Young Writers Society

Ok, some of my stories have fight scenes. And, as some of you noticed, they were totally haywire. I need help with them. Many of my novels that i am writing have (or will have) a fight scene. I don't want it to suck! Please help me before I fall over the line that separates insanity and sanity.

Well, the key to writing a fight scene is to have it concise, and not have the protagonist and antagonist going all over the place, both literally and figuratively. When you start a fight scene, you need to decide who's going to "win," that is, how it's going to end. That way, you have a goal you're working toward. So, from then on, everything that happens in the fight should be working toward that goal. So, if the protagonist wins, how much damage can he sustain and still manage to vanquish the antagonist? Those kinds of questions are helpful.

Also, be creative. Use surfaces (i.e. tables, tapestries, whatever) to help the protagonist (or antagonist--you choose. ) Have one of the combatants outsmart the other. Maybe the protagonist starts a bar fight with someone else to distract the antagonist. It's really up to you. Creativity, in my mind, is really what makes a fight scene interesting to me.

I hope I helped.

--Snap

Oh, me too, I'm not great at fight scenes. I think conciseness (that doesn't look like a word, but I'm sure it is) is the way to go though. Fights do tend to go rather quickly, after all. Try not to have too much description of who hit who etc. It gets rather tedious and repetitive after a while.

I tried writing a riot in my last novel. That was hard, because it was meant to last a while and I couldn't even figure out how it started. Somehow though, after a lot of experimenting and rewriting, I got the start right, and then just had my main character get hit on the head so he was passed out for most of it...

Think hard what sort of fight you want it to be (full on boxing match or just a brief scuffle, or a brawl where everyone joins in even, are people throwing things, using weapons, punching, just wrestling on the ground?) and how you want it to end, and get a good idea of the stages you want it to go through.

They are difficult things to write. I always find they turn out kind of silly...it takes a bit of practise and eventually you'll get it.

Eh, I'm not good at it either, but I'll throw in my two cents.

Fights, especially with lot's of people, are confusing. You aren't conscious of where every arm is, you get hit unexpectantly, you get an adrenaline rush, you are confused. Show how things are crazy. Use short choppy sentences. Keep it short and sweet.

And then revise.

~JFW415

Give us an example of the fight scene you're working on at the moment--We'll have more to work with, then.

Hmm... Fight scenes...

Don't worry about outlining each and every hit that lands. Go ahead and skip over some things if they are just sucker punching each other. Talk about the hits that really hurt or the really cool ones. If you take pages and pages to talk about every little move they make, you're going to lose the reader's interests.

Also, don't try to explain any complicated moves too much. Write the move out, then have someone who has no idea how it works read it and tell you what they think it means. If it is too complicated, just explain the start and the result and that's it.

(ex. Karen grabbed Lil's wrist and with an expert twist of her body, threw the other girl over her head. Two steps later, and Karen's foot was securely on Lil's throat.")

Maybe not the best example, but you get the idea. Don't tell us too much about balance points or whatever unless you can do so clearly and make it interesting. Try it and have other people read it before you decide though... You might have a natural talent for it.

I agree with Hunter - Give us something you are working on so we can see exactly what you are dealing with!

Good luck!

~GryphonFledgling