Adventure Stories: What You Make Of It

Ever wonder how to write an adventure story? Well, here's the gist of it....

Recently, after watching Robin Hood (the one starring Kevin Costner), I have become interested in continuing to write an adventure story I stopped writing a few months ago—while I was still in college. I began to think, “What would make this story more exciting without coming away with a story that has no plot? Should I focus more on the setting, the characters, or the action sequences themselves? How can I write a good adventure story?”

Well, of course characters must be developed and there should be a setting. In the story I am currently writing, the main character, though she strives for adventure, is unable to do so because I have placed her in a society that doesn’t like for women to desire such a thing. When there’s an adventure, the hero/heroine should somehow be interested or the slightest bit intrigued by the possibility of adventure—even if they don’t believe they feel so strongly for it. Take Frodo Baggins, in LOTR, for example: he says that he would rather stay at the Shire and not travel; still, under his skin, there’s a thirst for adventure. It’s always best to quench a thirst.

After the characters and setting, along comes the conflict. Sometimes the conflict arises due to a series of unfortunate events; other times, the adventure starts merely because two characters get involved with one another…and one of them happen to be in a great deal of trouble.

The characters then attempt to overcome this conflict by seeking out ways to do so. For example, when my MC is captured by the enemy, she possesses the map that her father gave her and she attempts to conceal it—in hopes of one day being able to travel where the map leads her. There are many ways she could overcome this conflict, but she decides to do it on her own. Why? Well, such is the power of character!

Amidst all of this, there should be something to keep your reader’s eyes fastened to your story. They don’t want boring monologue and most of them don’t want a history lesson, though throwing in something for them to learn isn’t a bad idea. What I suggest is romance, action, something with pizzazz but don’t over-do it. One can only stand so many kisses and kicks in a story, eh?

At long last, when you feel that everything is as it should be, the issue of ending the story arises. The conclusion can be a bit hard for those of us who feel that we have tons more to say. The usual ending is like a Mario Brothers game: he kills the bad guy, saves the world, and gets the girl. Typical ending, right? Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the typical, the obvious. Why? Because it’s mundane. It’s like eating the same thing for supper every day for a week. Look for originality, spontaneity…and the best advice I can give you is: talk to your characters. What do they want?

Keep in mind that adventures vary. I mean, I may consider sailing across the sea in search of treasure the ultimate adventure; you may think that journeying along with a friend to destroy evil once and for all from Middle Earth the ultimate adventure. You know the expression “Life is what YOU make of it?” the same goes for adventure. As writers, we can make of adventure what we will. We have that right. How far can we go with writing adventures? Is there any limit? Well, in the words of Buzz Lightyear, we can go, “To infinity and beyond!”