Be a Better Writer -- ACTION/ADVENTURE
Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2014 3:10 pm
Action/Adventure stories are easily enough defined, and it’s really quite obvious: they’re stories in which the protagonist has an adventure, or in which lots of action happens. The following tips will work for most action/adventure stories, but not every story will be absolutely true to each of these characteristics.
1. Often the adventure takes the form of a quest, a journey, or a goal for the protagonist to reach. She may have to travel a great distance, or complete a number of tasks, or solve several problems on her way toward achieving that goal.
2. There will be obstacles. These may be physical obstacles (mountains, oceans, deserts), obstacles of her own body (pain, injury), mental obstacles (problems or puzzles posed by the antagonist), obstacles of the spirit (fear, difficult decisions, temptation), or any combination of those. These are the things that the main character will have to overcome or defeat in the course of the story and to reach her goal. The literary term for this is conflict, and here are the most common types:
• Man vs. Man. Two people in direct opposition to each other. Examples: Dorothy vs. the Wicked Witch of the West, Sherlock Holmes vs. Moriarity, Jean Valjean vs. Inspector Javert (Les Miserables)
• Man vs. Nature. Conflict with forces of nature (weather, geography, the body). Examples: Tom Hanks in Castaway, Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea, Doodle in The Scarlet Ibis
• Man vs. Society. Conflict of one person against a whole group of others. Examples: Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, Atticus Finch (and Tom Robinson) in To Kill a Mockingbird, Jonas in The Giver
• Man vs. Self. One person who has to work through the difficulties or consequences of her own emotions, decisions, or behaviors. Examples: Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Hamlet, the narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart
• Man vs. Supernatural. Not just “ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night,” but anything without an earthly or scientific explanation, and also things of the spirit (fate, luck, destiny, God, demons and angels, etc.). Examples: Mr. White in The Monkey’s Paw, every character on the TV show Lost
(Note that these aren’t necessarily action/adventure stories, but they can teach you the concept of conflict.)
Any of these conflicts would work in an action/adventure story. The important thing is that there definitely should be some sort of conflict encountered during the adventure. An adventure in which the main character simply has a marvelous journey through fields of pretty flowers and slow-flowing brooks wouldn’t really fit into this genre.
3. The main character should encounter the unexpected, and ideally should be in some sort of danger. I’ll refer you to the recent lesson on suspense/thrillers for more about this point.
4. The main character should demonstrate courage or bravery, and should, during the course of her adventure, escape or master or overcome the obstacles/conflicts. Again, this bravery can take several forms—physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual courage. Alternatively, your main character may show bravery or courage, yet still fail in the end.
5. Since part of this genre is action, you should choose your verbs carefully.
Stella headed toward the rapidly closing gate.
But how did she go? Take a look at the examples below to see how a well-chosen verb can add color and meaning to a sentence. Each of these sentences should paint a slightly different picture in your mind:
Stella sprinted toward the rapidly closing gate.
Stella stumbled toward the rapidly closing gate.
Stella snuck…
Stella darted …
Stella crawled …
Stella wriggled …
Obviously, that’s just one example. Make sure all your action words effectively show action.
6. Did you notice that almost all of my examples in this lesson have featured women? Action/Adventure is often thought of as a man’s genre, but that doesn’t have to be the case. You may certainly write about men, but it’s not necessary. Note: I have nothing against men, nor against stories that feature men. But if you’re one of those people who’s trying to write out of the box yet still stay in the genre, using a woman protagonist might be one way to go.
7. War writing, crime writing, and spy writing are all sub-genres of the action/adventure genre, and would also be considered on topic. I’m sure there are other sub-genres, too—you can probably figure some of those out.
Here are a few short stories by well-known authors that would qualify as action/adventure stories—you don’t have to read them all (they’re longer than Writing Challenge entries), but they should give you an idea of what this genre of fiction looks like:
To Build a Fire, by Jack London
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, by Ambrose Bierce
The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell
These three stories all feature male protagonists, and all were written many decades ago. If you know examples of more recent action/adventure stories or ones that feature women, be sure to tell us the titles—better still, give us links.
HOMEWORK:
Ask a question or make a comment about something in this lesson. OR
Link to an action/adventure story you have written. If you do this, please also tell us something about your writing process. OR
Tell us about an action/adventure story you’ve read (link, if you can) by another writer. Comment about it, if you wish. OR
Comment about one or more of the short stories that I linked to in the lesson.
