How can I say something like this: 

> 
> It was getting dark. They suddenly understood the danger they were going to face. They ...... trying. 
> 
> 
> 

Or 

> 
> After the incident, different agencies .... to offer a practical solution.
> 
> 
> 

I don't want to use words like **started** or **began**. In our language, we have something like: **to fall into scrambling** or **put into trying** Or somehow become **like a boiling water to do sth**. Sorry if these don't make sense.