Writing help: describing actions?

That's a big part of editing your work. It takes more than one draft to do the best work you can. Good Luck

Use strong verbs. Avoid adverbs at all costs.

It can be tough getting action right.

My own self-imposed rule is not to choreograph when a character does something the same way anybody else does. So they don't sit up on the sofa, rise to their feet, walk across the room, place their hand on the doorknob, twist, and open the door. They just answer the door.

When action matters, though, I make myself stay very rigidly inside my point of view character's experience. In a battle, riot, or football game, my POV guy cannot possibly know anything except what's immediately around him and how his body interacts with the environment, including the people in it. He also does not stop thinking when he moves, so I can mix up thought, movement, dialogue, etc.

I try to use strong verbs in straight present or past tense, depending on the rest of the narrative, rather than progressive -ing verbs. As the action grows more intense, my sentences get shorter, even choppy. And as it ends and he slows down or steps outside before the cops arrive, the sentences get longer.

Try writing eloquently.