How to Write an Action Sequence.

A road-map of sorts

Image: Dall-E

This is a polished up version of something I wrote for a writers' room a couple of years ago. Action sequences are a tricky beast. Most scripts require them, even if they sometimes come disguised; the "run to the airport" sequence at the end of a romcom is technically an action sequence, even though it rarely involves carnage and car chases.

For the purposes of the exercise, I'm going to talk about the more obvious action sequences, but you can use a lot of this for any sequence where the story is not conveyed by people talking. And story is the key thing here - a good action sequence (dare I say a "correct" action sequence) conveys or continues story. An action sequence which does not move the story along just breaks the flow. We should be in a different place at the end of the sequence to where we were at the beginning. If you can cut the sequence without having any effect on the overall story, then it shouldn't be there.

So let's assume that the sequence you want to write serves a function and DOES belong in the story. Where the Hell do you start and how do you structure it? Action is a tricky thing to write, and a tricky thing to make interesting to the reader. I know a lot of writers who think they can't write these sequences, and so avoid them whenever possible. But I think there are a few simple tips to make the process more navigable.

The main thing to bear in mind is the number 3. It occurs a lot in screenwriting and storytelling, most notably in the three-act structure. And that's what we need here. Any action sequence, however short, needs a three-act structure; a beginning, a middle and an end.

I'm basing the beats here on Blake Snyder's "Save The Cat" structure, because it's the easiest way to walk through it. Vogler works just as well; anything based on three acts works, but Snyder's is nice and clear:

ACT ONE

Ordinary World

This is the world BEFORE the action starts, the status quo of the story at the point that we are going to start our sequence. Unlike the beginning of the movie, this is not necessarily a calm place. The "status quo" that precedes the car chase in The French Connection is the failed assassination attempt on Popeye Doyle. He's just avoided being shot. He sees the gunman running away and he gives chase...

The Set-Up

This is where we set out our stall, where we present the stage and note the stakes. In a Roger Moore Bond movie, this is the place where we see the fruit vendors wheeling their carts out onto the street. We're surveying the playground, noting things that might become obstacles or problems along the way, we're setting up the stage.

In Michael Mann's Heat, we have the robbers in the bank, bagging up the money, and we have the cops racing to take up position outside the building. We're building tension, setting up the conflict that is about to happen.

Catalyst

And this is where it all kicks off. In Heat, the robbers come out of the bank and get into the car. The cops have line of sight, but they're holding off because there are too many civilians around.

Then Val Kilmer's character spots movement across the street and he immediately starts firing. We're off to the races.

Debate

No one WANTS to be in a life or death situation. Even the most heroic of characters would like to find a way out if they can. Can they talk their way out of this? Can they run? To get the sequence going, the answer has to be no. But you still need to pose the question, however briefly.

Back to Heat: Val Kilmer is shooting up the place, but De Niro tells the driver to get them out of there. No one wants a gunfight, they want to escape.

Break Into Two

The protagonist commits - this is happening. In The Avengers, this is the tracking shot around the whole team, assembled, just after the Hulk joins the fray (that’s an interesting example, because there’s actually a hell of a lot of fighting in the “Debate” stage of that sequence, because it’s the heroes figuring out what they’re about to fight and how to do it).

In Heat, the driver of the car is shot and the car crashes. Now the robbers will have to fight their way out of trouble.

Out hero “crosses the threshold” here. Ideally, they do it themselves, rather than get pushed across, but either way, the debate is over and they are now committed to the action.

Act One can take several minutes, or it could just be a few lines; the hero spills someone's drink in a bar, is challenged to a fight, tries to calm the situation, fails, commits to the brawl.