I've been blogging about how to write in a more literary fashion. This post is about defining terms and about gradations of action in a story. Some stories avoid any kind of physical danger. Modern and historical romance novels, children's stories, and other stories are primarily character-driven and often focused more on relationships. There may be brief scenes of action or physical risk, but this is often not an issue in these stories. At the other end of the spectrum are stories that are nonstop action, death, and/or destruction. When one is writing this kind of story, one must be aware of the audience and purpose as the writer crafts a story.
I first became aware of that fine line between action vs violence from famous actor and director Jackie Chan. He says he wants his movie to have “plenty of action, but not violence." So what's the difference? If a character seriously injures or kills another character, that is violence. Think "Taken," "Terminator," "Alien," horror films, war movies, and the like, where guns, swords, or other means draw blood and cause serious bodily harm. Movies and novels with violence are everywhere.
Action, meanwhile, is still about movement, risk, and danger, but it often doesn't involve bloodshed, broken bones, and gory death. Think most Star Wars, Harry Potter movies, Disney, and similar shows. Jackie Chan may knock down and fight enemies, but no one is bleeding. There's still something at stake, often something broken in the world that the main characters need to fix, but graphic violence is rare or minimal.
There is a place and an audience for any approaches to physical risk and danger. Frequently, books intended for younger audiences avoid violence in favor of action. The focus is on defense and heroism. Right and wrong are clearly defined. Heroes rarely kill the villain. If the villain dies, the story will often avoid having the protagonist somehow avoid delivering the killing blow by having the villain, himself, or someone or something else causes that death. In Disney movies, the prince, dwarfs, or some other side characters push the dragon off the cliff. Gaston leans back trying to stab the Beast, and he falls to his death. There may be some violence, some blood, but most of it is off-screen, high-tech (against robots or using a laser or lightsaber), magic-related, or somehow minimized.
Older audiences often prefer gradations of gray. Violence can be throughout, with the protagonist and other characters meeting the antagonists' violence with their own. Think Marvel's Punisher. The hero can also be made to seem more heroic in hesitating to meet violence for violence, death for death. It may be that the hero doesn't hesitate to use violence but only kills when forced or doesn't kill at all. Marvel's Daredevil, for instance, will beat down hallways of enemies to rescue a child, ally, or antagonist, but he draws the line at killing. The conflict between Punisher's and Daredevil's perspectives on whether or not killing is justified or necessary is built up as the central theme of season two. The show combines and alternates between action scenes and ones of intense violence, depending on the needs of the story.
Choosing how to use action without violence, a focus on violence, or somewhere in between will depend on your intended audience and what you're intending with it. Where is your focus? What level of risk and action works for your genre, your protagonist, and your story? Be true to your main character. Your antagonist and protagonist should mirror each other in some way. What makes them the same? What makes them distinct? If your hero uses more intense violence than the antagonist, what makes him/her/them the hero? Think of the morals and ethics of the characters. What is limiting or enhancing the level of action and/or violence? Think carefully through your approach and how this highlights your important characters to make your whole story more intentional and meaningful.
