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yaraiso
Sep '24

We all know you can't have an action fantasy novel without a good helping of action sequences.

Maybe it's because I've never been in a fight IRL, but I did a lot of research to learn more and wanted to share some things I keep top of mind so I'm never too lost to write.

  • Fights take a long time when the opponents are evenly matched (you know this if you watch battle shounen.....)
  • If the combatants aren't evenly matched, that's just a beat-down!
  • Characters can be advantaged and disadvantaged in different ways (an open-minded or desperate amateur can still go toe-to-toe with an arrogant expert)
  • Fight scenes are still scenes with a beginning, middle, and end
    • Can begin by openly declaring a challenge, or sneaking up on the target; confrontations can be expected/planned, or unexpected/unplanned
    • No need to describe every move. Go into detail at the key moments and the special/unique moves
    • Can end with a clear winner or loser, can mutually unspokenly agree it's a tie, or the fight can be interrupted and ended by external circumstances (and then hold a rematch in a later chapter)
  • Make sure the reader knows the stakes (reputation, money, life and death, etc.)

I think the most interesting thing about reading fight scenes is seeing the psychology of being in a fight, especially the act of problem-solving the question 'How do I win?'.

I like to read about how the characters evaluate their opponents strengths and weaknesses, how they predict their opponents next moves and decide their own, and I think it's especially great when they incorporate environmental factors into their strategy and get creative!

In my novel, all of Chapter 4 is an action sequence that includes a high speed race flying up and down a mountain, and an unarmed 1-vs-1 ankle-deep in a lake.

Leave a link to a chapter you’ve written that includes a fight scene, and share how you went about writing it! I'd love to learn more!

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    Sep '24

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    Sep '24
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Leyelle
Sep '24

Okay, i don't have any fight scenes rn, but i do have action sequences. I write these by focusing on the sensation of adrenaline running through the character's head and breaking up sentences and thoughts to make everything feel like it's moving quickly, especially when the character is hit by a sudden (and unpleasant) surprise. Something like a written jump-scare for novel readers.

Ybot76
Sep '24

I typically try to have 3 different focusses in mind. Describing every move becomes a bit tedious for a reader even if I'm a fan of writing it that way, so I typically start with describing a set of exchanges in relative depth, then simply say they exchange and focus on a characters emotional state and internal monologue. Spiced throughout that are elements of singular attacks or exchanges in where the goal of the fight is present in their mind. Towards the end of a fight I typically go back to blow for blow to build tension.

https://tapas.io/episode/32931742 This is a chapter which is mostly a fight scene

BokBok
Sep '24

Find a good music who goes well with the kind of fight you want and just let your imagination do the rest, imagine it like a film and describe it, in general it also depend when you write it (Often at evening/night the imagination is better !) my novel rn doesn't particular fight but I've done it with an ancient story yrs ago lol

miyaskya
Sep '24

My stories' fight/action scenes tend to have an anime-like vibe. I use shorter sentences to quicken the pacing and describe not only direct action (i.e. blades clashing) but also the characters' physical and emotional reactions (i.e. sliding across the dirt when they are pushed backward, heart beating erratically, or feeling unusually calm under pressure). I also describe what is going on in the background if there are two very powerful characters battling each other (i.e. entire mountains crumbling).

Some examples:

The Silver Sorcerer

Murat and Silver Sorcerer vs Forest Spirit

Ulanbek vs Vargoranth Soldiers

Grand Epic Elemental

Leiyu vs Desert Bandits

Leiyu vs Thallios

Thallios vs Shrouded Figure

Leiyu vs Astatine

Amara vs Samarian

The Adventures of Astatine

Astatine vs Giant Wolf

Space Opera Elemental

Leiyu vs Sandworm

DokiDokiTsuna
Sep '24
1

Lots of good advice in the OP~. Although I think there are a few other things to consider if you want to make a fight scene really enjoyable: pacing and tone.

In a fight scene, simply describing the back-and-forth trading of blows won't leave the reader with any sense of pace; after a while the scene will feel dull and skippable. But emphasizing certain attacks, strategies, and injuries will give the reader things to focus on, and help build anticipation for how the fight will unfold.

