Are Your Fight Scenes Boring the Reader?

Photo courtesy of Sander van der Wel on Visual hunt.

After many years, I’m finally approaching the climax of my urban fantasy. It’s been a long time coming, but as I struggle with the final chapters, I realize the journey isn’t quite yet over. My heroine is breaking into the antagonist’s hideout, ready to take him on, and based on the obstacles I’ve set up, it’s going to take a bit of thought to get everything to work out the way I want. 

I’ve gone back and searched through my collection of urban fantasies and space operas for inspiration on fight scenes. This has been useful, but along the way, I’ve been reminded of things NOT to do in fight scenes. Here’s a partial list: 

1. The author sets up a scenario that appears pretty much impossible for the MC to win, at least based on the author’s description, then promptly has the hero successfully fight their way through all the obstacles doing the same standard stuff they’ve done throughout the book. What the heck happened? Did the opposition go on break? And no, having the hero take some minor damage in the process doesn’t make up for this. 

2. The author tosses in a battle scene simply because there hasn’t been any conflict in a while, or because it’s the only way the author can meet their word count. This is an especially common problem for writers who pump out a lot of books per year. Generic fight scenes don’t amp up the tension. Readers skim through them. At least I do. 

3. The fight scenes scattered throughout the story are so generic most of them could switch places and readers wouldn’t notice. Don’t be lazy, folks. Spend time crafting each battle until it’s unique. Use the setting to set up interesting problems for the MC to solve, or that allow the MC to find novel ways to defeat the bad guys. Add some factor that neutralizes the methods that worked for the MC in previous fights. Let knowledge gained by the MC over the course of the story be used to develop new tactics. 

Several examples of entertaining fight scenes can be found in Allow of Law by Brandon Sanderson. They’re fun to read and almost always do double duty by delivering important story information along the way. No one is skimming over them. 

Have you ever come across fight scenes/battle sequences that leave you yawning?

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Transitioning Into a (Mostly) Full Time Writer.

Today is September's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?

Because  after six months, I’m still not settled into the routine of being a (productive) writer.

Some of you may know I was downsized from my job at the end of February. Although it was a bit of a shock at the time, I eventually considered this to be a sign that I should devote myself to writing (at least during my more optimistic moods). However, the transition to writing has not come easily.

Feeling guilty for not bringing in as much money as I had before, I dabbled with the idea of taking a less well-paying job, at least for the short term, in order to cushion the financial blow to the family. Not only did searching for such jobs take away from my writing time, but guilt made it harder to concentrate on writing. 

Eventually I began tutoring chemistry students, and although the pay isn’t nearly as lucrative as a job in industry, it lessened my need to find another job.  Still, learning the ins and outs of the tutoring business took more time than I expected, further limiting my writing time.

And then there was the constant feeling that the time I spent writing was taking away from things that were “more important,” like helping my wife around the house, interacting with the kids, or tackling projects that have been on my to-do list for years. I felt pulled in all directions, guilt gnawing at me every time I sat in front of my computer.

But all that is in the past. Six months later, I’ve come to accept my new position in life and no longer feel guilty about not having a regular 9 to 5 job. I’m definitely more productive on the writing front and no longer find myself having to write feverishly at the last minute so as to have something to submit to my monthly critique groups.  However, my transition to being a writer isn’t complete. It may be easier for me to sit down and work on my WIP these days, but there are plenty of other writing related activities where I’m falling short. For example:

•  My lack of blogging. Last week was my first non-IWSG post in several months. Heck, I use to post twice a week back when I had that 9 to 5 job!
•  I’ve been bad about visiting other writer’s blogs, except on the first Wednesday of every month.
•  I haven’t touched my Hogwarts fan fiction in months, despite the fact that I’m supposed to be uploading the chapters to Wattpad once a week.
•  I haven’t been making contact with other authors in my genre, although that task was one of my New Year’s resolutions.

I’ve come to realize I will have to structure my time better if I expect to become a productive writer. At the moment, all my focus is on finishing my debut novel. Not that focusing on the actual writing is a bad thing, but sooner or later I’m going to finish the darn thing and then the real work will begin (editing, publishing, marketing, etc.) So, I better have a structure in place by then or things will get very ugly, very quickly.


