writeworld:

godtricksterloki asked: When writing aggressive and action oriented parts of a story I can never seem to express exactly what I want to correctly. The writing suffers in terms of placement of the commas, terrible wording and grammar. Mostly because my mind is going about 100 mph and I cannot seem to properly catch up. Any advice on how to properly execute a well written action packed part of a story?

Yes. Get everything out that you want to say as fast as you can. Don’t mind the commas or the run-on sentences; just write. Then, once your adrenaline has run dry and your scene is in its roughest form, take a deep breath (and maybe a long break). Then edit. Edit the crap out of it. 

It’s okay if your action scene isn’t perfect from the get-go. Action scenes rarely are. To me, the mark of a great writer is a willingness to write madly, and then to craft that madness through careful editing. 

Write, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite… on and on until you have carved through your words with a scalpel, until you are telling the story exactly as you want it told. That is the way. It can be difficult, frustrating, even tedious. Tough cookies. That’s how it gets done. Not all in one great choking gulp, but in small bites, chewing slowly.

Check out these links for more on writing action scenes:

• Action with a Side of Zombies
• Ransacking the Town: The Basics of Pacing
• How to Write a Fight Scene (Rebloggable Version)
• Dramatic Action Is More Than Doing Stuff from mooderino
• Writing Crime from writinghelpers
• Useful reference for realistic killing wounds when fighting
• How to Write a Kick-Ass Fight Scene by Susan from archetypesandallusions
• Getting a Handle on Guns
• On Killing Characters from writersofyore

Thank you for your question! If you have further questions or a comment to add, hit us up!

-C