Likely after being hit over the head, the hero spends hours unconscious, only to wake up somewhere else. As if he had only been sleeping, the hero rises and then uses his (somehow perfectly fine) brain of his to escape.

The “knock over the head” is seen as a quick way to capture even the toughest of fighters, while offering up a change of scene without need of any travel descriptions.

In a fight against a villains hired thugs, the thugs are often knocked unconscious by the dozens. This is a quick way to have the thugs be immobilised without making the hero a killer.

In real life, those knocked-out like in the examples would either be dead, or in extreme need of medical care.

If you are knocked out for under a minute, a checkup is recommended. Over a minute, and you are supposed to be seen at an emergency care hospital for dangers such as internal bleeding of the brain.

That is just a single minute, and many fiction heroes are out for hours.

Even being if knocked out that long somehow does not kill you, you are still going to have some effects. Concussions are not fun, and can cause several symptoms; including light sensitivity, and more.

Concussion Symptoms

🔹Headache or “pressure” in head.
🔹Nausea or vomiting.
🔹Balance problems or dizziness, or double or blurry vision.
🔹Bothered by light or noise.
🔹Feeling sluggish, hazy, foggy, or groggy.
🔹Confusion, or concentration or memory problems.
🔹Just not “feeling right,” or “feeling down”.

csc.gov

Added on top of all this is the fact that it is not that easy to knock-out someone. Even with professional fighters who are trying very hard to KO an opponent, it is not as common as both fighters finishing the fight without one.

So what can you do?

Well, you there is nothing wrong with wanting to use all the creative freedom you have, and keep up the knocked-out tradition. If that is what your story calls for, then use it.

Otherwise, perhaps you could raise the stakes for your hero by adding in some symptoms of a concussions that he will have to work through while also trying to survive.

As for the hired thugs? Well, that is a bit harder if you want to be realistic without making your character a killer. Perhaps the hero can use the environment to confine the thugs while fighting, or perhaps the hero can fight to escape then block the exit they used.

The choice to keep the knocked-out trope or not is completely up to you, I just wanted to share some facts for those who want to lean more towards what is realistic. However, leaning towards realistic does not have to be your goal. Write what story you need to.

#writing #writer #author #actionscenes #action #fights

1. Evidence of Danger.

For Jurassic Park, it was the raptor attack in the very first scene, then again with the missing goat. For Alien, and Pitch Black, it was showing that someone was here before them, but something terrible must have happened. For The Purge and Battle Royale, it was the first kill.

Maybe for your own book it’s a body, a lucky survivor, or a newspaper clippings of a previous attack.

The point of this is to show that yes, what is out there is indeed dangerous and is a risk to your characters.

My one suggestion with this, though, is don’t have the something kill the family dog. When I see a dog on screen or in a book now, I expect the dog to be killed for evidence of danger, due to how often writers use this.

2. Building it up.

For Jurassic Park, it was the water rippling in the cup with the heavy sound of steps. For Alien, it was the map showing something coming in closer (and fast) towards someone.

Other stories have a character notice something about a moment feels off. Maybe it is movement briefly seen out of the corner of their eye, maybe they can hear movement but can't pin-point from where.

You hint that something is there, but you don’t show the danger right away. The key is to build up anxiety as to what will happen.

3. Calling card.

Is there a way to tell something is there without actually showing the danger? Does your killer whistle? Does your monster communicate with others in the pack with a particular sound?

These are actually shortcuts. After the first encounter with the danger, these calling cards are a quick way to add anticipation for the next encounters.

For example, after you show a killer whistling a tune once, if the character is walking and hears it again, that immediately builds anticipation for the reader. They know that the danger is out there and how dangerous it is, but they don’t know where yet.

4. Going Beyond What Movies Can

The one thing that is easier to do in books than movies is to use more senses. Does the character smell blood? Does a killer wear a particular scent of perfume? Is the floor slick with something? Does the air feel thick?

5. Jump scares.

You can use these in books, too. It is a character looking out a window, and having a hand slam against it from the outside. Or perhaps a character is driving, and something slams into the side of the vehicle without warning.

Use these sparingly. If they are used too often, it can become expected (therefore making them not as scary).

6. Describe things differently.

That old lady across the street might have maggot-white hair.

Those flowers? Maybe they are blood red.

The floorboards might creek like old bones, and the branches might grab onto clothes like fingers.

Using these types of descriptions in the right places can remind people of the tone.

7. Change pacing.

If things are getting scarier, take hint from Edgar Alen Poe and consider making sentences shorter. Doing this makes it seem like the scene is happening fast for both the reader and the character, adding to the panic.

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Location:

Where your plant grows is the first thing to consider, because the environment will dictate the adaptations it needs to survive. For example, many evergreens produce antifreeze compounds before winter to protect their leaves. Since they don’t drop their leaves, they can photosynthesize even in the colder months. In contrast, cacti thrive in deserts because of their shallow root systems (which absorb rain quickly), waxy coatings to prevent moisture loss, water-storing cells, and the ability to go dormant during harsh conditions.

Once you decide on a location, ask yourself what adaptations your plant might need to survive there. You don’t have to get too technical (no need to become a biologist), but a little thought will help ensure your plants feel like a natural fit for the landscape. For instance, if a character encounters a carnivorous pitcher plant in a winter wasteland, readers might wonder how it survives the cold, why its liquid doesn’t freeze, and what it’s trying to catch in such an environment. Unless you have answers for these, it may seem out of place.

