by Jeffe KennedyA little while back, I made a remark on Twitter about reading action scenes.
Yeah, yeah - I'm forever making remarks on Twitter. Shut up.
THIS particular remark started a conversation, as opposed to all my remarks that go unread, unheard, like a tree falling in a forest where not even the least bunny is squished. I said that I tend to skim the fight scenes because I find them generally dull. She swings her vorpal blade, he ducks and fires up the light saber. She spins, kicks, falls. He punches, grunts, dives.
I pretty much skip to the end to find out who wins, so, with plot point in hand, I can continue the story.
Other people - with surprisingly virulent opinions on the topic - said that no, they skim the sex scenes and the fight scenes are the interesting, exciting bits.
Hmm. See, I come from the side of the campfire that just can't see how a fight scene could be more interesting than a sex scene. Not that I haven't read some bad, boring sex scenes. They're out there. But they're hardly the Tab A into Slot B descriptions that detractors like to drag out.
I suspect part of it comes from a fundamental discomfort with sex for many people. The cultural norm that lets kids see brains blown out but not naked breasts. Movie censoring is predicated much more on parsing what sex is shown, as opposed to exactly what kind of dismembering. And isn't it interesting that sex acts are private but violent ones are public?
With both sex and action scenes, where the danger is falling into stage direction rather than storytelling, the key is the emotional changes that transpire. They're both about interpersonal interaction, not just "they fight" or "they have sex."
But then, I'm a girl.
I expect those of you out there who love to read and write the action scenes will tell me that a great, big explosion is reason enough. Marcella insists that explosions are plot points.
For me? I stick to what I know. The golden rule of writing. Yes, that's me above, performing my amazing umbrella trick at a demonstration. I studied internal martial arts for some years and this was a neat little bit of deception and side-step. An aggressive man approaches, she turns away. He pushes into her space - she pops open the umbrella and, under its cover, snaps a kick to his balls.
That's my action scene, quickly over. I'd always finish by strolling away with a smile while I twirled my parasol.
Love a happy ending.
Good points Jeffe. I like to read and write both sex and action scenes! I'd gladly pay to see a movie with exciting car chases/horse-back chases/explosions/spaceships/swords/superheroes. A romance or romantic comedy...meh. Dunno what that says about me. I also WILL NOT watch a child in jeopardy/child getting hurt movie...but I've put Beverley in plenty of danger in my books. :-)
ReplyDeleteArguably, though - romances and romantic comedies don't necessarily have intense sex scenes, or any at all. Whereas a darker thriller of a movie, like In the Cut, has both. But you're right - I'll read stuff I can't watch. (and likely vice-versa)
ReplyDeleteI've written both, and I agree completely that you want to avoid 'stage direction' in either. On the other hand, there are times when some trivial detail might be important, and the only way to keep some dramatic tension is to put some actual trivial details in to camoflage it.
ReplyDeleteThat goes for both sex and action scenes, actually.
Of course, one of my favorite styles, which people either love or hate, is the matrix-like 'bullet time' action scene, specifically because it lets me put all that loaded emotional content into the scene. Fight scenes, if they're detailed beyond a 'bam-pow-BANG' "Winner!", should be as emotionally laden as the sex scenes. Different emotions, maybe, but still emotions.
I can totally see that, Robert - interesting points. Love your "bam-pow-BANG Winner!" break-down. The action scene version of Tab A and Slot B. Both need to be much more to be effective storytelling.
ReplyDeleteOoooooohhhhhh, my topic! Can't wait til tomorrow. :)
ReplyDeleteI am the opposite of you. I really love a good action scene. And there are some interesting correlations between what makes a good fight scene and what makes a good sex scene.
Good post my friend! It's interesting to read your perspective.
Yeah, I knew this kind of thing would come of letting BOYS in the club! ;-) I'm looking forward to the rebuttal.
ReplyDeleteLOL-love the quick & dirty action scene-gets the job done. I usually skim the fight scenes & have been known to close my eyes in the movie theater during the chase/fight scenes. Of course if the sex scene is boring, I'll skip that too.
