The 6 Scenes Every Action Novel Needs

https://www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/action-obligatory-scenes

The 6 Scenes Every Action Story Needs

obligatory scenes

In today's post, I'm covering the obligatory scenes of the action genre. If you
want to write an exciting action story that works -- and that satisfies fans of
the genre -- then you need to nail these six key scenes in your novel.

I’m also going to show you how these key scenes manifest in three
popular movies—Iron Man, The Hunger Games, and Guardians of the
Galaxy.

Why movies? Why not books?

Well, the simple answer is that movies require less time investment than
books. I’m hoping that if you haven’t seen these movies, you’ll watch them
after reading this post to help cement these key scenes in your mind.
But, before we get into what those six key scenes are, let’s go over some
basics.

Fiction Writing Made Easy

Th 6 S E A ti N lN d

What Makes an Action Story?

Action stories are about life and death and good versus evil. They’re
about a character who has to rise up, overcome great obstacles, defeat
forces of evil, and maybe even save the world.

But that being said, these stories aren’t always about superheroes. In fact,
the protagonist in an action story is usually someone who is like us, but
different.

They’re special or unique in some way -- and because of that, they’re

often misunderstood by the rest of society. And that is what makes this
genre so relatable.

Because even if we don't have magical powers, special abilities, or an

unwavering faith in a certain mission or destiny, we’ve all experienced the
curse of feeling different or being misunderstood. And this is where action
stories come in.

They show us how we can not only embrace the things that make us
different, but how we can use those things to fight against the evil forces in
our lives. They show us how we have the power to be the hero of our own
story and make a difference in the world, too.

Beyond that, action stories can have any tone or style, be set in any place or
time, and have various levels of romance, mystery, adventure, or
magic. They can include different subplots as long as the protagonist’s
fight for survival (against the antagonist) remains the focus of the
story.

Why do people read action stories?

People choose to read action stories to experience the excitement of the life
and death stakes and situations that the protagonist is presented with.

But it’s not just about that -- like I said earlier, we choose these stories
because they inspire us to become the best versions of ourselves, too.

These stories show us that even a character destined for greatness has
problems -- and that their problems aren’t too different from our own.
I mean, how many of us have had fantasies about being special or about
rising up and proving that we’re better than our peers or better than those
who try to keep us down? I know I have -- and I’m sure you have, too.

So, it’s that plus the good versus evil dichotomy that reassures us that if we
keep at it, if we embrace our unique gifts or talents, we know that good will
eventually prevail.

And like all genre fiction, you have to deliver the emotional experience
readers are looking for in order for your story to work. To deliver this
emotional experience, you need to include the obligatory scenes and
conventions of your genre in your novel.

What are obligatory scenes and conventions?

Conventions are a reasonably well-defined set of roles, settings, events,

and values that are specific to a genre. They're the things that readers
intuitively expect to be present in a work of genre fiction whether they
consciously realize it or not.

Obligatory scenes are the key events, decisions, and discoveries that
move the protagonist along on his or her journey. They’re what help us
write a story that works and when coupled with your genre’s conventions,
help us evoke emotional reactions in our readers. 
Long story short, if you don’t deliver the obligatory scenes and
conventions of your genre, your story just won’t work.

So, what are the obligatory scenes of the action genre? Let’s take a look at

our three case studies (warning–spoilers ahead):

Key Scenes of the Action Genre are:

1.  The Life-Threatening Attack Scene.

The first key scene your action story needs is a scene in which there’s a life-
threatening attack by the antagonist (or the antagonistic force). So, this is
something that takes away your protagonist’s agency and has a
destabilizing effect on their life.

Usually, the protagonist fails to register the need to respond to this attack,
or they choose to avoid engagement because they’re focused on a different
goal. In other words, they assume that whatever happened in this scene is
someone else’s problem, so they make the minimum effort necessary when
responding, essentially skirting the responsibility to respond. 

Case Studies:

In The Hunger Games, it’s the day of the reaping and Katniss’ sister,
Prim, is chosen as the female tribute for District 12. Because Katniss’s
 main goal in life is to keep her sister safe, Katniss volunteers to take
Prim’s place as tribute. Her goal is now survival.
In Iron Man, during a demonstration of his new Jericho missile in
Afghanistan, Tony Stark is captured by a group of terrorists called the
Ten Rings. Raza, leader of the Ten Rings, offers Tony his freedom in
exchange for building them a Jericho missile, but Tony knows that Raza
isn’t likely to keep his word. 
In Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill tries to sell the stolen orb to his
buyer on Xandar, but the buyer wants nothing to do with it after he
hears that Ronan’s cronies are also after the orb. As Peter leaves, he’s
attacked by Gamora and she steals the orb from him. 

