How To Write A Chase Scene
Before anyone takes off running, the reader needs to know why this matters. The chase can’t just be about two people running, it’s gotta have a reason. Is your hero sprinting for their life because the villain has a knife? Or maybe they’re chasing someone who just stole something valuable, and if they don’t catch them, it’s game over for everyone. Whatever the reason, make it clear early on. The higher the stakes, the more the reader will care about how this chase plays out. They’ll feel that surge of panic, knowing what’s on the line.
Sure, a chase scene is fast, people are running, dodging, maybe even falling. But not every second needs to be at full speed. If it’s too frantic from start to finish, the reader might get numb to the action. Instead, throw in some rhythm. Use quick, sharp sentences when things get intense, like someone stumbling or almost getting caught. But then slow it down for a second. Maybe they hit a dead end or pause to look around. Those brief moments of slow-down add suspense because they feel like the calm before the storm kicks up again.
Don’t let the setting just be a backdrop. The world around them should become a part of the chase. Maybe they’re tearing through a marketplace, dodging carts and knocking over tables, or sprinting down alleyways with trash cans crashing behind them. If they’re running through the woods, you’ve got low-hanging branches, roots, slippery mud, and the constant threat of tripping. Describing the environment makes the scene more vivid, but it also adds layers of tension. It’s not just two people running in a straight line, it’s two people trying to navigate through chaos.
Running isn’t easy, especially when you’re running for your life. This isn’t some smooth, graceful sprint where they look cool the whole time. Your character’s lungs should be burning, their legs aching, maybe their side starts to cramp. They’re gasping for air, barely holding it together. These details will remind the reader that this chase is taking a real toll. And the harder it gets for your character to keep going, the more the tension ramps up because the reader will wonder if they’ll actually make it.
Don’t make it too easy. The villain should almost catch your hero or the hero should almost grab the villain. But something happens last second to change the outcome. Maybe the villain’s fingers brush the hero’s coat as they sprint around a corner, but they manage to slip out of reach just in time. Or maybe your hero almost gets close enough to tackle the villain, but slips on some gravel, losing precious seconds.
And Don’t let the chase end in a way that feels too predictable. Whether your character gets away or is caught, it should be because of something clever. Maybe they spot a hiding place that’s almost impossible to notice, or they use their surroundings to mislead their pursuer. Or, the person chasing them pulls a fast one, Laying a trap, cutting off their escape route, or sending the hero down the wrong path. You want the end to feel earned, like it took quick thinking and ingenuity, not just dumb luck or fate.
if you have any questions or feedback on writing materials, please send me an email at Luna-azzurra@outlook.com ✍🏻
Enemies to Lovers Energy
❥ "Get out of my way." – "Make me."
❥ "You’re bleeding." – "It’s just a scratch. Don’t get soft on me now."
❥ "I don’t need your help." – "Tough. You’ve got it anyway."
❥ "I hate you." – "Yeah? Then why are you still here?"
❥ "You think you're better than me?" – "No. Just smarter."
❥ "Stop looking at me like that." – "Like what?"
❥ "I’ve had worse partners. Slightly."
❥ "Try not to die, okay?" – "Touched by your concern."
❥ "If you betray me, I’ll kill you." – "That’s fair."
If anyone’s gonna appreciate my sudden obsession with Baby Girl Bucky Barnes it’s tumblr
Anyway please enjoy these drawings I’ve made
Bruises are an erogenous zone
Words To Use Instead of Said (Advanced Version)
Reminder to use these sparingly and not every line of dialogue needs a dialogue tag.
To Say Something Quietly:
whispered
murmured
breathed
sighed
simpered
hummed
mumbled
muttered
To Say Something Loudly:
exclaimed
cried
squealed
shrieked
shouted
bellowed
roared
declared
declared
proclaimed
hollered
To Say Something Angrily:
snapped
snarled
growled
barked
grumbled
complained
huffed
nagged
blustered
thundered
seethed
fumed
ranted
demanded
taunted
scoffed
cursed
grunted
insulted
hissed
badgered
sneered
To Say Something In An Amused Manner:
laughed
chuckled
giggled
joked
quipped
teased
cheered
crowed
To Say Something Unsurely // Nervously:
faltered
stammered
stuttered
hesitated
guessed
blurted
trembled
speculated
quivered
equivocated
denied
countered
babbled
slurred
squeaked
yelped
cautioned
gulped
squales
quavered
hesitated
trailed off
The use of action tags will make your writing more interesting and creates variety in conversation-filled scenes. Make sure to add both in your writing and do your best not to over do it.
Reminder: When using action tags that aren’t one word, always use periods instead of commas. Example:
“Idiot,” Camille rolled her eyes out of annoyance, continuing to file her nails. Wrong.
“Idiot.” Camille rolled her eyes out of annoyance, continuing to file her nails. Correct.
Positive:
smiled
grinned
smirked
beamed
his eyes twinkled
flashed a chesire smile
looked pleased
her ears reddened
his cheeks flushed
the corner of her lips tugged up
Neutral:
crossed her arms
folded their arms
blew their hair out his their face
twirled her hair around her finger
massaged his temples
bit her lip
chewed the insides of her cheek
batted his eyes
angled her head
tousled his hair
nodded in agreement
feigned confusion
Negative:
clenched his fist
dug her nails into her palm
picked at his nails
glared
narrowed her gaze
withheld his anger
his head pounded with anger
You can mix and match, using a dialogue and an action tag as well. Example: Dialogue, Action.
