This week: Motive and Emotion in Action Scenes Edited by: Kit of House Lannister  
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What is the best action scene that you have ever read? What made it so good?
It is important for the reader to know why the action is happening. To understand how your characters feel. How do you, as a writer, want your readers to feel?
This week's Action/Adventure Newsletter is all about motive and emotion.
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I believe that it is fair to say that writing action scenes is not for the faint-hearted. It takes practice, and skill, and no small amount of dedication as you’re likely to have to edit, and re-edit, and edit again. There is a lot to keep in mind. What’s the setting? What impact does this setting have on your characters’ moves? If the action takes places outside, what’s the weather like? Is it night or day? How many characters are present? If you are writing fantasy or sci-fi, what species are they and what does this mean for their strengths and vulnerabilities? What weapons are used? Is this a small fight or a full-blown war? I could go on. There is too much ground to cover in a single newsletter, so I will focus on two important aspects of action scenes: motive and emotion.
A book series that immediately springs to mind when I think about action scenes is The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. I think that most of us will be familiar with the books and/or the movies. Envision the final battle. Throughout the story it has become quite clear why it had to be. The reader has felt involved in the fate of the main characters throughout. There was a good build-up to the battle and as a reader I have chosen a side that I want to win. I care about the outcome. I care about the characters. That’s good writing.
It is important to me that I know why something is happening. Why are these people fighting? If the motive is unclear I’ll feel uninvolved. That goes for all action scenes. If I don’t know why person A is chasing person B, why should I care if person A catches person B? I want to know if person A should catch person B, or if I want person B to escape.
Making the reader care about the fate of your characters, then, is rather high on the list of ‘things to do’. In order to make this happen, the reader needs to know who your characters are. How do their minds work? How do they respond to the various situations they find themselves in? What matters to them? What makes them tick? What motivates them?
How does your action scene affect them? Are they frightened? Filled with rage? Portray their emotions. Give physical cues to your readers.
A classic example is the person walking through a dark alley. They hear footsteps. How do they respond?
Sophie walked through the dark alley. Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Someone was behind her. She felt scared and sped up her pace.
This is unlikely to grip the reader. Why is Sophie walking through the dark alley? Is she on her way home from work? Is she cold, taking a short-cut against her better judgement? Perhaps she’s had a long day and feels tired.
How does she feel about entering the alley? What’s the alley like, other than being dark? Has it been raining? Are there puddles? Bins?
She may have good reason to fear the footsteps behind her. The sound could trigger images of news footage that she’s seen, or articles that she’s read. There may be something in her past, or that of someone she knows.
What does she feel will happen?
It may be that it’s the person behind her who should feel concerned. It could be that Sophie is the one who is up to no good… which puts a whole new spin on that scene and opens up a different set of possible emotions and feelings.
I hope that I have given you something to think about when you write your next action scene.
Happy writing!
Kit of House Lannister
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Action/Adventure: February 03, 2021 Issue [#10596]
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