ooh, tips! thanks for posting this

A very helpful guide. You brought up a lot of good points, especially about battles and heroes.

"I reached down towards the sword at my waste."
Nice guide, but this sentence really just stuck out and hurt it for me. "Waist".

Still, helpful. I am trying to start writing a story about a superhero, but I want to open with a fight and I am completely lost. xD Your guide might just help me get started.

Good points for those not used to writing action sequences. One major one you forgot is that action sequences should be written in short choppy sentances. This keeps the reader moving along quicker.

That was really helpful especially for neophyte writers like me.
But I would really like to comment about "Over and Under Describing: The Nightmare of an Action Writer". The third example, was it a little bit over describing?
Nevertheless, it was a great guide, thank you. :)

Love,
Hime:)

I would like to say, I glanced at this and found that the third description of action was just as annoying as the first two. Mostly due to the fact that you needlessly explained a droplet of sweat, which served no purpose what so ever to the paragraph.
Also, why is Haes laughing at a sword? Did the sound it made as it came from the sheath sound like a joke? An anecdote from the past? Just saying, it was extremely corny.

-Ras~

Intersting list. One thing I should point out is to have a balence between action and non-action. While lots of action is nice, it becomes very tedious quickly if those are the only parts worth describing. Believable characters is also a must; it all depends on the character too if they would like to kill their foe, but then again, put too much characters who kill off characters, the balance is lost. So really, it's all about keeping the scales even when writing action scenes.

~Snuffie

Nice guide. I'm glad I read this as you point out something that every writer knows, but not necessarily consciously; The need for variety, for a start, and the fact that a hero who wins every single battle with little effort is repetitive.

Not only does it jolt the reader when the hero loses once in a while, it also adds to the suspense of the next battle, as the reader may actually get to wonder whether they'll win or not. It's so, SO important, in my opinion, to keep the reader's attention; Otherwise it's just a tedious read. Like the lord of the rings, I'm sorry to say. Many authors obsess about being at the points they want to be at without realising that the journey in between is just as important, if not more so. Keeping the journey interesting is one of my main focuses I hold as I write.

A point I felt you could pick up on is believable villains. Not only in their motivations (As wanting to destroy the world simply does NOT cut it when they LIVE there) but also in terms of their power. I've read far too many stories, including published works, where the whole point of the story is for the hero to defeat the gargantuan villain at the climax, and the villain's power and evilness is told to you many times instead of shown to you. This never explains their motives, nor why, if they have followers, they follow them. I find that establishing the villain is one of the most crucial parts in making that climatic end battle the most enjoyable.

On the point of their powers, it's repetitive when the villain is absolutely uber-powerful, and 'indefeatable', and then loses to the hero. The villains often tend to have amazing, unexplained powers, like Voldermort's parseltongue ability; This was explained away as him being the heir of Slytherin. I ask you, how did SLYTHERIN get the ability?

Anyway, I know I'm ranting, so I'll stop, and leave everyone something to think about, hopefully. Back to what I was trying to say- Nice guide. I like it.

-Brackets

I liked that this essay was specific to action scenes. My favorite points (the ones most relevant to what I do) were "Over and Under Describing: The Nightmare of an Action Writer" and "Variety." As for Variety, I know that there are several fantasy writers I dislike purely because they have too much heavy action all of the time and every fight seems identical--for this reason, I'm glad you chose to discuss this. As for description--I know I've been lazy in the past and did the dreadful undesribing just so I could get a moment in time finished. I suppose the reason for this is that I wasn't very good at action scenes (I'm still not).

I'll definately keep this essay in mind as I start my new project. It's a story that will involve a lot of movement/action, so these points will come in handy. Good work.

Interesting. The variety bit reminds me of why J.K. Rowling said she hated writing Quidditch scenes, because they had to be DIFFERENT each time.

Now, here's my problem. Your guide, like many other guides, is good for deciding whether something you've typed up, or something you have in your head, is quality material. When to write/keep it, and when to revise. My problem, though, is coming up with that stuff in the first place.

In other words, "how do I describe this action" is one thing. "What action should be here" is another. You don't just have to be a storyteller, you have to be a choreographer too. How do I do that?

(I have the same problem with characters. A tutorial will ask "What does your character want?" or "What is your character's name?" and I'll respond "How should I know? She doesn't have those traits yet.")

Thank you for this. I write lots of action and a lot of times I screw up and disobey your rules and wonder why my stories are cliched. This is very helpful, and anyone who would say posting this is an abuse is clearly an idiot...

...Posting this as a fave for people who need it...

Well i must say this has helped me alotand though i've probably already screwed up hundreds of action scenes, at least now i can get them right! Thanks.

Wow, thanks for this handy guide! :D

Action writing is really NOT my forte so this is really helpful. Particularly where you actually show how you write a good action scene. :)

Sorry for the sucky review. I dont really have much to say other than THANK YOU!

- Frac

Not only was that sentence painful, it had atrocious grammar. XD

I think I've seen this before in its previous incarnation but I still enjoy it and intend to use it.

:) CD

I can typically go several pages with good description, character development and interaction. I can describe the vastness of mountains and the intricate details of a character's expression... My problem? Combat! I love combat so very much but I have trouble writing it... Thank you my young friend for this quick guide, I do greatly appreciate it.