Rainbow | Realm of Stories
asked
Michael Grant:
Hi Michael Grant! Do you have any advice or suggestions on writing a large scale battle in one character's perspective, regardless of whether it is a battle set during the medieval or modern times?
Michael Grant
Watch the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. See the tempo changes? See the way focus goes wide then zeroes in on some detail? See how Spielberg plays with sound, deafening one moment, numb the next? Do that.
Detail and spatial definition are key. Detail: not just 'lots of blood' but blood from where, at what speed, steady flow or pulsing? Detail: the sky, the ground, the weapons, the smells. Detail: how's your hero's breathing, heartbeat, stomach, limbs? Be specific, not general. Specific feels real and immediate.
Spatial definition means choose the location, define it, limit it, and then play the scene within that space. Character before plot, location before action. Limits are good - so set your physical space and use it.
Detail and spatial definition are key. Detail: not just 'lots of blood' but blood from where, at what speed, steady flow or pulsing? Detail: the sky, the ground, the weapons, the smells. Detail: how's your hero's breathing, heartbeat, stomach, limbs? Be specific, not general. Specific feels real and immediate.
Spatial definition means choose the location, define it, limit it, and then play the scene within that space. Character before plot, location before action. Limits are good - so set your physical space and use it.
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Michael Grant:
I don't know if you've been asked this: What inspired you to write the Gone series?
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