《How to Write Stories People Will Love》Question 53: Car accidents
Advertisement
asks: Do you have any tips on writing accidents? Like car accidents for example, because I'm struggling with writing a car accident in one of my stories.
First you need to decide what the purpose of this scene is. Here are some examples:
With the scene's purpose in mind, you can decide on pacing, and how much emotion to put in. I'll use my examples above to go into further detail...
The strategy you'd use here is similar to what I talked about in "Question 25: Fight Scenes" (I'll paste a link to it in a comment.) Keep the pace fast by not bogging it down with too many details. I'll make up a scene...
Jane stomped on the gas pedal and the car surged forward. She glanced at the rear-view mirror, dismayed to find they were still gaining on her. Who were these people, and why were they chasing her?
Her eyes returned to the road just as an elderly woman stepped in front of the car. She had no time to breathe or even blink. She jerked the steering wheel to one side. The car lurched, hit the cart the old woman was pushing, and smashed right into an oncoming delivery truck. She barely registered the look of horror on the delivery driver's face before her world went black.
When the scene involves looking for clues and figuring out what happened, the pace is slower and more detailed, with less emotion and excitement. It's more of a thinking scene than a feeling one.
Lydia surveyed the wreckage, shaking her head. Probably another drunk driver. Snapping on a pair of latex gloves, she stepped past a smashed pushcart and examined the body of the elderly woman sprawled on the street. A hearing aid sat not far from the woman's ear. One bloody hand clutched at an unopened pack of hearing aid batteries.
Advertisement
The tone here is dispassionate and methodical. If the investigator knew the victim, however, then a lot more emotion would be needed. There would be a tug-of-war between the sadness and the need to look for clues.
Here, the pace is also slower, but more emotional. The character will notice some details, but not everything. Sometimes what they choose to focus on is odd, because the mind is in shock.
Jane opened her eyes. The can of soda she'd been drinking before all this lay spilled on the floor, soaking into the carpet mats. Damn, she thought, that's going to be sticky.
Then she saw the deployed airbag, the smashed window, the blood. Was that her blood? In a flash she remembered the old woman and swiveled her body to look for her. Pain shot through her chest, and she unclipped her seat belt.
She tried to push open her door, but it was stuck. She looked out the passenger side window, and that's when she saw the police, the flashing lights, and... the old woman. No, no, no, she couldn't have hit her. She'd swerved! She'd hit a stupid truck instead! But an investigator was crouched there, poking around with gloves on like the lady was already dead.
Jane's body went limp with despair. First the car chase, then the collision, and now this.
When writing the accident, I encourage you to review the "Tailor Your Descriptions" chapter, to help you decide which details belong and which don't. Think about what kind of emotions belong in the scene. The information in "Question 22: Conveying Emotion" can be helpful.
Advertisement
- In Serial33 Chapters
Piper
"It was one thing to find a harbor in a storm, and a complete other to expect that harbor to be safe." Piper Hayes has made it through three years of college at the University of Rhode Island basically unscathed - until the day her best friend, Molly, disappears from a job meant for Piper. Distraught, Piper lets herself fall into the company of a basically-unknown acquaintance, the impressive and charming Bash Rivera. Turns out, Molly's situation is the least of Piper's worries, and Bash doesn't quite manage to keep up his suave and sophisticated facade when events turn difficult. Mostly because, while he is trying to save her life, she spends all of her time afraid of him. Once Piper realizes her real enemy, she might find herself alone in her fight. If she manages to survive, just maybe she can graduate on time; more importantly, maybe she won't have driven away the one person who cares about her the way she cares about everyone else. IF YOU LIKE PIPER, READ THE OTHER FINISHED BOOKS IN THE EPIPHANIES SERIES: MARISSA AND AYLEE. OR COME READ THE COUNTERSIGN SERIES: NIGHTENGALE, [email protected], AND ALTAR EGO. PLEASE REVIEW - I VALUE YOUR INPUT!
8 73 - In Serial14 Chapters
Supreme Weapon Spirit: Legend of Maha [Temporary Hiatus]
Long ago, the Furial was a land blessed by gods. There was Flaurn, Satier, and Dwargni. Flaurn was the god of fire and life. Satire was the god of resources and nature. Dwargni was the god of the forge. What happens when these three powers decide to go to heaven and leave their world behind? Maha, the creation of Dwargni before he left to right the mistakes he made, travels the world in search of his creator and purpose in life, and as a result became the Supreme Weapon Spirit
8 145 - In Serial44 Chapters
Tales of New World : The Magus
'What it feels like to be free from every shackle that holding you?'That's a question given to Volya Portar after someone rescued him from slavery in the past after he separated from his sister. As he grows older, he knows that he also could help everyone free themselves from their shackle even if they are a convict or something worse. And his opportunity arrives as he encounters several knights ambushed by bandits in the forest where he lives.And thus, his story begins
8 82 - In Serial7 Chapters
The Long Road
Ryan was on the run, running as far as he could from whatever was following him. Traveling down Interstate I95 on foot as he left the city behind him. He hitched his way down from Maine and walked the rest of the way, but walking into a rest area may have his hole life flip upside down and someone new coming after him for what he discovers. Could he clear his name before the law threw him behind the Irons?
8 77 - In Serial55 Chapters
Hyde & Seek ||Action/Romance Novel||
Max Hyde always knew her past would catch up with her, she just didn't expect it to happen like this.Not with doomsday mere days away, not with her old boss, Queen, at the centre of it and certainly not with her ex getting her out of prison to help stop it. But alas, things don't always go as planned.But as she leaves prison to work for her MI6 agent ex, Esmond, she realises the true nature of the situation. He apparently doesn't know much, only that Queen plans to use New Year's Eve to kick off the end of the world. Essentially, they have ten days to work out what her old boss is planning, what it means and how to stop it.No pressure.||-||||Warnings: language, drug use, sexual content||
8 230 - In Serial23 Chapters
A Black || Hufflepuff
"what if the reason he was in Azkaban, is the reason he escaped?"-When Sirius Black was taken to Azkaban, Estella had to stay with her relatives, the Tonks. Being called Blood-traitor by the pure-blood and sent hated glare from the other students on the first day of Hogwarts.Fighting alongside with her friends and family at the Battle of Hogwarts, she lost so many loved ones.P.S: Umbrige dies in my fanficOC X Cedric Diggory
8 103

