Making Fight Scenes Realistic
Whether the conflict involves an epic cat-fight between two women fighting for the same man or a battle between two swordsmen in an ancient fantasy realm, chances are your book will contain some kind of fight scene.
If you're anything like me, this is the most awkward part if writing a book. It is one thing to have a pair fighting or sparring on stage. It is awesome to watch with constant stimuli to keep the audience involved. However, when the words are written down, how do you keep the reader interested in this action in the story? Even more so, what do you have your characters say?
You may have heard this tidbit of advice before about dialogue, and I think it rings true. Writing a fight scene is not like actually being in a fight; unrealistic scenes will actually seem the most realistic to the reader. Most fights do not involve a ton of conversation or inner dialogue, but those are the things you will use to pull the reader into the story and want to keep reading.
Aside from my own advice, I want to offer you the best industry tips I could dig up on the topic. So, I have picked the top three pieces of wisdom on writing a fight scene I was able to find. If you want to read even more, I got many of my ideas on Writer's Digest from author Sebastien de Castell and writing advice guru Mike Schultz.
Do not write a fight scene just because you feel it would be cool. Everything you write in your manuscript should move along the story in some way. There has to be a purpose to the fight that has either been building up in the plot action or that will effect the plot for some time after the fact. Sebastien de Castell, mentions in his article that a good sue for the fight scene would be to "wound your protagonist." This would make everything he or she does so much harder and therefore adding more suspense and uncertainty to the plot.
Remember what I told you about making the fight unrealistic? There is a limit to that. Mike Shultz points out that many writers make the mistake of creating a lead character that is undefeatable or even completely invincible. This is where you have a fight scene that involves the protagonist battling several men at once and coming out unscathed. Unless it is a comedic element or involves a ninja-like atmosphere like Kill Bill, this will cause the readers to not feel the writer is credible. It's not fun if the protagonist can never face adversity.
I hope this goes without saying, but just in case, I thought I would add it in. Be sure you research about the era or setting your book is in before adding in weapons to your fight. It is unlikely that two high school girls are going to go at it with a couple of long swords, and I would shake my head if I saw someone in the 17th century fighting with guns. Be sure you know the weaponry and fighting rules of whatever time period you are writing about or you are likely to end up with some bad reviews that are hard to erase.
What have you figured out helps you write a fight scene? Please share in the comments below!
Iris Sweetwater is a paranormal romance and fantasy author. Her second book, the first in a werewolf romance series, will be released on May 2. Find out more about her and her work at the following links:
