Writing the Adventurous Novel
My books are action-packed and high energy. Would you like
to infuse some momentum into your novel? Take a look at these ideas.
1. Set Reader
Expectations
*don’t add action or suspense as an afterthought
Have you ever read a novel where about halfway through out
of nowhere a villain or a terrorist or a crisis suddenly shows up? I read a few
each year, and I know right away that the author has run out of plot and
decided to throw in some adventure to keep the book going. It’s confusing and
off-putting to readers. If you’re going to write adventure, start the book as
you mean to go on.
*keep the romance front and center
The flip side of writing action and adventure is writing too
much action and adventure. If you’re writing a romance, don’t forget the book
is about the love story. The action and adventure is secondary.
2. Keep Tensions High:
*Vary your writing style
Action scenes should be short, sometimes choppy, and
concise. Emotional scenes are longer, should flow, and are more descriptive.
Fight scenes should be filled with strong verbs, like smack, jab, cut, and slam.
*Skip the “Tom Clancy” descriptions
Readers want romance, not a book on flintlock pistols
(unfortunately, because I could probably write one!). The author should give
enough description to make the situation sound believable but not so much as to
bore the reader.
*At the end, show character growth
The adventure has to have affected the characters. For
example, the waitress who hates guns now wants an AK-47; the hero who gets
seasick becomes a pirate. A character shouldn’t go back to the status quo after
a life-changing experience.
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