A Guide On Creating A Warrior Cat Fanfiction

Battle-Scenes

NOTE: everything is based off of the opinion and observations of the author. This is just advice written by her own knowledge, and you are by no means obligated to follow any of her "rules or guidelines." They are only there to provide help if needed, or suggestions. Every author has the right to create whatever they want!

Almost every single Warrior cat book and fanfiction often end with a battle-scene, or may include one at some point in the series. There are lots of common mistakes made to them, and here I thought why not help? They're not as important as the first few topics I've gone over, but when writing events in your fanfiction, whether it's good or bad can effect how many readers you have. So let's get on with the advice, shall we?

The point of the battle.

Okay, this is the most common mistake made by fan-authors when they write their books. The battle often has no point, and two or more Clans are always just fighting for no entire reason. I almost made this mistake in my own fanfiction because DarkClan and MoonClan were always on a feud with each other. I realized how ridiculous it was, thus I developed a whole backstory and reason behind their constant battles.

I recommend that you do this as well, because honestly it will make your story have like a backbone to support it, and it'll also be much more interesting. Two Clans often fighting each other for no reason is a common mistake, and sometimes writing it without realizing slips past yourself. Be sure to re-read your battle scenes to make sure there is a point behind the fighting!

The good guys don't always win.

I've mentioned this topic before on "Beginning, Middle, and End," and it also applies to battle scenes. Let us begin, shall we? All the newbie fanfiction writers do this. I did it, you did it, we all did it. If not, then wow, you've been off to a good start. Anyways, like I said, the good guys don't always win.

When I wrote my first fanfiction, obviously ThunderClan won all the battles they fought. My protagonist (Frost-something, I forgot) was always winning, and he was basically the strongest cat in the Clan. I deleted that story because it was poorly written and I hated it and I was extremely inexperienced with the whole Warriors franchise in general.

Anyways, make sure that you reduce the amount of times you let the good guys win. In the end of a book, they don't even have to ultimately win the 'war' or whatever you're doing! Surprising, right? Well, that adds 2000x interest to your story, because there is always something poetic and interesting and fun about the good guys not winning.

Please, do not do the following:

-At the end of every battle, some writers like to make their she-cats faint for no apparent reason. If she's extremely injured, loosing blood, or if she hit her head, it's fine if she does, I guess. (It's weird because for some reason the she-cats are always fainting, too. I just had to point that out).

-Try to reduce the amount of killing that happens in the battle. According to the warrior code, it should only happen when necessary, and when the warriors fight in battle, they try not to murder the cats from other Clans. I guess you can only do it if your cat is evil and the Clan he/she's from is also evil.

-Do not make different battle-scenes sound similar to each other. Sometimes I see this—it's as if the writer copied their first battle, pasted it to the next one and changed a few things.

Battle Training.

An important part of apprenticeship is to have your character battle-train. There's not much to say about this. My advise is, please don't forget about including scenes of battle-training in your book if your protagonist is an apprentice or a mentor. Many people forget to include such important scenes. They're necessary in showing the readers how the apprentice develops, and that the mentor is doing their appointed job. Battle-training is an overall necessary part of Clan life.

Extra Advice.

Well, for good fighting moves, I advise you to research the warriors wiki (warriors.wikia.com) because there are some sections dedicated to things like these. I know there is not much to the battle-scenes section, but I tried to stretch out the information I had. In case you're too lazy to go all the way over there, here's the list I copy and pasted from there website for reference:

BATTLE MOVES

Back Kick - Explosive surprise move to catch opponent from behind. Judge opponent's distance from you carefully, then lash out with your back legs, taking all weight on your front paws.

Belly Rake - A fight-stopper. Slice with unsheathed claws against the soft flesh of the opponent's belly. If you're pinned down, the belly rake quickly puts you back into control.

Front Paw Blow - Frontal attack. Bring your front paw down hard on your opponent's head. Claws sheathed.

Front Paw Strike/Forepaw Slash - Frontal attack. Slice downward with your front paw at the face or body of your opponent.

Killing Bite - A death blow to the back of the neck. Quick and silent and sometimes considered dishonorable. Used only as a last resort.

Leap-and-hold - Ideal for a small cat facing a larger opponent. Spring onto opponent's back and grip with unsheathed claws. Now you are beyond the range of the opponent's paws and in position to inflict severe body wounds. A group of apprentices can defeat a large and dangerous warrior in this way. Watch for the drop-and-roll counter move, and try to jump free before you get squashed.

Partner Fighting - Warriors who have trained and fought together will often fall instinctively into a defensive position, each protecting each other's back while fending off an opponent on either side. Slashing, clawing, and leaping together, battle pairs can be a whirlwind of danger for attackers.

Play Dead - Effective in a tight situation, such as when you are pinned. Stop struggling and go limp. When your opponent relaxes their grip, thinking you are defeated, push yourself up explosively. This will throw off an unwary opponent and put you in attacking position.

Scruff Shake - Secure a strong teeth grip in the scruff of your opponent's neck; then shake violently until they are too rattled to fight back. Most effective against rats, who are small enough to throw. A strong throw will stun or kill them.

Tail Yank - Grab your opponent's tail and yank it with such force your opponent is thrown off balance.

Teeth Grip - Target your opponent's extremities – the legs, tail, scruff or ears – and sink in your teeth and hold. This move is similar to the leap-and-hold except your claws remain free to fight.

Upright Lock - Final, crushing move on already weakened opponent. Rear up on back legs and bring weight down on opponent. If opponent does the same, wrestle and flip them under you. This makes you vulnerable to the belly rake, so it takes great strength and speed.

Half-Turn Belly Rake - Turn onto your side, slip under the opponent's belly, rake it with your claws, then swiftly turn back onto all fours out from under your opponent.

Badger Defense: Leap over opponent, turn on your back legs and bite opponent's leg. Used only when fighting badgers.

Duck and Twist: Simple defensive move. The cat ducks then twists around, rolling over onto their back, and then springs to their paws

Jump and pin: Complicated move. Leap backwards, and bounce off the wall. With precise accuracy, land on the cat.