Writing Action Scenes with Author Aaron Philip Clark

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3 BIG TAKEAWAYS

How to write action scenesUsing our unique experiences to drive our storiesDeveloping your craft

EPISODE INFO:
No matter what kind of writing you’re doing, you’re going to use have to write movement into your manuscript. So how do you pull off those all-important action moments in a way that helps to reveal character and inform theme? 

Aaron Philip Clark is here to help us!

BIO:
Aaron Philip Clark is a native of Los Angeles, CA. He is a novelist, poet, and former Los Angeles Police Department recruit. His first novel, THE SCIENCE OF PAUL: A Novel of Crime (New Pulp Press), was published in 2011. The debut was met with interest and acclaim. Clark followed THE SCIENCE OF PAUL with A HEALTHY FEAR OF MAN (Snubnose Press) published the following year. Both novels featured the morally plagued and emotionally damaged protagonist, Paul Little, as he fought to escape the perils of Philadelphia street culture and return to his deceased grandfather’s farm in North Carolina. Inspired by the works of French existentialists, Clark’s prose reverberated with ideas and philosophies put forth by Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean-Patrick Manchette, and Fyodor Dostoevsky.

After leaving his career in law enforcement, Clark returned to higher education and continued his work as an educator teaching college-level English, Creative Writing, and Humanities. During this time, Clark completed THE FURIOUS WAY, a stand-alone thriller, and UNDR COLOR OF LAW, inspired by his experiences with the LAPD. The novel centered on Det. Trevor “Finn” Finnegan, a Black LAPD detective, who is tasked with investigating the murder of a young Black academy recruit amid protests against police brutality and calls for reform. The novel was nominated for an International Thriller Writers Award in 2022, and Clark has more books planned for the series. BLUE LIKE ME, the second Trevor Finnegan novel, will be published on November 8, 2022, by Thomas & Mercer.

Clark is completing ALL THE SMOKE, a modern psychological thriller that explores racial identity, Black male trauma, and psychopathy. The story is set in the music industry and takes inspiration from THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY and other works by Patricia Highsmith.

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