16
Jan
A few months back, I offered a couple of suggestions to another author for ways she could ramp up the action in her novel by sharing a few techniques that tend to work well for me. But I figured I’d fall back to my home turf to go into more detail because, I mean, really — is there anything tackier than going on and on about a topic on someone else’s blog? So, below are a few tips I’ve gathered along the way (some through trial and error and others from feedback received from other authors) that I use when I need to crank things up a bit.
Tip 1: Keep it tight.
I blame my literary background for my struggle with this one. Seeing as how I spent the vast majority of my two degrees in literature focusing on the Neoclassic, Romantic, and Victorian eras, it would have been surprising to come out of it without a penchant for complex sentences loaded with clauses. So it was no surprise when the first feedback I received suggested I cut out unnecessary adverbs and break up lengthy sentences to liven things up. Although the advice was very kindly worded, the message was clear: Save the flowery crap for the love scenes.
Point taken.
Sometimes just replacing a wordy description of physical action with a single powerful verb can really ramp up the energy of a sentence. One approach that seems to work pretty well for me is to write the scene then go back the next day with “fresh eyes” and cut the word count by around 10-20%. This exercise forces me to tighten up the narration and dialogue so that the scene has a lot more punch.
Tip 2: Set it up.
Don’t wait until you’re in the middle of a fight scene to launch into a detailed description of the setting. This might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to get in the middle of writing a scene and suddenly realize you need a massive boulder for your hero to dive behind for cover. However, if you’ve set the scene adequately before the action breaks out, your readers will make informed assumptions about what’s in the room/street/desert, etc., and you won’t bog down the action with too much description.
Tip 3: Shut up and fight.
Monologuing has its place, but if it’s only there because you don’t know how else to fill the page, ditch it. STAT. Ditto for prolonged internal ruminations. If there’s a big reveal of some sort during the scene, let the character have an initial reaction–a short exclamation or burst of internal dialogue, maybe, that lets the reader know something big just happened–but leave the musing for later. It makes sense that your heroine would pick up on something crucial in the thick of things, so she should react in some way, but she probably wouldn’t be waxing philosophical while she’s trying to take out the bad guy.
Tip 4: Step back and regroup.
Sometimes the words just won’t come. When I have moments like these, I get the creative juices flowing again by trying to find a visual representation of the kind of scene I want to write so that I can get a feel for the physical action I need to describe. For me, this usually involves putting on a movie, but it could be watching a boxing match, a cage fight, a martial arts competition, etc. Whatever works. For example, if I need to get a feel for a kick-ass sword fight, I’ll put on Rob Roy with Liam Neeson or Equilibrium with Christian Bale. Having a visual helps me get a feel for the heft of the weapon, the way a person’s muscles bunch with each movement, the distinctive sound of clashing swords, the glint of light on polished steel… You get the idea.
Tip 5: Learn from the Masters.
One of the best ways to figure out how to write successful action scenes is to read examples of successful action scenes. We all have authors whose work we admire — pick one or two of these folks and read/reread some of their most rockin’ action scenes to get a feel for how it’s done. When I need to recharge my action batteries, I grab a copy of something by Lara Adrian, J.R. Ward, Lisa Jackson, or Jim Butcher. Each of these authors gets my pulse racing!
Well, there you have it–the top five techniques that work for me. If you were to ask another writer, she’d no doubt offer you a few tips of her own. There are a few standard rules to live by, like keeping sentences tight and hard-hitting, but the rest is about finding your action groove and figuring out what works best for your own creative process. Most importantly, have fun with it! Action scenes can be a blast once you really get going. 
4
Jan
Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of ads for workshops and webinars on building suspense and creating tension in a scene. I can certainly understand why this topic would be in such high demand–creating suspense isn’t easy! And although I’m still honing my skill in this area as well, I thought I’d share a couple of tricks I’ve learned that work pretty well for me.
Whenever I’m struggling with a suspense scene, I think back to the film class I took as an undergrad. In order to illustrate how a successful scene is more than just the action on screen, we had to watch several suspenseful scenes from such iconic films as Psycho, Jaws, and Friday the 13th, and then watch them again without the sound. And let me tell you, the infamous shower scene in Psycho isn’t nearly as chilling without the music and sound effects.
The same thing can be said about a written scene. The action itself might be flawlessly written, but if there’s nothing else to give it texture, it’s going to fall flat.
When I have a scene that just isn’t working for me, I refer back to the silent shower scene assignment and ask myself what’s missing in my own scene. Obviously, I can’t add a musical score to manipulate my readers’ responses, but I can describe the sound of the floorboards creaking behind the protagonist, the sudden chill that causes the hair on the back of her neck to rise, the heaviness in the air when she suddenly realizes she’s not alone, the bitter taste in her mouth as she tries to swallow her panic, the shadowy movement she sees out of the corner of her eye, the thundering of her pulse in her own ears.
Just like creating suspense on film, it’s all about incorporating the senses and capturing what your character sees, hears, smells, tastes. When this is done well, your readers are no longer just casual observers. Suddenly, they can relate to what your character is experiencing. Odds are good they’ve never crept through the dark, dank halls of a deserted insane asylum with something evil lurking deep within the shadows, but I guarantee they’ve been afraid and know how it feels. Remind them of that as they’re reading, and their hearts will start pounding just as hard and fast as your protagonist’s.
Now, all that being said, here’s an assignment for you (if you’re up to it):
1) Pick a particularly suspenseful scene from one of your favorite novels–just make sure it’s a book you own and not the library’s copy!
2) Underline, highlight, and scribble in the margins, marking all the words and phrases that elicit strong responses. (If you don’t want to mark up a book, jot everything down on a separate piece of paper. Your call.) Essentially, the point is to dissect the scene and get a good look at its guts.
3) When you’re satisfied that you’ve identified everything that got your blood pumping, read the scene again omitting everything you’ve marked. I guarantee you’ll feel the difference.
4) Now, take what you’ve learned and apply it to your own work.
I hope you find this exercise useful! If any of you give it a try, let me know how it works out for you. And check back soon for another tip. In the meantime–happy writing!
