Chase Scenes: the Mental Element

Oddly, there is very little out on the internet under “writing chase scenes” and “mental” or “emotional”. So I had to figure all this out the hard way... studying lots and lots of chase scenes. Hopefully this series of posts will make things a little easier for future learners.

The mental world is where most of the tension an suspense is found – because even a chase scene is about the character more than it is about the action. The chase takes on importance to the reader only through the character because it is experienced through the character's point of view. The chase scene needs to be a very emotional experience for both the character and the writer. This means letting the reader into the view point character's inner world.

• World: The mental world is full of the character's reactions, evaluations, frustrations, and goals. These can be explicitly stated through thought, shown through action, or implied. If you choose to imply something (especially if you are new to this technique or the scene has failed a beta read), run the sequence by a test reader to make sure they intuit what you mean to imply.
• Limits: The character should have inner limits. This can be set patterns of thought that make it difficult for her to execute a successful pursuit or escape. Or maybe she assumes something about the opponent(s) that is not true. Or she has never learned to travel by rooftop or hide her tracks. All of this limits what she considers as possibilities – until you force her into a situation where she must do one of those things she has never considered (in which case her ignorance, etc. becomes an obstacle.)
• Obstacles: Inner obstacles must be overcome. Inner limits become inner obstacles only when the character must overcome them. Not all limits are obstacles but it is a sure way to raise the stakes! Suppose she not only does not know how to travel by roof-top (and it would never occur to her as a way to travel) but she is afraid of heights. Then make it the only way she can escape (or the person she must catch goes for the roofs). Limits + situation = inner obstacles.
• Action: The mental element should be in constant flux. Certainty gives way to bafflement. Complacency gives way to fear. Over, over, and over. Faster and faster. And as the scene progresses, her perceptions turn darker, more fearful, more disoriented. And more reactive as the pressures build from the inside and the outside. How your character reacts show very clearly where she is in her character arc (if you have one).

Meet the Readeer (cartoon)

(Phot Credit: Pinterest)

Chase Scenes: the Reader Element

The chase scene should be written (or revised) with the reader in mind. Like with any other type of scene, the reader interacts with the character or characters but the reader is not the character. Just because the character experiences the chase scene in a certain way does not necessarily mean the reader will have the same experience.

• World: The reader's experience is limited by the scene's point(s) of view. The fast pace of chase scenes does not leave a lot of room for details. Grounding the reader (time, place, season, etc.) can done (at least in part) indirectly. Every time thee character changes location – which happens a lot in a chase scene – you need to reorient the reader in some way. A possible exception is if the character is lost or disoriented.
• Limits: The reader is limited by how much the reader cares about the character, how well grounded the reader is, and how clearly you write.
• Obstacles: Logic. The sequence in writing is: physical stimulus → internal reaction → physical response. In chase scenes,the pace is fast and one step is sometimes assumed. This is fine – even desirable – so long as the action still makes sense to the reader. A break in logic occurs when the reader is not sure why the character reacted the way he just did. This is the danger of omitting steps. (If the character is not sure why he responded a certain way, the reader needs to know this. That confusion becomes the next internal reaction.)
• Action: You could say that the reader's involvement varies throughout the scene according to whether you are providing questions or answers. The “questions” would be what builds tension, uncertainty, suspense. The “answers” are what brings closure, temporary resolution, certainty. Readers become involved in questions and try to guess the answers to small questions (what happens next?), big questions (will they catch her?) and size in-between. At the same time, they can become frustrated by too many questions and not enough answers. Try overlapping your questions and answers for maximum reader involvement and satisfaction.

Revealing Information: The Reader and the Main Character

Balance (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I see it, there are several ways this can fall out. Usually the reader learns something at the same time as the main character (MC). This makes sense because the MC is most often the point of view character. Also, the MC need to learn that something to move the story forward. And if you hold back too much from readers, they will become frustrated or bored and BAM! The book closes never to be opened again. But there are benefits to disturbing the status quo...

• POV superior knowledge: when the POV character – especially an antagonist! – knows something that the reader doesn't know (and the reader knows this), the reader will want to learn the secret and will read on for a while. How long depends in part on the genre and how often you have pulled this trick in the past and with how many other POV characters. This technique does not work well for close POV.
• Temporary reader superior knowledge: the reader can learn something the MC is unaware of if you introduce the information during a different POV scene or an omnipotent passage (but those are tricky). Most times this technique is used to heighten tension and suspense because the MC is in more danger than he or she knows. This lets the MC be blindsided without sacrificing the logical flow of events. It is okay for an event to seem a bolt-from-the-blue to the MC so long as the reader knows the logic and cause of the event.
• Long-term reader superior knowledge: Other times the MC never finds out everything the reader learns. If the MC doesn't need to know, then why bore readers by repeating what they already know? This can be a useful way to tie-up loose ends that no longer affect the MC. And it can give the reader a sense of superiority.