Mister Line Editor
Mister Line Editor
  • Proofreading and Editing Services
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Children's Books
  • Customer Reviews
  • Contact Me
  • Proofreading and Editing Services
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Children's Books
  • Customer Reviews
  • Contact Me

How to Do a Good Job Writing an Adventure Novel

7/27/2018

0 Comments

 
Robert Vaux reports:

"
Adventure novels can cover a wide range of era and subject...Their common bond is an epic scope, an emphasis on exciting action, and a desire to transport the reader to a faraway time or place. Countless adventure novels have been written over the years, but many of them succumb to poor writing, hackneyed plots and the thousand tiny cuts of stereotyped cliches. If you're going to write an adventure novel, it pays to write one as well as you possibly can. Define your plot and characters. An adventure novel needs a hero for the audience to follow--someone competent and strong, but possessing a few human foibles to make him or her relatable. He requires a foe to fight (someone evil, but also possessing human qualities to render him accessible), assistants or sidekicks to aid him, obstacles to overcome, and an overarching purpose or quest of monumental import to achieve. Outline your plot, identifying how it begins, what events take place during the hero's journey, and how (or whether) he obtains his ultimate goal in the finale. The events of the adventure story need to be interconnected and build steadily toward a rousing conclusion. They require internal logic (i.e., there needs to be a reason why they happened) and must flow into each other with a sense of natural rhythm. Furthermore, characters need to undergo a change as well: an 'arc' that shows their growth and experience throughout the action (beyond just finding the treasure or saving the girl). Eliminate cliches in your plot. Elements which have been seen a thousand times before or which derive naturally from a well-known source should be avoided. Work on bringing new twists to your situations: challenges that haven't...appeared in previous novels, new ways of getting out of old situations, character traits that defy the norm. Write your adventure novel based on your original structure. You need to establish the principle characters early on, define their relative position in the plot (hero, villain, etc.), set up what they stand to gain or lose and describe the events which lead them to the finale. The climax needs to be your showstopper: the 'money shot' in movie terms where everything stands to be won or lost. Previous events should build up to that, and you may wish to include a brief denouement afterward to tie up any loose plot threads. Maintain a brisk tone throughout your novel. Adventure stories thrive on excitement: high[-]speed chases, last-second escapes, desperate plans born of feverish inspiration, and larger-than-life stakes should the hero fail. Although the pace will ebb and flow and there may be some downtime between the hero's activities, make sure you don't get bogged down in excessive detail or ponderous dialogue. Revise and edit your novel to improve the text. Very few pieces of writing are perfect on the first draft, and a polishing process will help your novel become as good as it can be. You may wish to let a friend or trusted colleague edit it as well: someone familiar with literary structure and who can provide honest, constructive criticism."
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Writing and editing can be pretty rigorous processes if you want to do them well, but that's what this page is here for. Check out the latest tips here.

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    J.D. Parsons
    Author
    SEO Writer
    Proofreader
    Editor
    Internet Researcher
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.