This week: Put the Fight into Write Edited by: Annette  
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It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
Mark Twain |
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Put the Fight into Write
How much can really go wrong when writing an intense fight scene with high stakes for the characters?
Everything!
Reading a fight scene can feel like a slog. Unlike a movie that just "happens" to the viewer, a reader has to have a higher level of investment to stay with the story or book. A reader has to make the fight happen in the imagination from the words on the page. Let's make sure your written fights raise the reader's heartrate.
Move the story forward with the fight scene.
Just like any scene you include in the story, a fight has to do something for the plot. Gratuitous fight scenes are boring.
Here is an easy step-by-step test to find out if the fight moves the story forward.
1. Delete the entire fight scene.
2. Read the scene before and the scene after the fight.
3. Ask: does the plot make sense without the fight?
Yes, the plot makes sense.  Leave the fight out of the story.
No, the plot doesn't make sense. Add the fight back into the story.
Improve characterization with the fight scene.
Simply narrating a blow-by-blow fist fight does nothing for your story. Instead, make the fight answer these questions as it happens:
 Why do the characters make certain choices during the fight?
How do these choices reinforce the character's traits?
Which internal or external goals are impacted because of the fight?
Will the fight make the ultimate goal come closer or push it further out?
How high are the stakes for each person in the fight? What can they win or lose?
What are the character's physical and mental fighting abilities?
How does the fight affect the character's feelings and emotions?
Keep the story pace up - the fight can't slow the plot down.
How create a taut fight scene:
Short sentences. They are easier to digest.
Mix action with dialogue.
Keep introspection for after the fight.
Keep the whole fight scene short, they don't turn pages.
Use all the senses.
Make the fight as visceral an experience for the reader by including sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell, and proprioception (your body's ability to sense movement, action, and location.)
Have some fun with onomatopoeia, words that sound like what they are describing. Boom, clang, clap, crack, gargle, groan, rattle, roar, smack and more that you can think of.
Edit. Edit. Edit.
In your first draft of the fight, go as hard and as elaborate as you want. Get it all out. Go all out. Let your darlings show off their skills and drop their campy catch-phrases.
Then, you edit.
Non-essential details that slow down reading have to go.
Distill ornate and wordy sentences down to their essence.
Keep the number of characters low. Consolidate characters if possible.
After you have done everything to make a fight in your action/adventure story hit all the markers, get a trusted friend to give you honest advice. Edit some more if needed.
Do you enjoy reading long fight scenes or do you prefer the short, punchy ones? |
| |  | Wizard (13+)
Can a once ally be trusted to keep his word after 35 years of evil deeds?
#2300608 by Jtpete 1986  |
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#2301464 by Not Available. |
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Replies to my last Action/Adventure newsletter "Come Out Of the Gate At Full Speed" that asked: What is your best starting sentence in one of your action/adventure stories or novels?
Monty  wrote: He was headed for the town of Corruption with a jade handled dagger that day.
Oh! Good one! I better get out of the way.
Beholden  wrote: Thank you very much for including my short story, A Double Dog Dare, among the Editor's Picks.
As for the best starting sentence in an action/adventure story, I don't know yet, being so new to the genre. I think the tale mentioned above is the first I've claimed as touching on the genre. With a bit of luck (and hard work), I'll have many more to choose from in time.!
That sounds great. |
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Action/Adventure: August 09, 2023 Issue [#12105]
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