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Many writers find fight scenes tricky to write. Between the fast-paced action and your characters’ adrenaline running high, it’s no wonder that translating characters’ physical and emotional experiences onto the page can prove difficult in these scenes.
Here’s the good news: No matter if you’re writing a sword fight, a bar room brawl, or a magical duel for the ages, this week I have some tips that will help you.
TIP #1: What is the purpose of the fight scene?
A good fight scene is never just about the action, no matter how thrilling. Good scenes always serve a greater narrative purpose. Fight scenes, in particular, can establish and complicate threads of tension, deepen world-building, pave the way for future conflict, and lend to readers’ understanding of your characters.
TIP #2: Keep it real.
Your newly-trained soldier or inexperienced brawler isn’t going to knock out someone with a quick one-two punch. Not realistically.
When crafting fight scenes, always take characters’ skills and circumstances into account. What are your rivals’ strengths and weaknesses? What weapons do they have at their disposal?
Even a seasoned assassin will have trouble maintaining endurance in a fight if they’re bleeding from a bullet wound, and fresh emotional trauma will weaken the vast majority of fighters as much as any physical injury.
Don’t forget to take the setting of your scene into account as well. A cheering crowd, rocky terrain, or a dark alley. Where is the scene taking place and how does it affect your characters?
TIP #3: Weapons
You don't need to be an expert on weaponry or fighting styles to craft an epic fight scene, but you should have a decent handle on the tools and techniques your characters might use.
Simply put? Do your research. Using appropriate terminology can lend some much-needed realism to your fight scene, as can striving for accuracy where your characters’ skills, weapons, and fighting styles are concerned.
TIP #4: What’s the risk?
If you want readers to tear through the pages of your fight scene, then give them a reason to care about what happens next by establishing what your characters stand to lose.
Characters typically face the threat of injury, death, or capture in a fight scene, but the stakes that truly grip readers are often emotional. A character might stand to lose something or someone they love, or the fight might present them with a moral dilemma that tears at their conscience.
TIP #5: Show, don’t tell.
Let's talk about the five senses. Because fight scenes typically need tight pacing, there often isn’t room to describe anything beyond what the point-of-view character is experiencing. So make use of your character’s senses to draw readers deeper into the scene:
Sight: the glint of sunlight on a dagger
Taste: the sour taste of fear on their tongue
Scent: the bright, coppery scent of fresh blood
Sound: the sharp pat-pat of a semi-automatic rifle
Touch: the crunch of knuckle against bone
When writing sensory information, remember to keep things personal. Don’t describe what an onlooker would see. Get inside your point-of-view character’s head using techniques to help readers place themselves in your character’s shoes.
TIP #6: Choose your words carefully.
The language you use throughout your fight scene can have a big impact on its success, right down to the nuts and bolts. Consider word choice. A fight scene isn't the time to pull stylistic punches. Make a point of ditching flimsy verbs.
Weak Word Choice vs. Stronger Word Choice
I used my sword to deflect his. VS. I parried his blade.
Frantically, she tried to move out of his reach. VS. She scrambled back.
He shot desperately at the line of soldiers. VS. Heart pounding, he loosed a wild spray of bullets.
She slapped me across the face. VS. Her open palm flashed out, and pain blazed across my cheekbone.
Note how several of these examples make use of “Show, Don’t Tell” principles.
TIP #7: Now what?
The violence of a fight scene doesn't end with the final blow. Glossing over the consequences of conflict and trauma can only hurt the realism of your scene.
So after your character pulls the trigger, consider their physical and emotional wounds. How will they address these consequences? Are they in shock? Will they weep or heave or offer prayers? Do they need to see a doctor?
Don’t forget about the long-term consequences. Did the fight make your main character a wanted man? Did they ruin a relationship with a friend? Will they get expelled from school or fired from a job?
Whatever the case, don’t ignore the impact of the fight to simply move on to the next thrilling scene. Follow up on its stakes and consequences, and your fight scene will pack a powerful punch.
Finally, remember that the magic of writing happens in revision. Just as your assassin didn’t develop her blade-twirling skills overnight, you aren’t going to nail your fight scene on the first try.
So get it down on the page, then focus on cutting and stabbing. Before you know it, you’ll have one epic fight scene that readers will devour with nail-biting glee.
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Action/Adventure: June 23, 2021 Issue [#10766]
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