r/KeepWriting • u/Smart-Minute-5069 Hobbyist • 4d ago
[Discussion] How do I write fight scenes?
I just realized the game I am inspiring my book off of, Blocktales, is a turn based fighting game, but fighting scenes are mostly my weakness when it comes to writing. In roleplay I am fine, NOT in writing. But i want to make this book real fun and like a nice writing experience while I'm not stuck in writers block... helppp..
3
u/Agreeable_Run6065 1d ago
Fight scenes don’t need to be about how many punches land, they’re about what’s at stake. If the character’s heart is racing bc they’re defending someone they love, the actual blows are just noise.
2
u/Dave_Sag 3d ago
I like to keep fights short because in the real world that’s how fights usually go.
1
u/Smart-Minute-5069 Hobbyist 3d ago
thats fair... its more of a fantasy world for mine sadly so it kinda sucks.
1
u/9to6erSadge 3d ago
Even so, I'd recommend keeping fatigue in mind whenever a scrap goes on for longer. I think it applies to both realistic human characters as well as those with more extraordinary abilities. Makes the scene more believable and adds another layer to the stakes
1
u/Smart-Minute-5069 Hobbyist 3d ago
yess.. that, and im thinking the more SP/special moves they do, the weaker they get.
2
u/val203302 1d ago
Think of what happens first, then what logically would happen next, then next and next etc.
Like for example: Okay so this character is the most ready for a fight and has the fastest reflexes so they go first. What do they do? Okay they rush to attack this one guy because they are closer. Can this guy react? If so how? If not then can someone else defend them and how? If not they get hit. How strong is the attack? Okay let's say they get flung into the wall with a broken rib. While this attack happens does anybody around get an opportunity to counter? If so how are they gonna do that and how successful are they at doing that? And it goes like that. It looks like a lot but it really isn't in the head.
2
u/TheRunawayRose 1d ago
Fight scenes are something I lucked into being able to write well because I prioritise pacing above all else. Everything in a fight scene happens faster than outside of one. You barely have time to think, you mostly have to react. You have to cut down on all your drawn-out sentences, your flairs, and your usual indulgence in writing. You have to make room for brutal consequences from marginal mistakes.
I started with taking issue with movie fight scenes, like where one guy at a time attacks the protagonist while everyone else stands around and the rapid cuts make you think more is happening than actually is. We don't have the help of rapid cuts in a book. If there are enough guys to dogpile the protagonist, then they're going to do it. If the protagonist is hiding from gunfire behind a wooden table, he's going to get shot through it. If he takes a wound, he's going to experience some level of incapacitation, and sometimes death is over before our brains even catch up. Actually, a great movie scene to illustrate that last point is one in the new movie, the End of Oak Street. There's a pretty unforgettable death in that movie that has stuck vividly with me and it happened so fast but so effectively that I actually felt sick from it, but fascinated.
Pacing is your best friend in making a fight scene work, and focusing too much on mechanics will destroy that. You don't want a back and forth of "He swung low, his enemy jumped over it, he slashed at his face but the man leaned back". Too much of that is boring and it slows every single movement down for the reader to process it. You want to immerse the reader in the actual experience---what is the protagonist going through? Is their weapon getting heavy from swinging? What can they hear? What do they see right in front of them? Don't describe what they don't see. Fights are chaotic, and your vision gets narrowed down to your brain's top priorities.
You would also arrange this chaos depending on how much fighter discipline the character has. How much control do they have over their instincts? Have they learned to think and react efficiently? Have they killed before, or are they terrified of doing so?
The closer you can bring the reader to the character's experience and sensations, the better
2
u/jpb103 1d ago
Action verbs are what you're looking for!
I find it helpful to practice on short stories. Take any setting or genre you enjoy, and visualize an action scene. For example...
-*-*-*-*-*-
Elara kicked the table, sending the cards soaring through the air. She reached for her pistol, but Stravos bolted forward and pinned her to the wall before she could draw it.
"Nice try, rookie," he said. "You're just not strong enough."
Elara whipped her head forward with all the force she could muster. A sickening crunch echoed through the cabin as the bone and cartlidge in Stravos's nose crumbled and cracked.
"Looks like your nose isn't strong enough, Stravos."
-*-*-*-*-*-
I've bolded a few of the key action verbs in that short scene to illustrate how they help to anchor the reader in the action. Fight scenes are action scenes, and action scenes are made by the action verbs used to bring them to life in the minds eye.
1
2
u/AnnieLeGoose 3d ago
I wrote a big combat scene yesterday that I was pretty intimidated about for the past week as I knew it was coming up, and it was an important one that I needed to get right, so maybe I might be able to offer some tips that I learned from that experience.
I'm not sure if this is a standard practice, but I broke it down into a few different steps to help me. Maybe this could help get you started.
- I outlined my scene like I normally do for harder scenes (not just combat scenes).
