writing-the-words:

Writing any fight or combat scene can be tricky. There is a lot to think about while a battle is going on between your characters. Here are some tips about what to focus on while you write your fight scenes. 

Make it Matter

Fighting just for the sake of fighting is not going to be good. A fight cannot just be thrown in to increase the word count. It has to mean something, and it has to matter. Looking at Harry Potter, the fight scenes always advance the plot. In the Deathly Hallows, fights happen frequently. The group leaves the Dursley house to be immediately attacked once they’re in the air. This tells the group that someone had been giving Voldemort information, and that’s why the Dark Lord knew Harry would be moved that night. The Death Eaters showing up in the cafe after the Trio escapes the Burrow. This forces the Trio to go to Grimmauld Place because they need somewhere safe to hide. The fight at the Ministry of Magic leads to Yaxley findng Grimmauld Place, forcing the Trio to move their hide out. All of these fights matter and advance the plot in the story. 

Secondly, it has to actually matter to the reader. Any fight is far less interesting with nothing at stake to the characters. Every combat scene has to have the character risk something. What happens if they lose? Will they die? Will their family or friends die? Will the treasure they were ordered to guard be stolen? With their prisoners escape? This also ties in with having flawed characters. It’s not fun to watch Superman fight because it’s very unlikely Superman will even get hurt, and even more unlikely that he’ll actually lose. 

Be Different 

Having a character preform the same heroic action over and over again throughout the book is going to get boring for the reader. Look to Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series. Percy fights with water and his sword. Annabeth has her knife. Sometimes they’re joined by Grover or Tyson or Clarisse. Every fight scene isn’t just Percy Jackson swinging his sword around chopping his opponents to bits. Regardless of the weapon being used, characters also get creative. Fighting Medusa had to be done through a reflection, for example. Things have to change. 

If you have a character who only fights in one way, that’s okay too. It’s then very important that you learn to vary your descriptions. Keep that style of fighting interesting so your reader stays with you. 

Structure and Wording

This is probably the trickiest part of writing a fight scene: actually writing it. Over writing will be a problem. Any wordiness that slows the reader down is going to also slow down the fight itself. Most fights aren’t slow, and you will want to match the pace of your scene.

Keep your sentences short to make the fight move fast.

Pick and choose your verbs carefully and make them good ones. Cut out adverbs, they’ll only hurt you. When using descriptions, make sure they are sensory descriptions. You can set up the scene before the fight starts. Use that time to set the stage and describe the cliffs they’re on or the lake behind them. Once the fight starts, limit your description to what the character feels or hears, or even tastes. Can he feel the wound in his arm? Maybe she hears the sleeve of her jacket rip? The taste of blood in their mouth after a particularly hard hit. These are things that will add to the fight. 

Getting Started 

If you’re having some trouble getting the fight going, just try to get everything down. Picture the fight in your head, and start writing it. Forget about sentence sizes, verbs, and details. Write it all. You can always edit the scene later to improve the structure and word choices. Obsessing over every line as you write will only leave you with a blank paper. 

Best of luck! 
Marina Montenegro