Action (fiction)

Action is one of the fiction-writing modes authors use to present fiction. Action includes movement, usually dramatic as opposed to arbitrary movements such as standing up. The term is also used to describe an exciting event or circumstance.

Action as a fiction-writing mode

"Action is the mode fiction writers use to show what is happening at any given moment in the story," states Evan Marshall (Marshall 1998, p. 142). Jessica Page Morrell lists action as one of six delivery modes (Morrell 2006, p. 127). According to Jordan E. Rosenfeld, action scenes help the "reader to feel he is participating in the events" (2008 Rosenfeld, p. 173). Although action is widely used in fiction, the most-effective techniques for its presentation are a subject of ongoing discussion.

Action genre

The action genre is a class of creative works characterized by emphasis on exciting action sequences. This does not always mean they exclude character development or story-telling. The genre encompasses action fiction, action films, action games and analogous media in other formats such as manga and anime. There are many subgenres, including martial arts action, extreme sports action, car chases and vehicles, suspense action, and action comedy, with each focusing in more detail on its own type and flavour of action. It is usually possible to tell from the creative style of an action sequence, the genre of the entire creative works. For example, the style of a combat sequence will indicate whether the entire works is an action adventure, or martial arts. Action is mainly defined by a lot of focus on any kind of movement.

See also

• Action film
• Fiction
• List of genres
• Rhetorical modes
• Style (fiction)
• Writing