The Right To Write

Fighting Scenes: Part 1

Fighting scenes practically define half the existing genres, but what makes a good action scene?

Stakes, Direction, and Reason. The secret to fighting scenes is determining its purpose. Never write an action scene for the sake of having one. There are two main questions you should be asking yourself while planning a fighting scene: Why does this fight scene need to take place? and What are the stakes? 

Simply, your protagonist needs something to lose and something to gain. Something that advances the plot and vice-versa. Is it because Laura has to win back an important clue to the murder in a gang fight? Or is she simply fighting for her life? Your character is looking for resolve, not trouble. Action scenes always need to rest on a goal and purpose. 

They also need to rest on stakes. Your character needs something to lose, and as a writer, you need to make it a known fact. It doesn't have to be a life-or-death situation to qualify as compelling. In fact, the most compelling are correlated with character values, the risk of your character losing something he values very much--unless the fight scene is completely unexpected yet relevant. That is when readers can sympathize with the protagonist's battle, when your character's values are challenged.

And of course, fighting scenes need to affect the plot, even in the slightest way. It needs to somehow fit in the big picture of the plot. They either take it a step forward or backwards.