“I don’t think I can,” she stammered, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
unless they specifically asked, you don’t get to tell a fanfic writer you think they mischaracterized the character by the way. because the second someone writes a fanfic about a character, that character becomes the writer’s own version of the character. canon is only a suggestion, but whether or not an author will follow it / how much of canon an author will take is entirely up to them. you don’t get to stick your nose in their world and tell them “hey this is not to my liking therefore I think you’re doing it wrong” when you can simply leave quietly and move on to something else you may enjoy
Longing in Love Starters
❥ I notice everything about them, and I hate how naturally I’ve memorized the way their laugh curves at the end.
❥ Every time they look at me, I forget whatever clever thing I was about to say. Which is probably a blessing.
❥ I don’t know when it happened, but they’ve started showing up in the spaces between my thoughts.
❥ I sit closer than I need to. Not close enough to be obvious, just close enough to feel the warmth.
❥ They touched my hand for a second. A blink. A breath. And I’ve been replaying it for hours.
❥ I tell myself it’s nothing, but my heart keeps writing poetry anyway.
❥ Sometimes I think I hear their voice in a crowd and my chest tightens before my brain even catches up.
❥ I want to tell them. God, I almost do. But the fear of losing what we have keeps my mouth shut.
❥ There’s a tenderness in the way they say my name that makes me believe they see me.
❥ I don’t want to fall for them. I just want to stay where we are forever. And maybe that’s worse.
sex, gender & sexuality words:
last updated: 8 october, 2024.
yananchay - sexuality
kamamanta - gender (social). (back-formation of latin [genere] meaning type or kind, quechua [kama] meaning kind.)
t’ipip - sex (social & biological). (back-formation of latin [sexūs] meaning section or division, quechua [t’ipi] meaning division.)
chawpit’ipip - intersex.
runa - gender neutral term for human / person.
tinkuy - liminal space of unity, complementary forces, convergence, meeting of elements, roughly translates to nonbinary.
warmi - woman - feminine
qari - man - masculine
tikrachisqa [qari / warmi / runa.] - transgender / transformed people: tikrachisqa qari, tikrachisqa warmi, tikrachisqa runa, so on, so forth.
chakachisqa [qari / warmi / runa.] - transgender / trans meaning extending across, through, or over: crossing people: chakachisqa qari, chakachisqa warmi, chakachisqa runa. (alternative based on cross-linguistic analysis featuring the arabic language term for transgender, old based on transform / change [mutaħawwil] and new based on trans / extending across [ʕābir/ʕābira])
ch’usaq - zero - absent / agender
runapuri - genderfluid
warmiqari - feminine man*
qariqari - masculine man*
qariwarmi - man-woman* / masculine-feminine* / masculine woman* / liminal-gendered / historical transvestite {considered analogous to two-spirit identities in the north.}
warmiwarmi - feminine woman*
chiqan - straight / hetero
chinaku / warminchu - gay (qaripura kuyay - love among men / MLM)
qarinchu / ushuta - lesbian (warmipura kuyay - love among women, basically our way of saying WLW)
q’iwa - translates as necessary or sacred irregularity in life (surprise) or .. as we westerners say… being queer . dotty. pansy-like. a dandy. (also means imperfection, coward, could refer to any number of perceived flaws)
chawpinpashña - demigirl
chawpinmaqta - demiboy
yuquchu - asexual
kuyachu - aromantic
kaqllapura kuyay - homoromantic
chiqanpura kuyay - heteromantic
iskaypura kuyay - biromantic
llapanpura kuyay - panromantic
iskaypura yuquy - bisexual
kaqllapura yuquy - homosexual
chiqanpura yuquy - heterosexual
llapanpura yuquy - pansexual
(*doesnt take sexuality into account FYI)
(green text indicates brand new words)
main sources used:
Wiktionary, QichwaDic 2.0, Promsex, Glosbe
Okay I JUST realized I never posted these on here—- BUT BASICALLY, about a year and a half ago I started doing these experimental black hairstyle posts that were threads long on Twitter, to give artists a source of inspo for their black ocs whose hair they wanted to try something new with! There’s more to black hair than just the selected styles portrayed in media, and I thought it would be fun to show people how much texture, shape, fades, length, and style can be combined when drawing black hair—-cause it’s a kind of manipulation our hair can do irl! The OG thread from when I made these a year ago were lost with the hacking of my original Twitter account (@/bagels_donuts) but I’ve since reuploaded the whole thread to my new Twitter (@/ItsDonutsFR)! I hope artists on tumblr find these useful, sorry it took me so long to post them here😭🙏🏾 I’ll upload them all in parts!
Part 1: Long masc hairstyles + playing with fades
Annie: There are legends of people born with the gift of making music so true, it can pierce the veil between life and death; conjuring spirits from the past...and the future. In ancient Ireland, they were called Filí. In Choctaw land, they called them Fire Keepers. And in West Africa, they were called Griots. This gift can bring healing to their communities. But it also...attracts evil....
Sinners (2025)
call me mimi or ñaño. he/him. 25 y.o.creative crawling out of a slump.love romance, fantasy, horror, and stories that revolve around trans bipoc.
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