2. The Protagonist Half-Commits Scene.

The second key scene your action story needs is a scene in which the
protagonist half-commits to going against the antagonist. And usually,
before this moment happens, the antagonist attacks again or the
protagonist receives more information about prior events (that happened
earlier in the story, like in the inciting incident), and they begin to recognize
and make sense of the chaos unfolding around them.

So, either the antagonist attacks again which leads the protagonist to start
engaging in the conflict more, or the protagonist learns or realizes
something that pushes them to half-commit to engaging with the conflict.
Essentially, in this scene, the protagonist decides to take up the mission to
restore some kind of order to their life and to the lives of everyone else
around them.

Case Studies:

In The Hunger Games, Katniss and crew arrive in the Capital to

prepare for the Hunger Games. She’s committed to learning how to
survive in the arena because there’s no other option, but surviving is
only half the battle. At this point, she’s not even thinking about the
“bigger evil,” President Snow and the Capital, because she’s so focused
on survival.
 In Iron Man, after Tony uses version one of the Iron Man suit to escape
the terrorists, he calls a press conference and announces that Stark
Industries will no longer make weapons. Although it seems like Tony is
committed to doing the “right thing,” he’s still not dealing with the real
problem -- Obadiah Stane.
In Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter learns from Gamora that Ronan
wants the orb so that he can trade it to Thanos in exchange for Thanos
destroying Xandar. Gamora also shares that she has another buyer for
the orb which prompts Peter to team up with her and the rest of the
crew -- Groot, Rocket, and Drax. At this point, Peter thinks that once he
gets his share of the money from the sale, he can move on with his life.

3. The Protagonist Understands What the Antagonist Wants

Scene.

The third key scene is a scene in which the protagonist gains an

understanding of the antagonist’s MacGuffin, or what the antagonist wants.
This is also where the protagonist learns about the antagonist’s true nature
or purpose. So, essentially, they’re learning what the antagonist wants and
why they want it.

And usually, this happens because the protagonist has done something that
the antagonist didn’t expect -- so, they’ve taken some kind of action that
makes the antagonist assert their power, thus revealing their hand.

Because of this, the protagonist realizes that things will never be able to go
back to normal and that this half-commitment to going against the
antagonist isn’t going to solve the problem. This scene is often the midpoint
of the global story.

Case Studies:

In The Hunger Games, Katniss and the rest of the tributes finally enter
the arena. This is when she gets her first full glimpse at the carnage that
occurs within the games -- and when she’s almost killed by another
tribute. She sees first hand what President Snow and the gamemakers
 will do in the name of good television. (Note: this is quite different than
the midpoint in the book). 
In Iron Man, Tony goes to a benefit hosted by Stark Industries and a
reporter confronts him about how their weapons were used by the Ten
Rings used to destroy the town of Gulmira. Tony confronts Obadiah and
Obadiah admits that he was the one who filed the injunction against
Tony and got him locked Tony out of Stark Industries. Here, Tony
realizes that he’s essentially lost control of his company and that he’s
going to have to take matters into his own hands now. 
In Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter and crew take the orb to the
Collector and learn that it’s not just any old orb, it’s an Infinity Stone
with the ability to destroy whole planets. This forces Peter and the entire
crew to reconsider their plan for selling it. Now that they know what
Ronan wants and why he wants it, can they still sell it to the highest
bidder?

4. The Protagonist's Initial Strategy Fails Scene.

The fourth key scene you’ll want to include in your action story is a scene in
which the protagonist reaches an “all is lost” moment and realizes they
must change their approach if they want to survive. Whatever strategy they
had at the beginning of the story has officially failed, and it seems like death
is an absolute certainty. The protagonist now has to decide how they want
to live their final moments now that death feels imminent.

