Trouble had reared its head in a big way in "Janus Games" this morning. I had to do a little research, though, to find out how to describe the sound of a bullet hitting a window. Amazing what you can find on the Internet. I was able to listen to the sound effect and then put it into words.
I noted something interesting about my own writing habits as well. When a big scene is coming up, I often have a problem getting it started. I don't know why this is. Maybe I'm trying to build up my own suspense or something. Or perhaps I'm just getting ready for a flurry of typing while I'm getting the scene down in words. I also know that such scenes are often the target of considerable tinkering, if not full-scale rewriting at a later date.
Action scenes can be a challenge because they have to move fast at the same time as providing sufficient information about what's going on. Certainly, some of the details will come out later as the characters recap to someone else, as Jack and Tabitha are about to do to the police. Oh, I know some people might say that Jack should be playing hero, getting out a gun and hunting for the shooter himself, but that's not his way. He leaves law enforcement to those who are sanctioned for it, and as an ethical man, he would not consider assuming that authority, even to protect the woman he loves. He demonstrated this mindset in the other two books, although he will play hero when circumstances demand it. It's just who he is.
Besides, it's much too early in the book for a scene like that. This one is just introducing a new level of danger. Now Jack will have to figure out who is the intended target as well as who the shooter is.
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