Suit up: A Guide to the Action World

⤷Tips on writing a fight scene

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𝖙𝖎𝖕𝖘 𝖔𝖓 𝖜𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖆 𝖋𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 𝖘𝖈𝖊𝖓𝖊

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Fight scenes are common in a variety of genres, including action, spy, and mystery novels, as well as fantasy and science fiction. They're frequently a tangible expression of the tension that's driving your story - and they're terrific for keeping readers interested.

Knowing how to write an authentic, exciting battle scene is a vital ability to have no matter what genre you write in. But why is it so difficult to create authentic action and fight scenes.

The scene has to strike the right balance between the actual action and the other important elements, like emotion and personal stakes.

With that said, let's dive into some handy tips writers can use when crafting fight scenes in any genre.

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1. 𝐄𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

First in for most do not write/include fight scene just for the sake of having one. While action adds intrigue and keeps the tempo flowing, it should never be used to 'spice things up.' Physical struggle must always contribute to story advancement and/or character development.

For every fight scene you plan on including, ask yourself: what purpose does this scene serve?

If you are writing a fight scene make sure that the sole purpose of that fight is related to the goal of your story, such as to achieve power, fame, justice, maximum leve, etc. 

Guide Questions that can help you write these scenes

Plot-wise

Does the scene act as a crucial plot point, directly affecting later events in the story? 

Does it throw an extra roadblock in the way of your protagonist achieving their goal?

Character-wise

Does the scene reveal something about the character/s involved – their fears, their strengths, their weaknesses? 

Does the outcome of the fight have an effect on a , or on the way they change throughout the story?

When you want to incorporate a combat scene, be honest with yourself. If you answered 'no' to all of the above questions, you might just be inserting the scenario to increase the pace. And if that's the case, you'll need to reconsider the dynamics of that specific battle scene - or scrap it entirely.

2. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞

Over-description is a typical error made by many authors when writing fight scenes. To begin, keep in mind that battle scenes should prioritize action over description. They aren't the place to go into great detail about your characters. Instead, your language should be action-oriented, with a concentration on verbs and a minimum of adjectives and adverbs.

Many writers fall into the trap of writing out an exact choreography of their fight scene, providing the reader with a literal blow-by-blow and as much detail as possible. But this can actually end up being quite tiresome for the reader. Plus, it doesn't leave much room for emotion.

So instead of meticulously documenting every punch, duck and pivot, leave some things up to the reader's imagination. Give them just enough detail so that they get the basic gist of the characters' movements and can picture the scene in their own mind.

3. 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Most characters would not engage in physical violence unless they had a strong motivation, which is frequently fueled by tremendous emotion. In order for action scenes to have the biggest impact, readers must be emotionally invested as well.

So how do you successfully infuse a fight scene with emotion?

As we discussed above, fight scenes are a place for action over description, and this includes the internal thoughts of your characters. To keep up the pace, we don't want to know everything they're thinking during every moment of the fight. Instead, we want to see everything they're feeling.

Illustrate with physical demonstrators: pounding hearts, blood rushing in ears, weak legs, hazy vision, and so on. Highlight their fury, their desperation, their feelings of triumph or defeat.

Balance out the physical blows with emotional ones to and make your fight scenes much more meaningful.

4. 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜

When you're writing a fight scene, it can be tempting to make it as dramatic, exciting and cinematic as possible. This is all well and good – but you must still make sure you keep things realistic.

Here are a few unrealistic things you might see in a fight scene:

1. A protagonist taking on multiple opponents simultaneously and defeating them all without so much as a scratch.

2. Opponents pausing to exchange witty banter in between every blow. 

3. An untrained (or only recently trained) protagonist easily defeating opponents who are far more experienced or skilled. 

4. Characters with a seemingly never-ending supply of energy in a long fight.

5. In order for the fight scene to be more intense we should first feel the struggle of the protagonist. 

But be sure the liberties aren't so unrealistic as to make your readers roll their eyes. Even if you write fantasy, things can't be too over-the-top and unbelievable – you don't want to fall prey to !

5. 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

The writing style used in a battle scene is important. Sentence length, paragraph breaks, and punctuation can all have a significant impact on the pacing and impact of a fight scene. Fight scenes are typically fast-paced, so your writing style should reflect this.

Use short, snappy sentences. Make use of paragraph breaks to increase the impact of your writing. Use punctuation effectively, such as ending a sentence with a dash to show a character being hit by an unexpected strike.

In conclusion, fight scenes should be kept to a relatively short length. After half a dozen pages of non-stop action, keeping up with the fight can become wearisome rather than exciting, so for maximum impact, try to keep each fight scene to a few pages, max.

Word choice can also help to make or break a fight scene. Try to use visceral words that bring the fight to life for the reader – for example: 'With a sickening crunch, her fist connected with his jaw, knocking teeth loose and snapping his head back.'

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Source:

Bradshaw, C.(2021). Five Quick Tips For Writing Thrilling Fight Scene. Retrieved January 28, 2022 from https://writersedit.com/fiction-writing/5-quick-tips-writing-thrilling-fight-scenes/