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IWW
Practice-W Exercise Archives
Exercise: "Page Turner"
These exercises were written
by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writers Workshop (http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/).
Prepared by: Norman Cooper
Posted on: August 29, 2010
Reposted on: October 1, 2011
Reposted on: October 14, 2012
Reposted on: October 6, 2013
Reposted on: March 22, 2015
Reposted on: April 22, 2018
Reposted on: January 17, 2021
Reposted on: November 5, 2023
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Exercise: In 400 words or less write a scene that puts your character
right in the middle of some exciting action.
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Action scenes on film involve our eyes and ears (and if the sound in the
theater is loud enough, our whole body). However, in print, our principal
tool is detailed description. Details help the reader imagine what the
action feels like based on sensory experience.
Action can be anything from a bomb squad technician working against the
clock, to a man fleeing from would-be attackers on a crowded city sidewalk,
to a boxer in the fight of his life. If the reader is involved in the story,
he/she will feel the sweat on the technician s brow, the panic of the
pursuit, or the exhaustion of the fighter.
Action scenes are challenging ways to provide conflict in your story.
In mystery and suspense novels, action scenes usually heighten the tension
and move the plot along. "Show don't tell when describing action.
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In your critique, tell the writer whether the action made you squirm. Did it
raise the tension to an uncomfortable level? Give examples of detail that
worked or didn't work. Could the writing have been tighter? Was the piece
balanced? Did the action scene fit realistically into a plot or was it just
one big car chase or explosion? Would you read on?
Web site created by
Rhéal Nadeau and
the administrators of the Internet Writing Workshop.
Modified by Gayle Surrette.
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