One way to write an action sequence
This is an excerpt from the very last part of the screenplay for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
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BUTCH streaking, diving again, then up, and the bullets landing around him aren’t even close as —
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SUNDANCE, whirling and spinning, continuing to fire and —
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SEVERAL POLICEMEN dropping for safety behind the wall and
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BUTCH really moving now, dodging, diving, up again and
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SUNDANCE flinging away one gun, grabbing another from his holster, continuing to turn and fire and
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TWO POLICEMEN falling wounded to the ground and
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BUTCH letting out a notch, then launching into another dive forward and
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SUNDANCE whirling, but you never know which way he’s going to spin and
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THE HEAD POLICEMAN cursing, forced to drop for safety behind the wall and
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BUTCH racing to the mules, and then he is there, grabbing at the near mule for ammunition and
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SUNDANCE throwing the second gun away, reaching into his holster for another, continuing to spin and fire and
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BUTCH and he has the ammunition now and
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ANOTHER POLICEMAN screaming as he falls and
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BUTCH, his arms loaded, tearing away from the mules and they’re still not even coming close to him as they fire and the mules are behind him now as he runs and cuts and cuts again, going full out and —
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THE HEAD POLICEMAN cursing incoherently at what is happening and —
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SUNDANCE whirling faster than ever and
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BUTCH dodging and cutting and as a pattern of bullets rips into his body he somersaults and lies there, pouring blood and
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SUNDANCE running toward him and
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ALL THE POLICEMEN rising up behind the wall now, firing and
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SUNDANCE as he falls.
The script’s writer, William Goldman, mentions this specific sequence in his book “Adventures in the Screen Trade” to make a point about action-writing. Read the sequence again and see if you notice something unusual about it. I’ll post the answer in a while.
UPDATE: From comments, we have the answer: if you track the entire sequence, you’ll see that it’s 293 words, straight through, until finally at the end, there’s a period. Goldman’s rationale behind making it one long run-on sentence was to not give the reader a break, to suggest one continuous flow of action and sentences with periods would have, in his view, interrupted the flow.