Writing Action & Adventure: Stories in Motion

Rosemi Mederos: 00:01

If you have plot bunnies coming out of your plot holes, it’s time for a writing break.

We have a new microphone in the studio today. Let me know what you think.

In this episode, we’re talking about action and adventure, and it's going to be a pretty short episode, which is fitting for the genre. This genre guarantees chases, escapes, discoveries, and narrow misses. The danger keeps coming whether your characters are ready for it or not. Readers want to see your protagonist surviving by sheer force of will. The constant questions in action and are: What happens next, and how fast can we get there?

In this episode we'll discuss things like how to keep momentum going without exhausting your audience (and yourself) and how to avoid the trap of writing action that looks exciting but feels hollow.

The Writing Break cafe is open, so let's step inside and plan your next adventure.

Adventure and action stories are about external movement and external stakes. This is not an inward-facing genre. While characters still grow and change, the primary engine of the story is physical: a journey, a mission, an escape, a pursuit, or a discovery.

Adventure stories are often structured around a clear objective, a hostile or unpredictable environment, and obstacles that must be overcome through ingenuity and endurance.

Readers come to adventure and action for momentum. They want to feel carried away. They expect spectacle and danger. They want to see your hero swinging, climbing, and crashing. There should be a clear line between the protagonist and whatever stands in their way, whether that’s an enemy, the environment, time, or all three. The story earns its meaning through what characters do, not just what they think, but this does not mean the writing is shallow.

In action and adventure, pacing and escalation are key. These stories thrive on forward motion. Scenes should end with momentum, and even the quieter moments exist to reset the tension rather than to remove it. A chase scene should not just be running in a straight line. It should introduce new problems, blocked paths, collapsing terrain, unexpected allies, sudden betrayals, and injuries that slow the hero down.

Each challenge should be harder than the last, more dangerous than the last, and more costly than the last.

The cost is going to be physical, emotional, or moral. Just like in mystery and detective stories, in action and adventure, nonstop action without variation is draining to both the reader and the author. Make sure to insert short pauses, strategic lulls, and moments of regrouping so that the next surge of action hits hard.

Then, there is your story's setting, which in action and adventure books are often unfamiliar and deadly locations. The environment should create obstacles, raise stakes, and direct action. In this way, the setting is an active participant in the story.

For example, in adventure writing, a desert might exhaust the characters and mountains might isolate the characters. If the setting could be swapped out without changing the plot, then the setting is not doing enough work.

So, what about your protagonist? This hero doesn't have to be clever or have a great deal of emotional insight, but they do have to be resilient. They are not invincible. They do get hurt, and they get tired, and they fail. And then they keep going. They survive by adapting, improvising, and refusing to quit. The reader should feel that survival is earned. And don’t forget the internal conflicts. Readers want a hero they can root for, and no matter how spectacular your adventure is, readers need at least one reason to care.

Now, let’s talk about what trips writers up. The first pitfall is endless action with no arc. If every scene has a fight, a chase, or an explosion, readers stop processing what’s happening. Action only works when it changes the situation. There must be consequences, and every trial should reveal something. Maybe it reveals what the hero values or what they’re afraid of or what they’ll sacrifice to keep going. Adventure protagonists succeed because they endure longer than the danger lasts.

The second pitfall is when authors write "video game levels.” So that means the hero clears one obstacle, then the next, then the next, but nothing builds. The challenges feel repetitive rather than escalating.

To avoid this pitfall, ask yourself three questions per obstacle: (1) Is this obstacle different from the last?; (2) Does it force a new decision?; and (3) Does it raise the stakes?

Adventure stories endure because they tap into the human desire to move forward, to explore, to discover, and to survive uncertainty. They remind us that courage means doing the thing even when you're scared.

Before we wrap up, here’s your overthinking prompt for the week. And just a reminder, overthinking prompts do not have to be written down, but they do have to be overthought. Come up with a chase scene where the environment is the primary obstacle. Let the setting trip, block, trap, or mislead your protagonist. Focus on movement, physical sensation, and decision-making under pressure. There doesn't have to be explosions, but there does have to be momentum.

Next time, we’ll look at Dystopia & Utopia, where the world itself be the antagonist.

Until then, thank you so much for listening, and remember, you deserved this break.