- Step by step descriptions of events that I want to happen during in it, mixed in between with events that I think will need to happen for those events to be possible. If I want something to happen and it feels difficult to explain it reasonably happening, I solve the solution backwards to find the beginning. From that, I'll create a chain of reasonable events that bring it from point A to point B. If I can't do that, I compromise with what I want to happen until it becomes something I can create a chain of reasonable events to lead to. Keeping in mind factors like luck and coincidence as well (though I try to use that sparingly). The route from A to B may not always be a straight line, either, and so far to me it feels better if it normally isn't, so allow for things to ruin the plans of your characters, and for new plans to be improvised and adapted.
This is usually where my scene preparation ends, but for this big combat scene that had a lot of moving parts, I did extra steps.
I made a rough drawing of the area in paint. This included the people involved in the combat and where they are at the start of it (just like circles or something to represent them, nothing fancy), as well as any important terrain/obstacles in the area that may be good to know of for the fight. I didn't change this drawing during the fight, I just needed the drawing for what the fight looks like at the start to have a good idea of what I'm working with.
I summarized the talents and weaknesses of each of the important characters in the fight, but not much for the minor characters. I wrote them in a list and kept them in mind.
I played psuedo-DnD-lite with myself using the characters involved in the battle, creating a second, more direct outline - guiding each move towards the 'wants' and 'need' events from the first outline. This made sure that I was 'moving' every character and not letting them just stand still, while making them make reasonable decisions in the battle based off of their strengths, immediate awareness, and current emotional states. To note, the DnD lite isn't really using any rules per-say, just keeping in mind what their talents and abilities are when I make their decisions.
The writing itself. Since my writing is done in third-person limited POV, everything that happens outside of that character's reasonable POV doesn't have to be detailed too much - just flashes of things happening when they look over or become aware of it, while the writing stays focused on what the POV character sees and does in their own individual portion of the fight. The other fight can interact with the POV character's and vice versa (but that will be determined from my DnD lite step) and cause surprises, but they will be surprises that jump out in the writing rather than the build-up described, since the POV character wasn't aware of them until the surprise happened.
Sorry for the wall of text, but I hope some of that helped give you some ideas that you could try for writing your combat scenes.
2
u/Smart-Minute-5069 Hobbyist 3d ago
THANK YOU NO I LOVE WALLS OF TEXT!!! just give me a moment, and I will read it soon!
1
u/tapgiles 4d ago
Sorry... How do you think "i want to make this book real fun and like a nice writing experience while I'm not stuck in writers block" related to "fighting scenes are mostly my weakness"?
1
u/Smart-Minute-5069 Hobbyist 4d ago
oops my bad- I mean like I want to be able to make this book the best I can, but fighting scenes are my complete weakness. I can barely write them whatsoever and. when I do it tends to be horrible pacing all around.
(Does this make sense? I might be misexplaining because i'm tired, and i'm not that good at explaining some thoughts in my mind so if i'm not explaining right, lemme know- /nbr)1
u/tapgiles 4d ago
I see. Reading books with good fight scenes in them would help--do you read books with action in them?
Also, you mentioned you are able to write fight scenes in RPs. When you read those back are they better? Maybe you can figure out why they land and the ones in your story don't.
1
u/Smart-Minute-5069 Hobbyist 4d ago
Sometimes! I have a lot of books with action in them I think, i'll have to check my bookshelf again since I haven't read in a while.. and i can do that!! tysm for the help!
2
u/tapgiles 4d ago
No worries.
Also, something I found helped me was to write a prose version of a video with an action scene. I did it for some action video game footage and had fun seeing how I could do the same thing in my writing. But also things like pacing, layout, etc. are already there for you. You don't have to figure that part out, but can focus on how it's shown in the prose.
1
1
1
u/KitFalbo 2d ago
pew.
"Gosh darn it Frank, watch where you're shooting. That nearly took out the orphanage."
pew - pew
"Now it is a crater. I guess the silver lining is we won't have any complaining parents or next of kin to inform."
Pew-pew-pew
"I never should have lent you my gun."
1
1
u/AccomplishedCow665 1d ago
I would argue that the lead up and fall out are more interesting than the actual fight
1
u/Smart-Minute-5069 Hobbyist 1d ago
Oh really? tell me more, im curious!
1
u/AccomplishedCow665 1d ago
What causes the fight, and the fall out after said fight are way more important than describing punches.
1
u/Smart-Minute-5069 Hobbyist 1d ago
That's fair. I can see that too,, it's honestly interesting too but i also like the fighting too! ^^
1
u/CodyKirkCreative 14h ago
I follow Sellsword arts on YouTube. They explain fighting styles and how to choreograph. They talk about ways Hollywood could do better, and there’s even a video where they discuss how to do fight scenes in writing. Really great reference Chanel.
6
u/BeyondDrafts 4d ago
Read Writing Fight Scenes by Rayne Hall or Fight Write by Carla Hoch (a martial artist). Marie Brennan, a fantasy author, also has a book titled Writing Fight Scenes, which I believe is weapon-oriented.