This week: Is Action a Standalone Genre? Edited by: Jayne đ¸ď¸ đˇď¸  
More Newsletters By This Editor 
 
1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions
| I thought I'd swing by and stir up some trouble. Don't worry, I'm just visiting. Although, I do kind of like it here. |
The action genre (particularly in film) became a hotly contested topic in the 1970s and has remained unsettled since. For those of us furiously turning the pages of our latest fast-paced novel or enjoying popcorn during an intense movie where the bad guys seem to appear from around every corner, we understand action to be, well, action.
Yet, among those smarter than I (or perhaps with more time on their hands), genres are a cultural study combining the disciplines of sociology and anthropology. They narrow down how genres use repetition and ideological values to create what we like to call âthe tropeâ.
More specifically, to be a well-defined genre, a collection of the tropes must work as an identifier of the genre itself, in a way that is not only easily recognizable but also consistent. This is where action gets itself into trouble. There are very few clear instances of action in the purest sense of how a genre would stand on its own while still maintaining any sense of plot cohesion.
That was the extremely long-winded and boring way of saying action may be more of a style of storytelling that traverses through multiple genres, as opposed to a genre of its own.
Before you hammer on your keyboard to tell me how wrong I am, Iâm the first one to admit thereâs plenty of dissenting opinion. There are entire thesis dissertations on the matter. Even so, itâs no coincidence that action is often paired with its cousin, adventure. The genre lines become a little fuzzy once we introduce a plot to the action happening within it.
Not that modern writing isnât one big genre-blender of fresh takes on old tropes, anyway. Westerns with science fiction. Adventure with dystopia. Fantasy and noir. You know what they all have in them? Yeah, thatâs right. Action.
Action remains a perennial genre that pops up everywhere, piggybacking on some other genreâs plot device. Iâm not arguing it isnât pulling its own weight. It may, in fact, be propping up the narratives of the genres itâs working with. I wouldnât even relegate it to âsupporting actorâ status. When the impact of your plot is driven by the action—then âactionâ is definitely one way to describe it. But when you describe your plot as a whole, does âactionâ stand alone as the basis of the story?
If you take, for example, any of the following genres, itâs simply implied that action is going to fit in there somewhere; itâs almost an afterthought.
 Western
Adventure
Thriller/Crime/Mob
Horror
Science Fiction
Fantasy
Itâs fairly easy to identify what sets those genres apart when you strip the action element out of them. But is the reverse true for action? If you strip the fantasy or thriller components out of action, what are you left with? A bunch of fight scenes does not a genre make.
When debating on whether action is a reasonable genre choice, it likely comes down to the amount of action present in the work. After all, if a collection of fight scenes without a plot doesnât make a genre, then a single action scene in a story does not make the case for a genre label of âactionâ. If it did, it would have to be one epic action scene, thatâs for sure.
Even if action cannot make the case to support itself, it is a fundamental piece of countless other genres. If action consumes much of your story, it is obviously valid to call it, at least in part, âactionâ. Audiences know what to expect when they see âactionâ tied in with other genres and are pretty good at sussing out whether the action is going to be the primary driver of the story, or simply a function of the main genreâs requirements.
Since nobody wants to disappoint their audience, make sure you know where, and how, action fits into your story.
|
| | Burnt Skerry (18+)
A pirate on a quest for a Fire Microlith finds it a more dangerous task than he imagined.
#2268171 by A E Willcox  |
| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2268053 by Not Available. |
Nominate someone for a Quill!
Enter some contests!
|
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.
|
Action/Adventure: March 09, 2022 Issue [#11255]
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
