by M. Morrison

Created on: July 31, 2009

What words come to mind when you think 'action'? I'll bet at least one of them was speed, strength, or power. When writing action scenes, you need to incorporate these things into your writing. So, remember that teacher who told you to use adjectives and adverbs to make your writing more interesting? When it comes to action scenes, forget all that - in fact, forget it for about 90% of everything else, too. Describing words weighs down your writing and should be used sparingly, especially during an action scene.

Most writers make the mistake of using too many adjectives and adverbs (words that describe a noun or a verb, respectively). How many times have you seen a character 'run quickly', or 'yell loudly'? Not only are these weak descriptions that slow the pace of the story, but they're redundant - people tend to run quickly, that's the point of running; and is it possible for a person to yell quietly? Instead of running quickly, the character could be dashing, or racing; and rather than yell loudly, he could bellow or roar. Yes, that's right, it's time to break out the Thesaurus and find those power words! Unless you're intentionally trying to slow the scene or plot, use powerful words to describe what you're talking about, and steer away from adjectives and adverbs.

Trim out the unnecessary bits. During a fight or chase scene, is it really necessary to break off into a whole paragraph about the blood-stained grass? Save that for afterwards, if you must, but don't throw it smack dab in the middle of the fight. The same goes for explanations and histories - it takes a talented writer to get away with interrupting a fight scene to explain why these two characters hate each other, and even they have to tread lightly in that territory. When you're done your first draft, take out everything that doesn't contribute to the action - Susan is not going to stop mid-fight to take note of how much Lisa resembles her mother with her soft golden curls and bright sapphire orbs set against alabaster skin, or how the soft yet vibrant colours of the sky as the sun descends below the horizon, leaving only darkness behind. This might be acceptable under other circumstances, but it's certainly not appropriate for an action scene.

Use sentence structure to your advantage. Fights are short. They are fast. They are unpredictable. A description of the sweeping sword does not drag out over the course of five minutes; therefore, neither should your sentence. Vary

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