ReplyDeleteStrangely enough, I succumb to more "is that physically possible" conundrums when writing sex scenes vs action scenes. I imagine it's because you can bring all sorts of stuff to a fight, but there's a definite limit with sex.
ReplyDeleteI'm an eye-closer, too, Diane. There are just some things I don't want burned into my brain - and that always means gore, not the smexy, for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree, KAK. People do take liberties with sex scenes that can be annoying. Like the whole "natural lubrication" thing. No no no....
I like to read both sex and fight scenes as long as they're well written. Both can get quite tedious if written badly.
ReplyDeleteVery true, Sullivan! I expect that's the key.
ReplyDeleteVery thought provoking post, Jeffe. I like reading and writing both fight and sex scenes, but I've found myself skimming them sometimes when I read.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I tried to pinpoint why some work for me and some don't. Why does one fight/sex scene keep me riveted, where I drink up every word, and others have me going, meh, and turning the page?
I guess it comes down to emotional depth for me. If the scene reveals something about the character I didn't know before--a fear, an insecurity, a hope, a goal (other than winning or climaxing-LOL), it keeps me riveted. I *need* to read that scene in order to understand that character or the story better.
If it doesn't have emotional depth (okay, so she beats the crap out of the villain; he has an orgasm and it's spectacular, whatever), then I skim over it and get onto the next part of the book.
Thanks for getting me to think this morning!
That's really great feedback, Laurie - very true. Having a goal or transformation besides the martial/sexual intercourse is, as you say, what makes a scene riveting. Something to ponder. And for me to improve on!
ReplyDeleteI like reading both. I prefer writing action/fight scenes purely because of that 'uncomfortable with making a private act public' thing you mention about sex. I'm working on writing it anyway. However. Like Laurie, I seem to be wired so that the scene must have a point beyond 'need a fight or sex scene here'. In a perfect world, I want characters driven to the point that there are no other options than either blowing something up or, possibly, blowing one another. :D If the drive is lacking and there are no consequences or revelations following the smexy or the fight, then I feel vaguely cheated.
ReplyDeleteLOL - "no other options than either blowing something up or, possibly, blowing one another" <--love it!
ReplyDeleteHahaha Marcella! Kind of like how they'd put the obligatory sex scene in 80's movies (or the scene w/ the topless actress) just because that was the "formula" at the time, not because it made sense to the story.
ReplyDeleteHa, yes! Everybody had meetings in strip clubs. How on earth did they justify that??
ReplyDeleteI agree with those that say the action, whether fighting or sex, has to have a point and not just be there for the sake of it. If it is pivotal to the characters development and the plot they can get as down and dirty as they like and I'll hang in there clapping and cheering! I don't need a book to have sex scenes but if it's calling out for one/some and they are skimmed over it's hugely frustrating.
ReplyDeleteAlso I don't find sex scenes in movies as satisfyingly intense as those I read, ever, maybe the fact that the writer's description is filtered through the reader's mind, allowing the reader more use of their own imaginiation, helps, whereas I find fight/chase scenes in movies easier to understand than those I read.
:shrug: I find that I can flip past most sex scenes and not lose the story thread. For me, they're mostly been there done that, and the ones that aren't same ol' same ol' get too bizarre to want to do other than skim past. Fight scenes on the other hand are mostly different, and the bizarre ones don't leave me feeling sympathy pains in my sensitive bits.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting point, cuttlefish. I'm thinking that I hear film buffs rave about amazingly well choreographed fight scenes, but rarely do sex scenes get the same praise. Is it because sex scenes in movies are usually about either "look at the pretty bodies" or "here, wank off to this"? hmm.
ReplyDeleteYou are too funny, B.E.!
Yes, you never really hear much that's positive about movie sex scenes!
ReplyDeleteI think it's easier, for me at least, to lose myself in a book; when I watch something on screen I'm always aware on some level that they are actors playing a role, whereas the charaters in a book are just being themselves - if you see what I mean?!
I do know what you mean - I'm far more likely to project myself into a book character's experiences than a movie character's. In movies, though, I usually feel very aware of who the actors are and their personalities. Like the very good sex scenes in In the Cut I still remember as Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo. I suspect Hollywood likes it that way.
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