  Action/Adventure
This week: Edited by: Puditat  
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Life without action is static, and by necessity, it would therefore be dead. Action writing takes the normal and shares it for all to live vicriously.
Adventure is the spice: the exciting, adrenalin-pumping, thrill that makes one feel so alive. Everyone has an adventuresome spirit. Maybe dreams of excavating some long-lost treasure, visiting a new country, or trying a new flavour of potato chip.  Some of us prefer our adventures to come between the pages of a book, and many of us like to write that adventure.
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Pace
The pace of a story is important in any genre, but in Action/Adventure it can make or break a piece. An otherwise riveting fight scene may as well be a recital of the dictionary if pace fails to capitalise on the scene. Similarly, a trip to the supermarket can be made into more than it really is with some clever phrasing.
Think of a race car speeding around a track. One might easily assume that it accelerates to 200 kilometers per hour and stays there till it hits the finish line. In reality a top speed of 220km will be reached on straights which allow it. In between is a range of speeds from a gentle bleed of speed to complete a soft curve, or a harsher two-down gear shift to navigate a right-angle corner. The pace of the car is adjusted to avoid any any crash and burn (a cliche, but fitting given the analogy ).
Pace can be the difference in a story ending up at the wreckers yard or receiving applause and respect for a well-executed plot.
Pace is affected by the following:
 Length of sentences
Length of words
Variation in word type
Most things I've read on pace cover the first in my list - the length of sentences. It has the most impact on a story's flow. However, I believe the other two things I've listed also create or hinder pace.
Sentence Length
I came across this quote on sentence length and believe it puts it more eloquently than I could ever express.
"This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety.
Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length.
And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals -- sounds that say listen to this, it is important."
Gary Provost
I just love reading that quote! 
The other two things on my list are less discussed.
Word length
As with sentence length, a series of similar length words becomes monotonous. The horse sped from here to home and back in just a few days. or The horse galloped from home to his stable, and back, in just three days.
There are some times when word length is necessarily restricted, such as writing for pre-school children.
Word Type
We all know that a good sentence must comprise of certain parts of speech. A noun and a verb for instance. However if we break a sentence down further we see we have a number of options.
Past tense/present tense verbs
Consider this:
X Jessy hauls back on the reins, jumping from the saddle to land solidly, and raised his fists against the bully. - Present and past tense mixed, present and past tense verbs.
 Jessy hauled back on the reins, jumped from the saddle to land solidly, his fists raised against the bully. - Past tense, past tense verbs
Jessy hauled back on the reins, jumping from the saddle to land solidly, and raising his fists against the bully. - Past tense, past and present tense verbs.
Present tense verbs can still be used in a past tense sentence, but they must be used correctly.
Adverbs
Words ending in -ly, (eg. delicately, hugely, loudly) are generally considered words to be avoided. I agree with this to a point as there are often much better ways to phrase a sentence. There are, though, certain places where an adverb is begging to be included. Used sparingly they help to vary the structure of a sentence and thus lend a certain musical quality that may be missed by excluding it.
The fly droned in a compulsive buzz against the window pane. Just a thin sheet of glass separated him from freedom.
The fly droned, buzzing compulsively against the window pane. Just a thin sheet of glass separated him from freedom.
They are both correct'y phrased, but I think the second sentence has a little more life to it.
There are other parts of speech I could cover, but I think you get the gist.
An excellent way to help identify an issue with pace is to read the piece aloud. Our ears are our best guide as to whether a piece trots along mechanically or flows with an adaptive stride.
Write often, write well!
Puditat
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The Pudi wrote the wonderful newsletter on the computer in the bedroom before submitting it to the StoryMistress.
billwilcox
Well, perhaps written in the living room. One day, when I make my millions from writing, I will purchase a laptop, and then it may come from my boudoir. 
Puditat, this was a very good explanation on how to check for and cut, repetition. The reasoning is clear and shows how it can be applied to any word. I hope new writers hold on to this edition, it's really helpful. Thank you for putting so much thought into it. It's appreciated.
esprit
Wow! That's a lovely compliment. Thank you! 
great newsletter on the way to avoid the repetition of "the". helped a lot really to sharpen my skills and find new ways to tell the tale. by the way i was wondering if you could make a newsletter considering dynamic movements of the characters. i mean writing action involves a lot of movement and if there is a way to broaden the vocabulary and give some tips i would appreciate it alot.
likenion
Thank you for your feedback. I will peg your topic suggestion for a future issue. Stay tuned...
This is great. Simply wonderful. I can't tell you how happy I am to have these weekly newsletters.. I can never get enough tutorials.. this is just wonderful, thanks so much, and keep it up! You all rock!
Larran Deenelle Kin
On behalf of the whole editorial team....Thank you!
Excellant newsletter: This is all about what I need as a writer. I've had professors tell me to be more creative with the way I express myself, but not explain why I wasn't creative in the first place. Sometimes, we can't see our own lack of creativity because we are too close to it, and others (friends) are too shy to tell us what is wrong with our pieces because they don't want to hurt our feelings. This was a perfect example of how to fix those things that seem okay on paper, but really don't read well.
Personally, I could also use some similar instruction on the word "and." In my opinion it is one of the most abused words in the English language (comma and) also more punctuation errors of all sorts collect around it... So... maybe that would be a good subject someday... Thank you for a wonderful letter this time.
Be Blessed,
Bluesman 
It's great to know when an editorial is meeting a need. That is truly humbling. "and" is an interesting case and I may just take you up on it in a future issue. I love it when readers give me ideas!
Hi,
This hit me! I'm writing a novel which title is "THE Garden of God" Well, I think in this case the THE is really necessary.
Great hints. Thanks for this newsletter!
Cheers,
ftrinta
You're very welcome for the hints.
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Action/Adventure: April 18, 2007 Issue [#1657]
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