How to Write Action and Sports Scenes That Keep Readers on the Edge: A One-Day Online Writing Workshop with Emma Kress

Begins Sunday, August 9, 2026

Live Seminar via Zoom from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET 

🌍 Class Times by Time Zone: Los Angeles (PDT): 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM / Chicago (CDT): 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM / New York (EDT): 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM / London (BST): 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM / Berlin (CEST): 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

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Instructor Bio

Instructor Emma Kress is the author of the young-adult sports and action thriller Dangerous Play (Macmillan) about a team of field hockey players who become vigilantes. She earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a long-time teacher and was one of four finalists for New York State Teacher of the Year. She has delivered writing workshops to writers of all ages. She lives in upstate New York with her family, who all agree that Die Hard is absolutely a holiday movie.

Who is this class for?

This online writing workshop is for fiction writers who want to write convincing action and sports scenes that keep readers turning pages. While most examples are drawn from young-adult and middle-grade fiction, the techniques apply to writers across genres and experience levels. Open to all levels.

What to expect:

If you look at the most popular stories today, you'll find books and movies that have made space for sports and action — whether it's in the background (Heated Rivalry) or the foreground (Avengers). Readers love a good action scene: a car chase, a fistfight, the first game of the season, the State Championships. We love to root for our main character in those moments of physical struggle. To pull that off, writers must create characters readers care about, set the scene with precision, and describe the action in a way that is believable and engaging. We need clear stakes, conflict, and motivation — not to mention credibility.

But what if you've never been in a knife fight or won that trophy? In this online writing class, you'll discover the ingredients of a successful action/sports scene, develop the tools you need to write one, and have time to practice and put those tools to work — even if you're not an international spy or Olympic athlete.

Using film clips, live sports moments, and short reading excerpts as touchstones, we'll build an action scene from the inside out. Strategy deep dives will focus on research, character motivation, scene purpose, scene set-up, conflict, stakes, tension, surprise, language, and voice. Short writing sprints and longer meditative writing exercises will give you space to apply each technique in real time.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will:

• Develop a working understanding of scene structure, conflict, stakes, and character motivation
• Identify what makes an action or sports scene succeed on the page
• Build a toolkit of practical techniques for writing action and sports scenes now and in the future
• Generate character and scene sketches, plus related scene-building side writing, that can feed directly into current or future drafts

Readings

Readings may include excerpts from In the Same Boat by Holly Green and When You Look Like Us by Pamela Harris, alongside selected clips from action films and live sports moments.

COURSE OUTLINE

Part 1: The Anatomy of a Great Action/Sports Scene Why sports and action grip readers. We'll use film clips, sports footage, and short reading excerpts to identify the key techniques required to bring believable action to the page.

Part 2: Strategy Deep Dives A focused exploration of the building blocks: research, character motivation, scene purpose, scene set-up, conflict, stakes, tension, surprise, language, and voice.

Part 3: Writing Sprints and Meditative Exercises Hands-on application. Hyper-focused writing sprints alongside longer, more leisurely explorations — both designed to help you build an action or sports scene from the inside out.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• A working understanding of scene structure, conflict, stakes, and character motivation
• Clear insight into what makes an action or sports scene work on the page
• Practical techniques you can apply to action and sports scenes now and in future drafts
• Character and scene sketches, plus related scene-building side writing, ready to fold into current or future projects

TESTIMONIALS:

"Emma brought warmth and real, personal connection to our virtual session. Students left feeling inspired and ready to dive more deeply into their own art." — Emily Dowd, Librarian

"Emma Kress is one of the most outstanding and talented teachers I have ever had the pleasure of observing." — Jim Froio, Superintendent of Schools

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $99 USD. You can pay for the course in full or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout.

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

• Instructor: Emma Kress
• Begins Sunday, August 9, 2026
• Class will meet for one live session via Zoom on Sunday, August 9, from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET
• Tuition is $99 USD.