A final note: my good friend Ann Grover has revived her once-inactive forum, Ann’s Grammar Basics. Ann knows the answers to everything you might want to ask about grammar, and I highly encourage you to scoot over there with all of your grammar, punctuation, usage, and writing mechanics questions. She’s awesome!
1. Often the adventure takes the form of a quest, a journey, or a goal for the protagonist to reach. She may have to travel a great distance, or complete a number of tasks, or solve several problems on her way toward achieving that goal.
2. There will be obstacles. These may be physical obstacles (mountains, oceans, deserts), obstacles of her own body (pain, injury), mental obstacles (problems or puzzles posed by the antagonist), obstacles of the spirit (fear, difficult decisions, temptation), or any combination of those. These are the things that the main character will have to overcome or defeat in the course of the story and to reach her goal. The literary term for this is conflict, and here are the most common types:
• Man vs. Man. Two people in direct opposition to each other. Examples: Dorothy vs. the Wicked Witch of the West, Sherlock Holmes vs. Moriarity, Jean Valjean vs. Inspector Javert (Les Miserables)
• Man vs. Nature. Conflict with forces of nature (weather, geography, the body). Examples: Tom Hanks in Castaway, Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea, Doodle in The Scarlet Ibis
• Man vs. Society. Conflict of one person against a whole group of others. Examples: Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, Atticus Finch (and Tom Robinson) in To Kill a Mockingbird, Jonas in The Giver
• Man vs. Self. One person who has to work through the difficulties or consequences of her own emotions, decisions, or behaviors. Examples: Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Hamlet, the narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart
• Man vs. Supernatural. Not just “ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night,” but anything without an earthly or scientific explanation, and also things of the spirit (fate, luck, destiny, God, demons and angels, etc.). Examples: Mr. White in The Monkey’s Paw, every character on the TV show Lost
(Note that these aren’t necessarily action/adventure stories, but they can teach you the concept of conflict.)
Any of these conflicts would work in an action/adventure story. The important thing is that there definitely should be some sort of conflict encountered during the adventure. An adventure in which the main character simply has a marvelous journey through fields of pretty flowers and slow-flowing brooks wouldn’t really fit into this genre.
3. The main character should encounter the unexpected, and ideally should be in some sort of danger. I’ll refer you to the recent lesson on suspense/thrillers for more about this point.
4. The main character should demonstrate courage or bravery, and should, during the course of her adventure, escape or master or overcome the obstacles/conflicts. Again, this bravery can take several forms—physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual courage. Alternatively, your main character may show bravery or courage, yet still fail in the end.
5. Since part of this genre is action, you should choose your verbs carefully.
Stella headed toward the rapidly closing gate.
But how did she go? Take a look at the examples below to see how a well-chosen verb can add color and meaning to a sentence. Each of these sentences should paint a slightly different picture in your mind:
Stella sprinted toward the rapidly closing gate.
Stella stumbled toward the rapidly closing gate.
Stella snuck…
Stella darted …
Stella crawled …
Stella wriggled …
Obviously, that’s just one example. Make sure all your action words effectively show action.
6. Did you notice that almost all of my examples in this lesson have featured women? Action/Adventure is often thought of as a man’s genre, but that doesn’t have to be the case. You may certainly write about men, but it’s not necessary. Note: I have nothing against men, nor against stories that feature men. But if you’re one of those people who’s trying to write out of the box yet still stay in the genre, using a woman protagonist might be one way to go.
7. War writing, crime writing, and spy writing are all sub-genres of the action/adventure genre, and would also be considered on topic. I’m sure there are other sub-genres, too—you can probably figure some of those out.
Here are a few short stories by well-known authors that would qualify as action/adventure stories—you don’t have to read them all (they’re longer than Writing Challenge entries), but they should give you an idea of what this genre of fiction looks like:
To Build a Fire, by Jack London
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, by Ambrose Bierce
The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell
These three stories all feature male protagonists, and all were written many decades ago. If you know examples of more recent action/adventure stories or ones that feature women, be sure to tell us the titles—better still, give us links.
HOMEWORK:
Ask a question or make a comment about something in this lesson. OR
Link to an action/adventure story you have written. If you do this, please also tell us something about your writing process. OR
Tell us about an action/adventure story you’ve read (link, if you can) by another writer. Comment about it, if you wish. OR
Comment about one or more of the short stories that I linked to in the lesson.
A final note: my good friend Ann Grover has revived her once-inactive forum, Ann’s Grammar Basics. Ann knows the answers to everything you might want to ask about grammar, and I highly encourage you to scoot over there with all of your grammar, punctuation, usage, and writing mechanics questions. She’s awesome!