 2012, 05:19:01 UTC
I present you with this image from my lj about a week ago.


... )

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cybermathwitch August 5 2012, 05:39:11 UTC
Heh.

I'm such a feels girl. Character introspection, long dreamy lyrical stuff, no problem. Concrete stuff? Less so. ;)

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allisnow August 5 2012, 05:44:25 UTC
Yup. I've already promised myself that my next fic will have absolutely no action, just people sitting around thinking thinky thoughts and maybe talking and possibly sexytimes just for a little change of pace ;)

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cybermathwitch August 5 2012, 20:18:07 UTC
Yeah, I'm totally working on pov stuff after this one. :-)

It's *this* close to done, by the way. I need to do a final read over when I get home, but I should have it posted tonight.

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cybermathwitch August 5 2012, 20:15:35 UTC
::slaps self in the forehead::

and that would be why the hotel scene worked and the carrier scene didn’t.

It does help, thanks! :-D

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