Let’s move on to more enjoyable topics, like this month’s IWSG question: If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?

This one’s a no-brainer.  It would be in an old castle somewhere in Britain (preferably Scotland), surrounded by fog shrouded moors, preferably in the autumn.  If you don't know why… well, I guess no amount of explanation would suffice. 

My future writing space

Photo credit: fe matarucco on Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-SA

Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other ISWG co-hosts this month: Gwen Gardner, Tyrean Martinson, Doreen McGettigan, and Cathrina Constantine. 

ChemistKen

Do Readers Really Become the Viewpoint Character?

Every so often I come across a piece of writing advice, or rule, or opinion that leaves me perplexed.  Here's one I've been seeing a lot lately.

Readers become the POV characters in the stories they read.

What? Really?

Here's an excerpt from Deep Point of View, by Marcy Kennedy.

As readers, we're not simply experiencing the story along with the viewpoint character. We become the viewpoint character. We climb inside their mind and body.

I don't know about you, but that's not the way it works for me. I may feel that I'm in the same room as them; I may even be peeking around inside their heads, but I'm definitely not them. Not even close.

I've often wondered if the people who say this don't quite mean what they appear to be saying. Perhaps they really mean "We ride along with the viewpoint character.", But I've seen this sentiment voiced so often I think they really mean it. So are they wrong, or am I simply different from everyone else?

I don't mean to imply that I sit back and watch the scene at a distance, like I'm at a movie, although that can be the case when the POV is distant enough.  But no matter how deep the POV, no matter how much I'm inside their head, I'm still a separate observer. I may be sitting in the same roller coaster as the viewpoint character, experiencing the same sorts of thrills, but there's no overlap between the two of us.

To be honest, I don't understand how anyone could feel as though they were the viewpoint character.  He/She constantly makes choices or says things that I would never consider doing, so I'd never be able to maintain the illusion of being them. Heck, authors typically go out of their way to have characters do the exact opposite of what we readers expect them to do. For example, when the POV character sees the magic ring that will allow them to vanquish the bad guy, and  we're yelling at them to pick the damn thing up and fulfill their destiny, but the character says "no way" and does their best to ignore the ring. Or how about when readers scream at a character because he's not asking the girl to dance even though the girl is so obviously smitten with him that my cat rolls his eyes at the character's stupidity. Are we screaming at ourselves?  I think not.

So is it just me, or do the rest of you become the viewpoint character when you read?

Thanks.

ChemistKen

On Vacation!

I'm returning home today from a family vacation at Virginia Beach, and since I somehow convinced myself that the first Wednesday of the month would not occur during the trip, I don't  have an IWSG post ready for this month. However, I can still answer this month's question: Has your writing ever taken you by surprise?

I'm still early in my writing career, but the first big surprise I received from my writing was the first time I looked back at an earlier chapter and realized it wasn't a mess (which up until then hadn't been the case). I guess practice makes perfect after all.

I won't be visiting other IWSG sites today since I'll be on the road, but I look forward to seeing you all next month when I'm one of the co-hosts.

Happy writing!

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Approaching the Publishing Threshold

Today is July's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?

Because I’m approaching the point where I'll be transitioning from a wannabe writer to a published writer who needs to worry about all the many facets of marketing.

For years, I’ve contemplated all the things I’d have to do if I ever got around to finishing a book. Things like setting up an author website, learning to format ebooks, newsletters, street teams, Amazon keywords, email lists, finding a cover designer, finding an editor, learning how to get reviews, Facebook ads, social media, book trailers, audiobooks... The list goes on and on. Almost makes me think writing the book was the easy part. (Please tell me it's not!)

But the time has come where I can no longer just fantasize about these duties.  I’m three-quarters of the way through my urban fantasy, so the clock is ticking, especially since many of the aforementioned items should be started long before a book comes out. 

It’s not like there aren’t a ton of resources out there to help guide me.  The IWSG website has a section devoted to marketing tips. Our very own Chrys Fey has 100 marketing tips on her site.  This month's IWSG post by Tara Tyler discusses how to get buzz for your book.

Now I just have to get around to implementing all this advice without going crazy. 