One way to do this is through emotional reactions: the time you allow your POV character(s) to react and reflect on what's happening. If they get hit and recoil just briefly (or not at all) before counterattacking, you're signaling to the reader that it wasn't a serious blow. But if the character is hit and doubles over in pain, screams, and/or needs a moment to catch their breath and figure out what to do next, you're signaling that the blow was more severe by slowing down the pace, and allowing the reader a moment for their own emotional release-- that's what'll keep them engaged.

Alternate between fast and slow-paced moments, saving the slower ones for the most important moments, and you'll create a more immersive scene.

Now, tone is a little more complex, especially when it comes to fight scenes. I've seen pros struggle with this even in visual media; I can't imagine what goes on in prose...but in my experience, you define this through choreography. The types of attacks your characters perform, and their reactions to it. And the reactions from onlookers, if they're around.

Example 1:

I started out by hitting them twice in the jaw, which felt very satisfying. But before I could decide on my next move, they grabbed my hair and pulled my face into their knee.

The next five minutes were a bit of a blur…I remembered stumbling into the reception desk at one point, flipping Paulina over it to finally escape their clutches. I also remembered hearing people shrieking and taking pictures around us, and realizing that I would definitely get into trouble for this.

Paulina made up for their lack of physical strength by using the office furniture as projectile weapons, which did manage to dent my Taxis Cast in a few places. Even if I were willing to fight dirty that way, I didn’t dare add property damage to my list of transgressions…but they had that privilege; their “father” worked there.

Example 2:

I immediately charged in to kick them in the jaw, getting grazed by more shrapnel in return. But I was confident that my armor would hold, and continued to beat them, knowing that I needed to deal as much damage as possible in that moment.

Eventually, they managed to drive me away by sending a stream of shrapnel directly into my shoulder, shearing it wide open. The crowd gasped (those who were on Team Viktoria, anyway), but I ignored the pain, using another trap-sphere to drag them off balance. Once again, we stood at opposite sides of the arena, staring each other down.

“That’s probably the last time she's going to let me get that close,” I thought, breathing heavily. “I need a new strategy…”

Hopefully, even though the combatants are the same, you can tell which of these is the more serious fight scene. ^^ But let's break down some of the choreography:

In Ex 1, we have hair-pulling-- which feels inherently unserious; mostly because it's considered a "girly" form of fighting. I like it because it feels silly and vicious simultaneously; it's a way to cause your opponent a lot of pain without much effort, turning the bout into a clumsy tug-of-war until they can finally escape. Which the MC does by flipping her attacker over a desk-- even though this is a low-stakes fight, the combatants are highly skilled, and that's still gonna show through occasionally.

In Ex 2, we describe the MC's shoulder getting "sheared wide open", a grisly visual that sounds extremely painful-- even the MC explicitly ignoring that pain doesn't diminish it. In a way, it elevates it, because it tells us that she's so focused on winning the battle that she's willing to look past a grave injury. The crowd gasping (instead of taking pictures like last time) helps with that.

There are other clues that help define the tone as well, like the location (an office environment vs. a literal arena) and the types of thoughts the MC has (worrying about 'getting in trouble' vs. worrying about her next strategy). All these details work together to make the reader feel a certain way about each scene.

LOKIEL
Sep '24

I would say what I do for my scenes is always include what my characters are thinking. I try not to write these thoughts of theirs too long so that the scene can still flow nicely and I also make sure to include any noises they make to make the scene "sound" realistic(?). Also, If a weapon (or body part) is used, I make sure to explain what happened after (did it make contact with the opponent? how? did the opponent stop it? did it miss the opponent? etc.) Pacing is also a big thing for me. I try not to rush (or drag out) the events as that can take some of the tension away from the scene which I want to avoid at all costs. These are the main things I'm thinking about.

My favorite action scene is actually broken into two chapters because I like messing with time. It starts in the second half of chapter 11 and concludes in chapter 12!