Quick mini-blog before I snatch a quick nap after writing, before heading to work out before school. But I've been thinking A LOT, lately, about the philosophy or practice or mechanics of writing action scenes. And for a change, I'm asking a direct question of y'all, hoping for some response and opinions on this.
So, writing action scenes.
More and more, as I read and read and read and write, I've developed specific ideas about HOW action scenes should be written. Or, I should say, how I like to write actions scenes, and when I read novels, especially, how I'd prefer those action scenes be written.
Now, everyone has their own preference or style or whatever. In some ways, I'm reacting more as a reader than a writer, but of course, my preferences as a reader directly influences my practices as a writer. And I find that there - for me, anyway - exists a direct and almost tangible connection between scenes of swift, brisk action and how the actual words are played out across the page.
For example, a recent horror novel I've read (and it was a good one, don't get me wrong. Very well written, for the most part.) lost me quite a bit on its action scenes. And I'd consider myself a pretty well-read guy who doesn't get lost, often. But when you've settled yourself down into something like Grapes of Wrath (which I hope to read this summer), your mind comes to expect a certain pacing, you adapt to it, know you're reading something longer and perhaps slower moving, and adjust.
But when I'm reading a novel that's moving something like that - and then the action scenes appear - if the actual style of the writing doesn't change to mimic the shift in mood and atmosphere, I actually lose track of things, a bit. I've read several "action scenes" over the years, then thought: "Wait. What did I just read, there?"
It annoys me. On a purely aesthetic level, because part of me feels: "Wait, the mood, situation, circumstances, emotion and even basic movement of the characters has just changed drastically. Shouldn't this affect the very structure itself, so the brain can adapt and get into the new mood?"
What do you think? Should it? Or am I just crazy?
This is why I've come to love Norman Partridge and Charles L. Grant more and more. Both these guys are superb stylists - masters of writing style. Both these guys manipulate the very words on the page to mimic the mood, atmosphere, and energy they want to impart in their scenes. They shift back and forth between styles - from basic and maybe even detailed exposition to terse, staccato, rhythmic or lyrical prose - with ridiculous ease.
So this isn't about writing in really short, choppy, "See Spot Run", Hemmingway-esque style all the time. It's about knowing when to shift, and to change your style accordingly.
How about all you folks? Anyone have similar feelings as a reader or writer? How do you handle action scenes in your prose? All thoughts and opinions appreciated.
*There are exceptions, of course. I've found Ramsey Campbell's action scenes to be largely paragraph oriented, but they still flow with a sense of balance and ease lacking in other writers. Same thing with the little bit of Tom Piccirilli's work that I've read, also.
Aren't you talking pace, rather than style? Maybe different ways of referring to the same thing. Anyway, the most I ever learned about action scenes were the Indiana Jones movies. Every punch he throws comes from character. Every leap into the unknown is unique to him, and actually tells the viewer a bit more about the kind of man he is. He's clumsy, desperate, often terrified, but deeply resourceful and quick thinking. He fights like he thinks. The best example (and I know, entirely incidental to what was scripted) is the weary, exhausted way in which he shoots the swordsman in the square.
ReplyDeleteThat may or may not answer your question!
i go for realism.
ReplyDeleteas in it's really, really happening. I write horror. So if someone is drinking a cup of tea and it's quiet and lovely but if they are suddenly jumped by a demonic vampire it all changes.
Put that into reality. if you are having a quiet afternoon listening to Mozart and a killer breaks into your house, jumps on you, and you find yourself fighting for your life, there's a lot of action, obviously.
To me, the mood can change in a second and when it does it's exciting!It's creating the greatest tension ever.
Really enjoyed your post.
And there were some violent scenes I seem to recall in Grapes... great book.
Richard, I think I'm actually talking about the words on the page themselves. Whether that's pacing or not, I'm not sure - for example. This horror novel in question - and several others like it - has all of its action scenes sprawled out in big, long paragraphs. That's what I'm talking about, I guess. Probably just a stylistic thing that's neither right or wrong, but I guess the more I pay attention to what I read in regards to how it creates and delivers imagery - wondering how I want to do the same - it jumps out at me.'
ReplyDeleteDoes that make sense? I guess, say, for example - a monster is chasing my protagonist through a house. To me, the mood is frantic, pounding, hectic - running down halls, cutting through doors, tripping, falling - and when I see action like this parceled out in big paragraphs full of bulky, compound sentences, any pacing is lost. And sense of tension or atmosphere cluttered down.
Again, it's probably just a preferential thing. Just something I've noticed a lot more, lately.
Also, thanks for posting, Carole!
You say potato, etc ;-) Same thing. Yes, structurally, I tend to move action along in staccato beats, for just that reason, unless I've a very compelling reason not to.
Delete"You say potato, etc" - That's what I figured. ;)
DeleteI honestly don't think about it much when I'm writing; I just see it happening in my head and try to write it down. I do think of myself as a more cinematographic storyteller, so the action is very visual, but I also try to keep the flow consistent. It can be frantic, sure, and maybe a huge run-on sentence or a few choppy sentences depending on what's happening, but at least there should be some rhyme and reason to it. I read a book recently where the climax dealt with the good guy and the buy guy going at it, and there were multiple scene breaks in the chapter, so you'd read one part from the good guy's POV, another part from the bad guy's POV, and back and forth. Personally, I found it to be sloppy writing, but to each his own.
ReplyDelete"I honestly don't think about it much when I'm writing" - I think it jumps out most to me in drafts.
ReplyDelete"I also try to keep the flow consistent." - That's important. A big factor. Ramsey Campbell's prose flows so well because it's always so consistent, IMHO.
"there were multiple scene breaks in the chapter, so you'd read one part from the good guy's POV, another part from the bad guy's POV, and back and forth. Personally, I found it to be sloppy writing" - Yeah, I'm not a real big fan of this sort of thing, either.