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This month's question is:  What personal traits have you written into your character(s)?

I usually give my main characters a sense of inferiority, often plucked from somewhere out of my own past. My characters worry that people will think they're too young or inexperienced, or that their skills aren't good enough for them to do what they need to do to win in the end. The kinds of things that used to bother me. Like the experts always say, write what you know!

Have a Happy Fourth of July! 


ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Feeling Guilty

Today is June's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?

Because I only manage to update this blog once a month, just in time for the IWSG post.  And that’s kind of depressing.

There was a time when I used to update this blog with a writing related post at least once a week. Twice a week if you counted the Friday writing links. And yet, now that I’m only working part time, I scarcely even think about the blog. 

Bad author! Bad, bad author!

On the plus side, I’ve spent the extra time working on my stories, so they are progressing at a nice pace, but that doesn’t make me feel any better when the first Wednesday of the month day comes around.  I don’t want to let this blog slip any further. Heck, my plan is to start a new website somewhere down the line, designed more for my eventual readers, while keeping this one for communicating with other writers.

What it basically boils down to is guilt.  I feel guilty that I’m not posting more, but I feel even more guilty if I’m not working on my book. (Even as I write this post, my stomach is churning because I’m not adding any words to my WIP.) I know I should be doing more on social media to prepare for my career as an author. I know I should be attending conferences and reading the latest craft books and making connections with other writers in my genre, but that only takes away from the writing time. I’m sure the guilt will lessen once I start releasing books, but in the meantime, guilt is what drives my schedule.
  
And that’s not a good way to write, or to live.

I suspect the answer is to do what I’ve been putting off for years. Set up a schedule for all writing related activities. A schedule that forces me to set aside time to focus on this blog, or read other blogs, or keep in contact with my writer friends.

The only question is: Will I stick with it?
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This month's question is:  Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why?

My answer is definitely fantasy. I like reading science fiction too, but as far as writing goes, fantasy gives me more leeway to do crazy things without worrying too much about how they could have happened.  When I write science fiction, I feel somewhat obligated to make sure everything has a logical, scientific reason for existing.

Until next month week!



ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Picking A Genre

Today is May's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?

Because I don't not sure what genre my story belongs in.

You'd think this would be a pretty simple question to answer.  My story is a simple fantasy, not particularly ground-breaking in any way, but fantasy is too vague a term these days.  There are all sorts of sub-genres under the fantasy umbrella--urban fantasy, epic fantasy, and paranormal romance to name a few.  And based on what I've learned about marketing books over the years, picking the correct sub-genre is extremely important, especially if you're selling through Amazon. Pick the wrong sub-genre and you'll miss many of the readers who would like your work as well as outraging those readers who did read your book expecting something else. And outraged readers typically leave bad reviews. 

I've always considered my story to be urban fantasy.  It takes place in the present, in an urban setting. The heroine gets caught up in an alchemical war that's been raging on our world unbeknownst to the general public for centuries. And these alchemists have the power to manipulate chemical reactions. So far, so good.  Sounds like urban fantasy to me.

But there are other ways in which the story doesn't follow urban fantasy tropes.  There is no magic. Period. The powers wielded by the alchemists may seem like magic to the normal person, but they are never presented as magic.  In fact, there are very specific scientific rules concerning how those powers can and cannot be used--kind of like the powers in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series. Will urban fantasy readers be disappointed there aren't any spells?  

Another trope involves the inclusion of various fantasy creatures such as werewolves, vampires, wizards, witches, the Fae, dragons--you get the picture.  I only have one such creature, the tiny subatomic beings that work with the alchemists to give them their powers. That's it. Would not having any other creatures be enough for urban fantasy readers to turn up their noses at the story? 

This isn't an academic question. To be successful in today's market, the book's cover has to convey the sub-genre at a glance.  My inclination was to have a female character on the cover, much like other urban fantasy covers, but instead of having her glowing with magical energy (as most of those UF covers do, see below), I would surround her with chemical and alchemical imagery. 

So will having an urban fantasy type cover cause the wrong readership to consider purchasing my book? That's the question I'm struggling with as I finish my book.

Any comments or suggestions?


ChemistKen