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Fear grows in darkness; if you think there's a bogeyman around, turn on the light.
~~ Dorothy Thompson – (noted American author who campaigned for the women’s right to vote.)
In this edition of the Action/Adventure newsletter, we will discuss the emotion of fear as it relates to a character and/or a scene.
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Last month, in his Action/Adventure Newsletter, billwilcox discussed “slowing time down” and how this enhances the effectiveness of a scene in a story. In this newsletter, I want to take a little different approach. Suppose time is already moving too slow for the character. A night prowler is heard in the kitchen or one hears footsteps close behind on a dark night – the adrenaline begins to flow. What does the character do, how does he respond or react?
In such cases, it is important to show the strong emotions involved, through either the intensity of the circumstance or the feelings of the character, or both. What actions does the character take? What things heighten the fear of the character? Here, you may have a great opportunity to describe the surroundings, for the environment becomes important when time seems to stand still and fear sets in.
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.
-- H. P. Lovecraft – American author
This fear of the unknown leads one to question his safety, not knowing what is about to happen. People react differently in the face of fear, but each person is susceptible to the emotion of fear. The fear is internal, but the fear causes external actions. When a person is gripped by fear, time seems to stand still, if only for a moment. For instance, when a noise in heard in the middle of the night, the first reaction of most people is too lay silent in bed, as the heart rate increases, if only slightly. Time seems to stand still as one listens for further sounds. The first reaction, normally, is not to jump out of bed and search for the source of the noise. When the noise continues, then one must decide upon a course of action.
In movies, directors employ music to enhance the crescendo movement of a scene, or the ‘gradual increase in force, volume, or loudness.’ The person being followed hears the noise behind him, glances back, continues walking slowly, but gradually increases his pace until he breaks out in a dead run. In the movie “Jaws,” as the shark stalked a victim, the music intensified and the pace quickened until the shark attacked. A writer creates this 'crescendo effect' in a scene by showing the action, both internal and external, of the character or characters. This crescendo movement carries the reader right up to climax of the scene. Writers of horror stories and poems often employ this tool; as action/adventure writers, we can also take advantage of the 'crescendo effect.'
In my poem On a Dark Night, a Pleiadic poem, I attempt to show the internal fear of a young woman through her actions. With each couplet, her fear rises until the climax.
On a Dark Night
She locked the door and paced the floor in fear,
Disheartened by belief that death was near.
She locked the door and knew he meant her harm;
The predator, a prowler, brought alarm.
She wrenched her hands and paced the floor, alone
This darkest night… his whereabouts unknown.
A rattling window; scared, she shook in fear.
A shadow; shocked, she felt his presence here.
She tried to scream, to run away and hide;
Disheartened by consuming dread, she cried.
She prayed for mercy, begged that fear abate,
And tried to squelch belief that death was fate.
A hand; she felt it brush against her ear,
She woke; relieved her husband’s warmth was near.
In this poem, I tried to use the sights and sounds, whether real or imagined, to intensify the trauma of the scene for this young woman. When used properly, the 'crescendo effect' is a valuable tool for the action/adventure author.
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These featured poems will relate the emotion of fear and/or a circumstance that could cause fear.
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Written for The Urgent Message Response Contest - prompt #6 Poem
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From billwilcox
What a heartfelt newsletter Larry. My eyes teared more than once from reading some of your picks. I am always amazed at the courage and sacrifice our young men and women give to protect our freedom and independence. Good stuff, and well spoken. Write On, and God Bless America!
Thank you for your encouragement Bill. I am honored that you enjoyed the newsletter.
Larry
From monty31802
A very good read in this Newsletter Larry, I'm honored you picked one of my poems.
Monty
Thank you Monty. It is always a pleasure to read and feature your poetry.
Larry
From COUNTRYMOM-JUST REMEMBER ME
Thank you for focusing on our troops and veterans, Larry! I have read some of the ones you posted, and they are really good. My thanks to you on an excellent Newsletter!
Countrymom
Thank you Julie - and thanks for reading the featured poems. I am glad you enjoyed the newsletter.
Larry
From Vivian 
Larry, when are you going to move from guest editor to permanent editor? You do a good job. I do have one small suggestion, have someone you trust to know proofread for you.
Thank you for highlighting our military in this issue. My father served in the Air Force for twenty years, and my son has been in the Air Force for over nineteen years so far. I was born on an Air Force base and was living on one when I graduated high school. ~~ Viv
Thanks Viv. I was in the Air Force for four years. We'll have to see about the possiblities of maybe someday being a permanent editor. Thanks for the suggestion - I need all the help I can muster!
Larry
From likenion
I cannot actually say that war is one of my favorite topics to write about and I mean just contemporary war, but your newsletter was really enjoyable to read and even sparked a small interest into that direction. This shows magnificent skills over the language and knowledge of the topic to create curiosity even in those, who don't like the topic!
Thank you, DayDream, for reading the newsletter and for your wonderful comments.
Larry
From Budroe 
This is a singularly superb newsletter, Larry. The idea for the topic is just sublime! Congratulations on a top-shelf performance, as usual!
Thank you Bud. I am honored by your comments.
Larry
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Action/Adventure: August 01, 2007 Issue [#1863]
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