Karin Shah's Blog - Posts Tagged "alpha-heroes"

Fight scenes are one of the hardest scenes to write. How do you write a scene that requires so much cause end effect and linear sequencing without boring (or losing) the reader?

I start in layers.
Layer 1. Setting, we have to know where we are in order to know what's going on. A scene in an alley is different from a scene in a warehouse. If the walls of the alley are made of brick and my hero gets pinned up against it, he might be scraped. Sounds will travel differently. The items in the alley are props that act as obstacles or weapons of opportunity for the hero, the heroine or their enemies.
1.a Costume, if my hero is wearing a leather jacket, he's probably not going to feel the prick of the bricks through it. He definitely will if he's wearing a cotton t-shirt. Clothing can be tricky, it's not always easy to remember what you put on your hero. Proof reading for continuity is extremely important here.

2. Blocking, who did what to whom? This should be the easiest part, but making sure actions happen in order is harder than you might think. The hero is hit, then he feels the pain/blood/whatever. Describing each action can also be difficult. Not everybody knows what a side kick is, or any of the other martial arts terms. Descriptions should be as succinct as possible, a move that took under a second, can't take more than a sentence to describe or the reader may feel bogged down. A scene with a lot of moves may require a simple bushing over like "suddenly the biker was on his knees, his arm twisted behind his back." Check out this YouTube video of British martial artist stunt man/actor, Scott Adkins doing fight choreography for the movie Wolverine. (Notice he only has a wire on in the very last move:-)) Imagine describing some of these moves! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mog-oC...


3.Emotion, this is one of the most critical parts of a fight scene. The reader has to feel something, so the character needs to react and feel, as well. Even if he's just numb or detached, the reader has to know. When writing alpha heroes emotion can be one of the hardest things to convey during a fight scene. These are strong guys. They don't feel the fear or pain the way a regular person would. A good way to bring in the reader emotionally is to have the heroine react, or bystanders. Or put the heroine or his best friend in danger, or a child, pet, etc. They won't worry for themselves, but they have to worry for others. (Even if they cover it really well.:-) )

4. (Plot)Change, a fight scene, like a love scene, should not be gratuitous. When it's over, something has to have changed, whether it's the relationship between the hero and the heroine, an elevation in the danger, or a huge plot point. In my book IN LIKE A LION Jake and Anjali get into a car chase on a highway paralleling the Mojave National Preserve. They are driven off the road. Jake fights in almost pitch darkness and in the end they are forced into the vast, potentially deadly desert.

So if fight scenes are so complicated, why do I love them? 1.I'm a total fangirl of Martial Arts movies (ask me about Undisputed III) 2. I do Taekwondo. 3. They can: keep the pace going while raising the stakes, increase rooting interest, advance the relationship of the hero and heroine, and be great fun to read.

And you? Fight scenes, love 'em or hate 'em?

Stop by and say hello at Fangtastic books! And let me know how you feel about the heroine being a vampire!

http://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com/...

Another day, another blog spot, another chance to win a free copy of IN LIKE A LION.http://www.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com/ and find out why I ask if I'm weird...

Come and chat with me today at:

http://nightskydarkstar.blogspot.com/

Enter the contest for a chance to win or just keep a lonely author company. We can talk dogs or Supernatural or Grimm or Arrow...or whatever...:-)

Stop by at http://alliwantandmore.blogspot.com/2... and find out what the heck I'm talking about!:-)

Today Jake from IN LIKE A LION is interviewed at

http://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspo...

I hope you enjoy! Also, Soul Mate is having a promotion and IN LIKE A LION is currently priced at $3.99!

Have a great day!

Karin

I have two fancies. I show my dogs. And I write. Of course, the second is more of an obsession, but both subjects fill my inbox. The problem? Both subjects have very similar lexicons. For example, I see the subject heading "stacking". I think they're talking about stacking a dog so the judge can go over it. But, no. When I open the email, it's actually about stacking books. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just like expecting food to taste a certain way when you put it in your mouth. If it tastes different than you expect, sour instead of sweet, etc. It might not be bad, but it's--surprising.
Both my interests have newsletters. Both have "Bitches." one being Smart and Trashy and the other being actual female dogs. Many of my wring friends have the same first names (and sometimes similar last names) to my dog friends.

And then there's my own failing memory, (see The Screw-Up)

I suppose a solution would be to have two different email addresses, but I can hardly remember to check one, so I guess I'll have to live with the confusion. Just please don't be offended if I ask about your bitch....

How 'bout you? Got interests that confuse? I'd love to hear about them.:-)

Karin

Do you review? My novel IN LIKE A LION a shapeshifter spin-off from my vampire novel BLOOD AND KISSES is available free here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

All you have to do is follow the instructions.:-)

Of course, you're right! It's me.

I just returned my signed contract to Soul Mate Publishing for ENTITY MINE book 2 in the Chimera Chronicles series.

I'm really excited as this book had been delayed by a sad case of "Where do I go fro here?" when I changed my mind about my plans for the end. But I'm really happy with how it turned out! I got lions playing in Central Park and involved the Mara brothers, heroine Devon and Jake's mate Anjali in a heist!

I even had a character say, "...this exorcism isn't going to perform itself."

To say I had a blast is an understatement. Here's the blurb: (Warning this is a draft blurb. It needs work)

Former Navy SEAL turned maritime treasure hunter Ethan Wade has had a piss-poor year. After nearly choking out his financial backer costs him his livelihood, he retreats to an isolated rental house in Western, NY to lick his wounds and make sure he can't hurt anyone else. When his old crew track him down to convince him to come back, a Molotov cocktail of rage and alcohol drives him drives him to do something he's never done before, and doesn't even know he can do--
Shape-shift.
Unfortunately, in his ignorance, rather than shift into a lion or a dragon, he ends up disembodied. Not knowing what he is, he can only come to one conclusion. He's died and is a ghost.
Lawyer Devon Daughtry's year hasn't been one for the record books either. Blowing the whistle lost her her boyfriend, (not too much of a loss), her job, (a bit worse) and with the rents in Manhattan, a primo apartment (the straw that broke the camel's back).
Now she's home in Cassadaga determined to re-build her life by hanging out her shingle as a psychic medium.
When she discovers a photograph of Ethan while moving in, she's immediately drawn to him and is crushed to discover he's missing and presumed dead. Soon, she begins having passionate dreams about him. Dreams that Ethan shares.
But Ethan isn't the only being in the house, a demonic presence has followed her home and it has diabolical plans for both of them.

ENTITY MINE Coming early 2014!

Here's another small unedited snippet from my FEB/MAR 2014 release ENTITY MINE.

Devon, the heroine, has just found Ethan's photo and been told that he's dead.

His eyes were light, green or blue, maybe hazel--she squelched the urge to ask. No need to make her oldest friend question her sanity--and thick lashes, half-lowered, made him look reserved. His hair was dark and short, military in its ruthless precision. His face had a lean, sculpted quality, as if he were the product of some artist’s imagination. His straight nose slashed toward his mouth and his cheekbones sheered diagonally across his face, carving his jaw into almost perfect triangles on either side. His lips were held tight, the only softness in his face the slight fullness of his bottom lip above the mere whisper of a cleft chin.
He reclined beside a huge, glass jar of coins on the concrete front stoop of the small ranch-style house -- one long leg bent, the other straight, his large right hand tucked across his lean ribs, the left propped on the step beside him -- making a black t-shirt and jeans look as sexy as nothing at all. Sexier.
Something gripped her heart as she gazed at the photo. She swallowed against the feeling.
Had she ever seen anyone who looked more alone?

Cover reveal coming soon!