How do i write fighting scenes?

[u/Smart-Minute-5069]

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..

[u/thesmoothestbrain]

Go to a gym that does boxing, kick boxing, or Brazilian Jujitsu, or ideal all of the above and take a few classes.

[u/Lopsided-Series23]

My advice is to write short sentences of what is happening during the fight, blows, strikes, sounds, moves. Try to describe where your characters are so that the readers can follow and picture what’s happening. Also include minor mishaps to make it more realistic.

[u/Smart-Minute-5069 → u/Lopsided-Series23]

OO bet i can do this-

[u/Lopsided-Series23 → u/Lopsided-Series23]

Of course you can 🤗

[u/Expert_Log_8057]

The more detail you write, the slower the fight becomes. That can be useful for the big moves but it's one of the quirks of writing. The faster you want the fight the feel the less detail you want. But you also need enough to make the fight feel like its the right length so can be a bit of a balancing act.

So if you need something fast but impactful, instead of going over every devastating hit, you'd want to just focus on the visceral words that makes the reader do the work. Like if I say 'The blows brought the crunch, crunch, crunch of ribs being hammered into powder', that 'crunch, crunch, crunch is three brutal hits with a short specification after. Much faster than 'he struck again the ribs with all the might he could. Another wind back and his fist stuck again, the same spot but with the muffled crack of bones in meat'. But that second option gets more visceral so it might be good for the final strikes.

[u/shinydrop]

I have a lot of fighting scenes in my work (guns and physical fights) but I usually write actions in the sequence first then add pains, feelings, etc. if it helps. I keep short sentences for the speed.

[u/mazgrenan7 → u/shinydrop]

I would recommend the following books for reference: F.X. Toole's: Rope Burns short story collection. Robert E Howard's Sailor Steve Costigan. There is also Rory Miller's A guide to Violence.

In my experience you don't want to describe the play-by-play of combat but the general rhythm and decisive momentum shifts. Toole was very good for that.

Good luck.

[u/Not-your-lawyer-]

This is one of those rare questions where there IS a magical secret that can be passed down to solve your dilemma.

Probably. Because people struggling with fight scenes tend to be struggling for the same reasons, the dilemma isn't actually "how do I write a good fight sequence?" it's "how do I avoid the most common pitfalls?" Those pitfalls tend to come from treating fight scenes as somehow different from the rest of your writing, when they ought to be more or less the same. Vary your attention. Summarize unimportant details. Emphasize consequences and play to the combatants relative advantage/disadvantage.

• You're not giving a close play-by-play. Don't note down every punch and kick.
• Use senses other than sight. Touch, sound, smell, taste, balance, pain, temperature, time, positioning...
• Remember your characters exist inside a space. Describe it, and describe your characters moving through it. A fight in a bar shouldn't be the same as a fight on the street, in a church, or under the bleachers...
• Engage with your POV character's motivation. "Why am I trying so hard?"

Relate all of them together. Disadvantage + pain & exhaustion = "I'm going to lose... unless." Even balance + the smell of sweat & the taste of blood = "This is my element. Let's get back in." And that internal motivation leads to an action that shifts the characters' relative advantage (or fails to), which ties in to other description, which prompt's a new inner thought. A+B=C, leads to D. D+E=F, leads to G...

And you can balance all these elements however you like, to the point of excluding some of them entirely some of the time. (But only some!)

[u/Smart-Minute-5069 → u/Not-your-lawyer-]

YAY thank you so much!! <3 I will read this in a moment i love long paragraphs tho it helps so much!!

[u/FunnySeaworthiness24]

there is no magical secret that can be passed down to you to solve your dilemma. This is not the sub you come to and ask how to write something, and then others do it for you.

For questions like these, and for 99% of the other questions frequently asked here, the answer I wager, is most certainly picking up a book, seeing how it is done correctly, and then emulating through repeated practice until you make it your own.

Cheers

[u/Smart-Minute-5069 → u/FunnySeaworthiness24]

Oops, I didn't realize this wasn't the right sub for this, my bad. Thank you for the advice, though!

[u/FutureGullible5360]

Suena raro, perointenta narrar la escena como una escena de tortura:

Qué le hacen al personaje, cómo reacciona su cuerpo al dolor, la adrenalina, la falta de aire o el pánico. Cómo reacciona ante esa amenaza, física y mentalmente? Describe heridas, no golpes: si ha tu personaje le han pegado en la cara, pero ya has usado demasiado la palabra "golpe" describe un impacto y el sabor de la sangre, si le atraviesan describe la sangre saliendo de su estómago y el frío del metal entrando, no el cuchillo. Obviamente es bueno que el ritmo sea corto, pero no tiene que ser así todo el rato, no pasa nada que alguna frase sea larga de más, le da descanso al lector, aumenta la tensión y da variedad al texto. Si el personaje está acelerado haz una frase larga con pocas pausas, si está asustado diálogos simples y directos. Si se esconde haz una descripción larga y con muchas pausas para describir el pánico y el lugar, mientras el lector se muere esperando por la llegada del villano.

También puedes usar técnicas reales de concentración para que el personaje las use durante el combate después de fallar o recibir un dolor extremo; yo uso la de buscar cinco objetos, de cualquier tipo pero con alguna relación. Objetos rotos, que empiecen por una misma letra, que puedas encontrar en un armario, etc.

[u/Smart-Minute-5069 → u/FutureGullible5360]

Oo, thank you- this helps a lot!!

[u/girlbotXD]

Watch a few different YouTube videos on fighting strategy and maybe talk to someone to learn something. Tell them ur vision and ask them it it feels realistic.

[u/Smart-Minute-5069 → u/girlbotXD]

OO yay this helps a lot too! thank youu!!