: Re: How to improve writing non-action scenes I think in terms of action. Whenever I am imagining any scene I am about to write, I see it as a movie playing in my head which I then pen to paper.

@Connie138

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Action releases tension, dialogue builds it:
Yes, it's over-simplified. But if you think in terms of action, the dialogue is like a spring for your action, which you press down on and store energy. Use dialogue to build the tension of that you release in those action scenes. Why is Action Dan shooting those folks over there? Is he a homicidal maniac? Are THEY homicidal maniacs? No. Too much action gives you two-dimensional characters and mindless archetypes that have no flavor. The dialogue give context to the action, and is where the real story is told. You can completely reverse the meaning of an action scene with the right dialogue. Make motives ambiguous. Blur the lines of who is right or wrong. Done right, you can feel the tension build with each line.
Or maybe you need a frame-shift. Treat dialogue like action. The action in a dialogue is often emotional. Maybe Action Dan isn't afraid to charge machine guns or zombies, but his legs turn to jello at the sight of his mother. Girls make him all, well, OOKY inside and he says stupid things. Words are like weapons, and he needs to have a flaw. Emotional friendly fire is a beautiful thing (literary-wise). If you have a hard time with dialogue, your main character is likely to as well. Embrace that. If your efforts to use dialogue are awkward, use that to your advantage and make the awkwardness show. Action Dan might pick fights to avoid his feelings. He breathes a sigh of relief when someone shoots at him. It's a fight he knows how to win. I am a firm believer that character is formed in suffering, and Action Dan can bleed literally or figuratively.
If you think of writing like watching a movie, then you may want to (UGH!) watch some movies where dialogue is front-and-center. But don't watch the story, watch the flow of the dialogue. How does each thing the characters say build to the zany scene where they are careening down a mountain? Even action movies have dialogue, and think about what they are saying and how they are saying it.
I'm all with Ceramicmrno0b that you can work the dialogue over in revisions. Just get down what needs to be said, then think of something clever for your character to say afterwards. I do lots of "Oh, that's what he should have said!" and the great thing is that until it's published, you can always go back and make it so.

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