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'I write my novels as movies and follow the same pacing and use the tricks I discovered while watching them.'

I used to go to the movies only for the action, the story and perhaps to swoon on some actor, but, when I started learning the craft of writing, I also learned to appreciate all the different aspects, the aural, visual, behavioral, the language element; the pacing, timing, the flashback effect required to tell the story on screen. So, I have developed or maybe it was there all the time, a getting into my movie mode when writing.

I am glad that you pointed out 'the crisis within a crisis' which in my estimation is difficult to write in order to gain the simultaneous and full effect that the screen can capture. We can use the words 'whilst, the phrase, in the meantime' but working it into the story takes a lot of hard work. I will read you entries your book(s). It's good advice.

I have used the adventure stimulis of a crisis within a crisis in my writing. I chose to do so as a vehicle to keep the story fresh and expose different aspects of the characters personalities.

I like to go to an occassional movie....but one of my associates in writing our last novel, spent an great deal of time watching movies and I'm afraid that after reviewing some of his contributions to the book we found them too similiar to movie clips and edited them from the manuscript.

I feel we should avail ourselves of anything the movie industry can contribute to our way of seeing things, but I also think we should be cautious to maintain the intregrity of the writers' craft and its unique individuality of entertainment.

Thank you for introducing this topic of discussion.
I will drop by your suggested site.

FFiore,

Thanks for sharing your journals, blogs, posts. Enjoyed reading your WordPress and Twitter posts, as well. Especially liked the results of your Poll and Famous Rejection Letters... good ones!

~Sharlet

Your point is well made. My only comment is: a movie is not a written narrative. The movie has a language of its own created by the set, the camera motion, the quality of the film (grainy, smooth, b&w, color, etc.). Rapid action invites visual attention in films. However, in writing, one can "see" action only by the serial ordering of words. Also, action novels (and movies) are only one genre. What writing does best is portray emotions and thought processes, the inner persons. Movies portray best the exterior of people. You can't just use the movies as the basis of your writing. Literature and film are different media, which is why novels made into films are often disappointing, and films into novels can be dreadful. Maybe you manage to make them good. If so, I salute you!!

Interesting conversation...all good points made. Thanks for sharing everyone. One thing I've learned is that we all have different ways in which we create. Some writers outline, others fly by the seat of their pants, some do both. But in the end, there is a common story structure that forms the skeleton of both novels and movies. Most use the 3 act structure and some use 4 but, basically, all have a beginning, a middle and an end, forming the 3 acts. Various writing techniques, and there are many, can be used in both action or character driven stories and in movies. In fiction, it's how we put the stories together that sets our voice apart and creates our particular writing style. In movies, the basic story structure is the same, but they do have a different set of techniques to work with. I believe it's easier to do some things in a movie because you can show it. An emotion can be shown through the actor's movement and expressions, etc. The tone can be set with lighting, music, and the local. In a novel, those same things need to be done but we have to "show' the emotion through the words we put on paper. Different mediums, but with similarities in structure and techniques. I use screenplay techniques all the time in writing because there's a definite crossover.

A crisis within a crisis is good suspense...always keep the reader wondering what will happen next. Many people think of suspense as action and speed, but it's not. Suspense is anticipation...that's what keeps readers and movie goers on pins and needles. It's simply wondering what happens next, whether it's non-stop action or lesser units of action. My hero can have a crisis within a crisis if he's simply walking to the store to get milk. He has a goal, something else happens and it has to make things worse. It's called escalating consequences. I learn from both movies and reading...and from discussions like this.

Cheers.