Tags
Navy SEALs, Remo Williams, Richard Sapir, The Destroyers Series, U.S. Navy, Vampires, Warren Murphy, Werewolves, William Shakespeare
Writing an action sequence can be hard, one of the hardest things to do when it comes to writing, in my opinion.
Writing an action sequence in a movie script or even a play is fairly simple because of a certain cheat. An example I remember is in a play where the action description goes like this:
Character 1 enters room sword in hand.
Character 2 enters room and pulls sword.
(They fight, Character 1 dies)
Character 2: Now is the winter of our discontent.
You get the idea that Shakespeare figured out early that his Director can choreograph the fight because screw it; he had better things to do. Are there any screenwriters out there reading this that can confirm this theory?
But when you’re writing a short story or novel, or hell, even a comic book, you best get your stuff together and make sure you do it right and keep the reader in a tight grip.
But what is the best way to write an action sequence? I mean, conventional fights are hard enough to research. Sure I could go out and join the U.S. Navy, become a S.E.A.L., see the world and live a life of danger, then put it down on paper. But who has the time for that kind of research?
And since a lot of what I write is urban fantasy, it goes beyond the conventional. After all how do you research a fight, particularly with Angels, Werewolves and Vampires?
I find it best to draw inspiration from things I have read in the past. Following the example of the masters of action is the key to success for me. And there is always T.V. and movies too. I study these scenes and hopefully I create something riveting and original. If I did it right I will have written something that will take your breath away.
A major source of that inspiration came from The Destroyer book series; it stars one of my favorite fictional characters, Remo William. It was part of the male adventure genre like The Executioner books. It was created by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, who later used ghost writers, but the tone was consistent. I read a lot of the early ones, so I’m sure it was all Murphy and Sapir. Their style was not overly complicated and they made Remo one cool Mother[watch your mouth]. Even without knowing it, they had influenced my writing style when it came to fights and battles. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I took one of their books with me to read while waiting at the doctor’s office. I had read this book several times before, and I noticed something because I had just written a major fight scene in one of my stories. The style and the tone were similar. I didn’t plagiarize, I would never do that, but the similarities were there. And I’m grateful.
Many things influence you – your style, the type of person you are, the type of person you want to be. That includes your writing style. How you develop and the type of work you produce can come from the most surprising of places. You take what you need and add your own way to this mass of creative energy. You use those influences and you become something else, something that is you and with that you find your voice. Your style becomes unique and you become a writer.
Oh and another way I write fight scenes may seem a little strange, but I act out action sequences. My wife is probably very happy I don’t act out the love scenes from my stories as well.
So now that I’ve confessed my secret it’s your turn. Do you have any strange writing secrets you want to share? And how do you create your action sequences?