When I started writing SHOWGIRLS AND ALIENS I wanted to try my hand at action writing, I've got some friends who are really great at it. I knew I couldn't be as good as them so I wrote a comedy filled with action. I know I can do humor. I've done this before, in AN EXTRA TOPPING OF HORROR the last third of the book was sheer action comedy. The comedy covering up my choppy action writing.
I figured I could do the same with SHOWGIRLS AND ALIENS it is the sequel sort of, so what could go wrong?
My first draft's action was a bit choppy, the comedy was gold and somehow the characters were great. So I really worked on getting the action scenes up to par. Somehow I overdid it, the book is a comedy, the number one principal I had when writing and editing it was every scene had to be funny. Slapstick, dark humor, or satire they can all be used to influence the pacing. The second thing I insisted on was the characters had to be interesting in their own world. Even the secondary characters. The action was never supposed to be a selling point.
My second round of readers are in love with the action scenes and feel the comedy takes away from the action. I can't take all the credit for readers liking the actions scenes, I did get a few great action writers to help me polish those scenes, but it surprises me that people are liking the action more than the comedy.
If nothing else it was a great learning experience. I don't have to shy away from action anymore.
By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE
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1 comment:
Well, and there you go.
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