Summary
Action fiction is a subset of fiction, and, as such, requires a subset of the various forms and techniques available to the fiction author. This essay strives to assist novice authors in writing action fiction.
Introduction
Action fiction shares the same basic goal of all fiction: verisimilitude. Be it emotion, description, or even ineffable sensation, the goal of most-if-not-all fiction is the same: to let the reader feel like s/he is there. A good romance should bring tears to the reader's eyes, be they of joy or anguish. A good suspense potboiler should cause the reader to subsume the protagonist's tension.
Action fiction has the same basic goal of all fiction, specifically applied here: to put the reader into the action. When in action, especially in combat, the fight-or-flight response plays some factor, minor, major, or total. These may be obvious to more seasoned writers, but a recent exchange with a dedicated but fledgling author leads me to reiterate these points.
Action fiction is writing that is intended for audiences seeking excitement, conflict-often-combat, and purpose-driven charcters. While it does not consist solely of action scenes, those are the highlights for the story - most of the non-action scenes serve to give the characters reason to enter conflict. "Action fiction" and "action scenes" are used interchangably in this essay.
Conflict is not necessarily against another person, though that constitutes a substantial plurality of action fiction. Conflict can be against the elements, can be against fate, can be against society. It can even be against self, but in limited forms.
Sentence Construction
- Sentences should be short. Ideally, they should contain at most one subordinate clause. A straightforward trio of a single subject, a single object, a single verb, in whichever order fits the situation is best. Never use run-ons.
- Adverbs and adjectives should be pared down to the absolute minimum. This is my general recommendation for all fiction, but is a requirement for action scenes. Adjectives / adverbs are often tell-not-show; action scenes should be all show-not-tell.
- Descriptions need to be sparingly given, carefully staged. The protagonist sizing her/his opposition, be it a mountain, a man, or even a mirrored form of himself, this scene can hold description - setting, expression, atmosphere. However, in the middle of the conflict, fight-or-flight starts to influence the character's perceptions, and description should be minimized, if not omitted altogether.
- Keep to one point of view, and make it a close-up. Verisimilitude is about the reader identifying with the protagonist. By giving the reader only what the protag sees, by maintaining that perch consistently, this allows / forces the reader to identify with the protag. Jumping perspectives from character to character, or from character to an overview, this destroys that subtle mental magic.
- Chaos is your friend. Unless the protag utterly outclasses the opposition, "fog of war" will prevail. No one will know everything. Surprise hits happen. Assumptions are made, accepted as axioms, and disproven within heartbeats.
- Risk is reward. Conflict must have something at stake, that stake must be of significant worth, and that stake must have a chance of being forfeited. A conflict where the protagonist is assured victory is boring. The confrontation lacks dramatic tension. It is a waste of time.
- Death is not the wost thing that can happen to a character. Placing the protag in a life-or-death battle is almost always doomed to boredom. Rarely does the protag die, and too many times, death is but temporary - by magic, by subterfuge, by mystery, too many "he couldn't have survived that" rise again. See above - no dramatic tension. Spend time thinking of ways to truly hurt the character, to make the character wish s/he were dead. Honor, debt, family members, self-confidence. Put those at risk, and the reader will not be so sure the protag will surely win.
- In media res is almost always a bad idea. Conflict is of interest to the common reader only when the reader cares about the stake. Readers often only care about the stake when they care about the stakeholders. In media res, a fancy way of saying "starting in the middle", usually refers to combat. Almost always, reaction to in media res is a collective yawn, and a mumbled, "So? Who the ---- cares?"
- Flow is everything. Flow is the ability to read the work from some arbitrary start point, such as the start of the encounters, until some arbitrary end point, such as the post-conflict resolution, with the reader following every word. Flow can be disrupted by many of the basics: SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar), over-description, syntax errors, Depending on the reader, other writerly sins such as tense shifts, POV shifts, or even logical inconsistencies can eject the reader from the flow.
- Know your reader. Depending on your sub-genre, Rule of Cool is your friend or your nemesis. Just because a scene looks great in your mind doesn't mean it will generate the same excitement in the reader. You must somehow commit to words this scene in such a way as to ensure the reader shares your excitement.
- Know yourself. We are all at various levels of skill, and our skill level varies among which field, which activity. I have a difficult time writing action, but I have an easy time critiquing it. Some scenes, some gambits, some moments are simply above my ken. Overreaching is good for learning, but horrible for the finished product.
Conclusion
While I am sure others can contribute other guidelines for writing action fiction, the above comprises the whole of my knowledge in writing action fiction, as gathered by reading a great deal of it. Some good, but mostly bad; I learned the most from reading bad stuff.
