f. The ‘Page Turner’ and Action Fiction
Fiction doesn’t always strive to be thought-provoking and artistically impressive. Sometimes it is simply there to entertain an audience, and allow the reader to whittle away a few hours in a fantastical narrative. These are the books that keep us reading, that we read purely for enjoyment because, when we really stop and think about them, there is very little else to praise about them than to say they were a ‘fun ride’.
One type of book that falls squarely into this category is the ‘action’ genre of writing. These books go by many names: some people call them ‘page turners’ because we just keep flipping over the pages, some call them ‘airport fiction’ because they’re the types of books you grab before a long flight (something easy and fun that can keep you distracted for a while), and some people call them ‘blockbuster’ fiction, because they can often gain huge audiences and require . Yet regardless of what name you know them by, chances are you’ve read at least one of these books.
We will be looking at sections from the novels of two popular authors that fit withing this genre:
Task One: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Dan Brown likes to use ‘cliff hanger’ endings to his chapters to keep his audience reading. The reader gets hooked by the ending of a chapter by some big revelation or shift in the narrative, and then has to begin reading the next chapter to find out what happens. Because the chapters are so short, the reader soon finds themselves reading yet another chapter…
Have a look at the extract from The Da Vinci Code, and pay attention to how Brown uses this technique to get the reader hooked on the narrative.
Now, have a go at writing your own ‘cliff hanger’. Write a one page scene where you lead towards a important or exciting event or revelation, and then stop, leaving the reader hanging in a way that makes them want to keep reading.
Task Two: Area 7 by Matthew Reilly
Pick a five page section of the extract from Area 7 by Matthew Reilly. Read it carefully and use three different coloured highlighters to identify the following:
- Uses of verbs (i.e. what is being done).
- Uses of adverbs (i.e. how is it being done).
- Uses of short sentences.
How does the author use these features? What impact do they have on how the story reads?
Task Three: Writing Action Fiction
Write an action scene of your own, focusing on making it engaging and exciting. Do not spend too long discussing characters, setting, themes, or larger issues of plot. Instead focus entirely on the action that is occurring.
Pay close attention to the language you use. Having frequent short, sharp descriptions which make use of carefully targeted adjectives and adverbs is a good way to keep the pact of your piece moving. Having brief sentences and frequent paragraphs will also help to keep things moving and build up the action within your writing.