What
makes a fight scene engaging and exciting? This is something we writers
often struggle with. As a martial artist of 13 years, I'm often asked how to
write a leaner, meaner fight scene. For those of you who don't know me, my
name is Genevieve Iseult Eldredge. I edit for Astraea Press under the
pseudonym Aribeth Kingsleigh. I hold a black belt in traditional
Chinese-American Goju-Ryu karate and weapons mastery. I have also studied
kenpo, small circle jiu jitsu, judo, and kung-fu. But enough about me.
Onward to the fray!
While there are many different techniques for writing a
better fight scene, I’ve found that writers seem to face some common challenges.
Based on what I’ve seen and experienced as a writer and editor, here are my Top
10 Do's & Don't's for building a better fight scene.
10. Don't: Use an Ace when a Two
will do.
Blasting the bad guy with a Howitzer when he doesn’t need to
be blasted with a Howitzer is overkill. Overkill is risky because it can make
your hero look like a bully. Instead, make the punishment fit the crime, and
you'll fulfill the reader's sense of "rightness."
9. Don't: Be afraid to hurt your
characters.
That
scratch the epic hero sports after the end battle? You know the one—that tiny
bit of blood that serves to enhance the hero’s good looks rather than prove he
had to actually fight to win. Well,
it’s not as cool as it looks. While there will be times when the fight is
effortless for your hero, it’s important to balance that with struggle. Readers
like heroes that have to earn their victories. Ask yourself: how heroic is
it if it's easy?
8. Don’t: Restrict
your characters’ powers.
Don’t give your hero a power (flight, time travel,
invisibility, super strength, smoldering eyes) only to take it away every time
it might become useful. Instead, let your hero use the power successfully
at least once, both to show the reader how it works and to display your hero’s quality. Later,
instead of restricting the power, you can make its use have dire
consequences—your time-traveler might end up in Jurassic Park instead of
Central Park.
7. Do: Be careful in making your
character an expert.
Make sure she can pass as an expert. If your protagonist is
a martial artist, make sure you know enough about the martial arts to make your
fight scene believable. Interview an expert, go to a dojo and ask
questions—people love to talk about their interests—but don't ever fake
it. Readers are smart and savvy. The second your expert does something
novice, it will destroy the credibility of your fight scene, your hero, your
book, you. Reader trust is delicate. Treat it with care.
6. Do: Balance your forces.
And not just because I suggest it, but because Dwight Swain,
author of Techniques of the Selling
Writer suggests it. Your hero is only as strong, smart, and savvy as
your villain. If your villain is weak, then having your hero defeat her isn’t
very heroic.
5. Do: Keep your level of
reality consistent.
If
your fight scene is hyper-realistic, then keep in mind people can take a lot
less punishment than Hollywood would have us believe. Any fight with a
weapon will be over quickly. Any blow to the head can result in a
concussion that can take weeks or even months to recover from. Likewise,
if your fight scene is stylistic, keep it stylistic. Characters like James
Bond and Neo and Trinity—heroes in epic-style fight sequences—can take far more
punishment than normal people. Consistency is key.
4. Do: Remember, magic trumps everything.
Magic, as long as it is consistent, is a powerful “Get Out
of Jail Free” card. Physics, reality, science—it all takes a backseat to magic.
Gandalf shouts, “You shall not pass!” and the Balrog falls. No one asks why
because it's maaaaagic! But, take care. Magic must have rules and consistency.
No one likes a hero who can do everything or to whom things come easily. Keep
in mind ways to limit these powerful forces. Even Harry Potter needs his wand
to cast spells, and he often struggled with his magic.
3. Don't: fake the facts
Do your research. Know that your heroine’s katana is
meant to slice not to hack, and that the .44 Magnum has too much recoil and
muzzle blast that it’s generally not used for law enforcement. Does that mean
that your hotshot cop protagonist can’t carry a .44 Magnum? Nope. What it means
is that you should address that his carrying the Magnum is unique—something
that can aid you in the fight scene and
character development. Win! The key is not to fake it. Always, always, preserve
the readers’ trust in you.
2. Don't: Be afraid to
experience.
When in doubt, act it out. If your hero’s
opponent is taller, get someone who is taller, and walk through the fight scene
slowly and safely. Go to museums, pick up swords and try on armor. Get a
feel for what it’s like to swing a long sword, a claymore, a polearm. There’s a
big difference. Writing an epic battle? Try LARPing. Throw yourself into the
fray to see what it’s like. What town doesn’t have a rod-and-gun club? Interview
weapon aficionados. People love to talk about their hobbies and interests. Use
that as a resource! The best way to understand a weapon is to seek out an
expert who can instruct you in its safe usage.
1. Do: Use short sentences and
short paragraphs
Describe
only what is essential. I can tell you from experience that in the thick
of a fight, you don't have time to notice that "his eyes were blue, the color of wood smoke and he had a salt-and
pepper beard lightly dusted with--" Um, no. Unless you’re telescoping
time in your scene, you don’t really notice fine details when you’re under
attack. In addition, long paragraphs signify to the reader that more time is
taking place—a fact that can slow your fight scene down to a crawl. Longer
paragraphs take longer to read and thus, they tend to leech tension. Short
sentences increase tension, and tension is of the utmost importance in a fight
scene. No reader will put the book down in the middle of a tense fight scene
where the hero’s life hangs in the balance. And that’s what it’s all about
isn’t it? Keeping the reader reading.
So,
that's it, folks—10 Do's and Don't's of a Writing a Better Fight Scene.
Feel free to question and comment here or follow me on FaceBook
or Twitter (@girlyengine).
And a “thank you very muchness!” to Astraea Press for having
me. Check out the newest AP releases at http://www.astraeapress.com/.
Check out these great Astraea Press titles with complex characters, original plots, and you guessed it fight scenes.