Reproduction:

How your plant reproduces affects its appearance. Do you want flowers? Fruit?

Pollination:

> UV light coloration (left) VS light coloration.

• Taste: Some flowers detect the vibrations from a bee’s wings and respond by adding more sugar to their nectar, increasing their appeal.
• Scent: Most flowers emit scents to attract pollinators, but one takes this to the extreme: the corpse flower. It smells like decaying flesh, tricking carrion beetles and flies into helping it pollinate.
• Appearance: Pollinators see flowers differently than we do. For example, we can’t see UV light, but many pollinators can, and that coloration can look like lights directing pollinators where the flowers need them.

Other plants use wind for pollination, like pine trees, which release pollen into the air.

No Pollination:

Some plants reproduce asexually, like ginger(you can grow a new plant from a cutting of its root).

However, some plants can reproduce both asexually(such as cutting off the “sucker” of a tomato plant to propagate) and not (the pollinated flowers turn into tomatoes, which have seeds), so you can have both for your plant if you’d like.

Seed Dispersion:

If your plant needs help dispersing seeds, it might grow delicious fruit to lure animals, launch seeds in all directions (ballistic dispersal), or produce lightweight seeds that float on the wind, like dandelions.

Defense Mechanisms (Optional):

Does your plant defend itself from predators? If so, here are some fascinating examples:

• Silent Screams: Some plants emit sounds at frequencies we can’t hear, possibly to scare off predators or warn nearby plants of danger.
• A Stinky Warning: Tomato plants release airborne chemicals when attacked by pests, alerting nearby plants to produce their own insect repellents. Some plants release scents that attract the predators of the pests feeding on them.
• Spicy Defense: While humans might enjoy spicy foods, pests do not. Pepper plants increase their spiciness when under attack.
• No Touchy: One reason many plants have thorns or needles is as a way to protect themselves from being eaten. The stinging nettle plant has hollow needle-like hairs which inject histamine and other irritants upon contact.
• Playing Dead: When touched, the Mimosa pudica folds in it’s leaves then wilts, making itself less appealing to predators.
• A Touch of Poison. Many plants are poisonous, and can cause symptoms as mild as an upset stomach, or as severe as certain death.

Competitive Advantages:

How does your plant compete for resources? Does it have unique traits that give it an edge? Here are some real-life examples to inspire you:

• “Hearing” Water: Some roots will bend towards sound (phonotropism) in an attempt to find water. This is why trees sometimes wrap their roots around water pipes; the tree hasn’t touched the water, and yet still knows it is there.
• Counting: The Venus Fly Trap is a quick-closing carnivorous plant that will count the seconds between the touching of trigger hairs within it’s trap. If enough hairs are not touched within the right amount of seconds, it will not close. This is because it can take a whole day to reopen a trap and they can only be opened a handful of times, so it is in the plant’s best interest to only close if the chances are high it will catch something.
• Sharing Food: Using the mycorrhizal network(a network of thread-like mushroom roots called “mycelium,” which connects to the roots of trees) certain plant species will share nutrients between each other. For example, during times when the fir trees are still growing but the birch are leafless, the fir will send more carbon to the birch compared to other times in the year.
• Sniffing Out Prey: A dodder is a parasitic plant that hunts for it’s prey using scent.
• “Seeing” Plants: While it is well known that plants will bend towards light (therefore having some sort of way to detect and react to light), what you might not know is that there is a plant that goes beyond that. Boquila Trifoliolata mimics the appearance of other plants, and in one experiment, it was placed near an artificial vine but out of reach. Somehow, the Boquila Trifoliolata still managed to mimic the plant, indicating it was not doing so using scent nor touch.
• Making Friends: Trees will sometimes make “friends,” and will be careful not to cast too much shade over the friend, but will not give the same care to others.

The Appearance:

Ah yes, the part I know many of you wanted to jump to: the appearance. I saved this until here, because how you brainstormed those above can change how your plant looks. For example, if your plant wilts on touch like the Mimosa, it should be flexible.

Start by listing the traits you want, then look to real plants for inspiration. Combine their features and let your imagination fill in the rest.

Uses:

Many fantasy plants have practical uses, often based on real-life plants. I recommend basing your plant’s medicinal properties on real ones to avoid creating a “cure-all” that seem like an unrealistic cheat.

Here are some real-world examples:

• Meadowsweet: Pain relief and stomach soothing.
• Willow Bark: A potent natural pain reliever.
• Honey: Excellent for treating burns and wounds, it also helps prevent infection.
• Yarrow: Useful for stopping bleeding in emergencies.
• Old Mans Beard:  Infection Prevention. Simply put over the wound like a bandage.

There is also an extinct plant that might be useful inspiration to some writer out there; Silphium. This plant was supposedly such a reliable contraceptive that the Romans(in theory) picked it out of existence. The plant is even featured on one of their coins.

My Example:

Lantern Fruit is a plant I created for Where They Lurk. It’s a vine that grows in forests, climbing trees and bushes for protection and better access to sunlight. It produces soft purple flowers that turn into the purple fruit that gives it its name.

The citrus and floral tasting fruit (picture peach mixed with lavender) is used in pies, paired with meats, or mashed for drinks. High in vitamin C, Lantern Fruit is often brewed into tea or added to soup for those who are sick.

#writing #fantasy #worldbuilding #fantasyplants #writingfantasy #author