  Action/Adventure
This week: Suspense Adds to Action Edited by: Legerdemain  
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Suspense Adds to Action
I was discussing a movie this weekend and we were in agreement about a couple scenes where the editing (assuming for time) cut the suspenseful timing and failed to make the action as exciting. When writing, take time to consider your characters and timing when creating suspense. Is your character unwilling to act because he has a flaw? Is your character too weak to create a great action scene? Does your antagonist grow in strength with every victory?
Make sure your antagonist is human enough to show his motivation and why he thinks the bad things he does are okay. Does your antagonist have supporters that spur on his bad behavior? Use them to build up your antagonist / protagonist's action and give your climaxes the punch they need. It's also helpful to have a few 'spare' characters that can become helpful or cause unpredictable outcomes. Even a little sexual tension can move your plot forward. Disagreements or failure to obey orders can create tension and chaos.
Pressure on a character can create suspense. You know, scenes like the timer on a bomb slowly counting down, the sun rising on a vampire, or an escape route cut off. While you don't want to 'write your character into a corner', you can do so temporarily and then help them solve the problem. Inner conflict can be suspenseful if the reader is aware of the character's back history and can understand their hesitation or unusual reaction to conflict. Timing can be crucial.
Write on!
This month's question: What type of suspense do you think adds to action and climaxes? |
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#1930973 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: " Yeah! We have the ability to eradicate a number of diseases, but the brain trusts are busy working on higher definition TV's! Trial agricultural experiments have hinted that with just a little more work, we could make hunger a thing of the past, but instead, money gets wasted on creating a newer, fancier phone to replace the one that came out last month! And if everything we've done is of such a benefit, why have we refused to share our knowledge with our neighbors...Isn't our goal to make the whole world a better place, and not just our part of it? Sure the argument goes that they aren't advanced enough to deal with our level of tech, but are we any better? Hell, we've extended the average life span by decades, but have done nothing to improve the quality of life for the elderly. I suppose we've got too many weapons of mass destruction to complete first. I mean, honestly, sometimes it's seems like we know what we should do, but are just too busy playing with our toys to care."
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Excerpt: Lorelei began the final part of her act using the chair as a prop and she did it so seductively that Jim became aroused to an extent greater than he could recently remember. Jim studied her eyes; they lingered on the young man and he became instantly jealous.
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Excerpt: Betty knew nothing about the man except for the fact that he walked...alot. The 'foreboding' shadows were an after thought. It would be a perfect cover if she could never distinguish the details of his face clearly enough to match the story.
Excerpt: However, his cry was not the only cry of pain to piece the morning air. The equipment was not the finest, and the crews were not the best trained-at least, not unless, perhaps, they remembered what they learned during their mandatory service in years gone by. Many of the shots missed and fell short, or to the side, of the encroaching horde.
Excerpt: I eyed the pens on the rack enviously. There they were, lined in neat rows, one of every color. Each was neatly packaged with a stenciled characteristic on top. So far, PenCo offered four kinds: Funny, Uplifting, Sarcastic, and Judgmental.
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#1930861 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: As soon as I saw the baseball bat that stood propped against a Flexible Flyer in Murph’s Secondhand Store, I knew I had to have it. The bat was a Ted Williams’ model Louisville Slugger; Murph’s price: $6.00. As I gripped it, a feeling of power swept over me.
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Excerpt: He processed a thought into his gray matter and sent a telepathic message from the universes Neuronet to Abha. "Not like camping."
Excerpt: “Give me the tooth,” she said.
I paused, curious. “Why?”
She cocked her head to one side, a frown—so alien to her features—creasing her brow.
“For the Faerie, my dear. He has to place it under the pillow for the Faerie of Tooth and Bone.”
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This month's question: What type of suspense do you think adds to action and climaxes?
Last month's question: What is your favorite water adventure?
dogwalker  replied: I certainly got something to think about. My most memorable water adventure was when I was working on an ore carrier on the Great Lakes! Never before and never again did i ever get seasick. it was lifetimes ago, and one I'll never forget. Now - hmm - I have some sprucing to do with "The Voyage of the Water Stride" But that's a different world where boats rafts & canoes are as common as cars are here. with the usual inter-dimensional gate of course.
jdstephens answered: I'll say '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea',though at least partially because it's the only water-focused adventure I've read.
A*Monaing*Faith  sent: Awesome topic, can't think of water adventures off top of my head...except maybe Captain Ron and Wkend at Bernie's, both movies. But I simply adore water and the ocean, maybe cuz I'm a Cancer but probably because it is sooo soothing. ....o yea and POTCari, but that's so cliche at this point.
Thanks for the replies!
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Action/Adventure: May 01, 2013 Issue [#5646]
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