02/08/10 - 02/28/10 - Online Workshop - Writing Action Scenes the WWE Way with by Matt and Natalie Duvall

*Writing Action Scenes the WWE Way Presented by Matt and Natalie Duvall*
February 8, 2010 - February 28, 2010
$10 for FFnP Members; $20 for Non-members
*Click here to register *

Real action is messy, brutal, confusing, and usually over in a matter of minutes. To write a realistic action scene would be difficult, and in fiction more often than not it can cause your audience to quickly lose interest. Pro wrestling is a sport, but it is an entertaining dramatic interpretation of a fight, rather than the real thing. The moves are extravagant, attention-grabbing, choreographed representations of real martial arts moves, designed to tell a story, not to inflict any real or permanent damage.

This isn't to say that you need an action scene in every book you write. But you can apply the principles of WWE™-style to any scene that describes physical action – your clumsy hero's "trip" through a fancy restaurant, or your heroine's left-footed attempt to entice her desired mate through a seductive dance. Plus, you can broaden the appeal of your scenes to a male audience by incorporating these concepts.

We will discuss four of the key components of WWE™ entertainment, along with examples from a variety of fictional works, to show that these concepts can (and have) been used in wildly successful novels.

The first thing necessary is interesting characters. Next is outside interference, which can illuminate hidden motives for both the villain and the hero and give scenes a twist. Cheering for the underdog is the third component. Finally, every pro wrestler has a trademark move. In romance writing, the trademark move can be what gets the girl, or vice versa.

The class will explore samples from popular novels and give students many opportunities to write their own action scenes. It will also involve discussions of legitimate fighting techniques, honed from years of martial arts traditions. Questions will be encouraged so that writers can manipulate action scenes in their current works in progress.

This workshop will be conducted via a Yahoo! email loop. Email invitations will be sent 48 hours prior to the beginning of the workshop.

Just register for the workshop and complete the payment process via PayPal. The cost is $10.00 for FFnP members and $20.00 for non-FFnP
members. Payment is expected when registering and your registration will not be complete until you've paid. Unpaid registrations will be deleted 48 hours before the class. *Click here to register *

*Former professional wrestler, Matt Duvall (The Prince of Polyester) and his wife Natalie share a penchant for action... and writing. Matt wrestled professionally for 10 years, appearing on national television with World Wrestling Entertainment. He and Natalie train in Krav Maga and Isshinryu karate, where they were named Northeast OIKKA champions in the 35 & older category, even though they're both under 35. The pair holds Master's degrees in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University and are currently working on their MFA from the same school. Matt published a number of short stories, and Natalie freelanced for the local paper. Both teach at the high school level (Matt teachers computers and Natalie teaches English – which makes online writing instruction a perfect fit!).