Case Studies:

In The Hunger Games, Katniss returns from blowing up the career

tribute’s food only to find Rue stuck in a trap. Shortly after, Rue is shot
down by a spear and she dies. Katniss mourns Rue’s death by decorating
her body with flowers and then turns to the sky and lifts three fingers --
an act that shows she’s ready to go against President Snow and the
Capital. She’s gone from a survival-obsessed girl who will do anything to
win to someone who’s ready to rebel against the Capital and make her
final moments mean something.
 In Iron Man, Tony learns that Obadiah is the one who called in the hit
on him in the first place. Obadiah also reveals that he’s building a suit of
his own and then steals the arc reactor from Tony and leaves him to die.
Luckily, Tony manages to recover the old arc reactor that Pepper saved
for him in the lab. 
In Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter and crew are confronted by Ronan
and Nebula -- in his desire for revenge, Drax has summoned them.
Unfortunately, Drax meets his match in Ronan and is bested by him.
Meanwhile, Gamora is expelled from her ship (along with the Infinity
Stone), and Nebula obtains the orb for Ronan. Peter makes a last-minute
decision to call Yondu for help, even though it means certain death for
him. 

5. The Protagonist is at the Mercy of the Antagonist Scene

The fifth key scene your action story needs is a scene in which the
protagonist is at the mercy of the antagonist. So, this is a moment where the
protagonist finally faces off with the antagonist, and in order to win, he or
she has to use their special gift, talent, or skill to save themselves and
others.

In most cases, this scene will contain at least one element of sacrifice --
either on the protagonist’s part or on the part of other characters. And
because of that, the protagonist is not only fighting to five their final
moments meaning, they’re also fighting for their allies’ lives, and the lives
of innocent people, too. This is the big moment the story has been leading
up to -- it’s that climactic moment readers have been waiting for since page
one.

Case Studies:

In The Hunger Games, the gamemakers announce another rule change

saying there can only be one victor now, not two. Katniss hatches a plan
that involves her and Peeta eating poisonous berries so that the Capital
won’t have their winner -- she is literally willing to give up her life to
revolt against the Capital. It’s no longer about winning, or just surviving
for Katniss -- it’s about righting an epic wrong. And because of Katniss’
 decision here, the gamemakers announce that both Katniss and Peeta
have won -- and that for the first time in history, there are two winners
of this year’s Hunger Games.
In Iron Man, Tony flies in for a final confrontation with Obadiah, who is
now in his Iron Monger suit. Not only is the Iron Monger suit much
bigger than the Iron Man suit, but Tony is working with an older arc
reactor, making him less powerful than Obadiah. In the peak of the
conflict, Obadiah has Tony at his mercy, but luckily Tony and Pepper
work together to blow up the big arc reactor in the factory and Obadiah
(along with his Iron Monger suit) is destroyed. 
In Guardians of the Galaxy, after crash landing on Xandar, Peter and
crew face off against the power of the Infinity Stone (which Ronan
decided to keep for himself instead of giving to Thanos). When Peter
grabs the Infinity Stone, it seems that he’s about to die, but luckily, he
joins hands with the rest of the crew and they share the burden of it’s
awful power. They dispatch Ronan shortly after.

6. The Hero’s Sacrifice is Rewarded Scene

The sixth and final key scene you need to include in your action story is a
scene in which the protagonist is rewarded for their sacrifice. So,
sometimes this is when the protagonist wins a medal, or they finally get the
girl, or they finally just feel happy or fulfilled for the first time in their lives.
Essentially, this is just bringing the story to a close and giving readers a
sense that the protagonist’s sacrifice was worth it and that their actions did
have meaning. So, what is their life like now? How have things changed?

Case Studies:

In The Hunger Games, Peeta and Katniss leave the arena and are
crowned victors. They return home to District 12 together and move into
a special area of town designated for tributes who have survived. 
In Iron Man, Tony survives and gets control of his company back.
Obadiah is dead and Stark Industries will no longer be supplying
weapons to terrorists. During a press conference, Tony announces that
he’s Iron Man. 
 In Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter and crew survive the confrontation
with Ronan. They’re now friends. Peter’s ship gets fixed, his records are
expunged, and they’re all granted a pardon by the Xandrian
government. 

Final Thoughts

You're probably thinking, "This is so obvious! Tell me something I don't

know!" But seriously, you'd be surprised how many first drafts I see that are
missing these key moments.

These are the scenes that readers come to action stories for.

Everyone wants to see the moment where the protagonist faces off with the
antagonist and they use that special talent or skill to defeat them, right? Can
you imagine an action story without that scene? It just wouldn't be the
same. 

So, don't leave these key scenes out! 

Find a way to give the reader what they want, in new and unexpected
ways, and you'll gain fans for life. Many great action stories stick with us
because they include these key scenes in an innovative way. You can do
this, too!
👉 Let's discuss in the comments: Are you writing an action novel? How
do you come up with innovative ways to deliver the obligatory scenes of the
genre?

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