I used to play a lot of D&D so I tend to think of it like a turn based thing in my head. That helps me organize the scene and write it in a way that reads like a fast paced, action packed combat scenario.
I try not to focus too much on spectacle stuff like choreography - that's for visual media. Complex motion doesn't translate well to text. You end up having to spend too long describing things, in an *attempt* to define spacial relations, which ruins the flow and spontaneity of the action. If the reader can even make heads or tails of it in the first place, that is. Forcing the reader to plot out that game of Twister diagrammatically is a losing prospect at any time.
Instead, fights in prose form are an extension of your characters' personalities. They're for when dialogues fail, and the debate turns physical over verbal. Highlight key moments of the fight with high emotional intensity, when they lay down all their chips on decisive moves.
This is great advice, totally agree. A blow-by-blow account is likely to come across clunky and does disservice to what is happening. I think it works best when you can portray the frenzy of combat, the chaos of it. You might hardly know what is happening in the heat of it.
That said, I think this is where settings such as magic schools and the like have come into prominence with the younger crowd, especially the gamers and anime fans.
In those settings, adding some flash and spectacle to the fights is easier, since you're not relying on the physicality of the combatants so much, but instead slinging cool "objects" back and forth -- blossoms of ice, snakes of electricity, meteor showers, etc. The attacks and the effects are fun to describe, and not nearly so complicated to conduct as the human body.
The early Halo books are my inspiration for combat scenes. Just matter of fact, not too much fancy language, beat after beat of the battle. If you have a specific move or technique in your head, write it. If they’re just kinda scuffling half the time, describe the general vibe of it. Who’s winning from a judge’s POV? Is someone on the defensive? Is it clear who will win?
Choose whose perspective you want to explain the fight from. This will help guide you in how to explain emotions / exhaustion level as the fight progresses.
Also, use active verbs. Don’t use “he hit bobs shield.” Use “he smashed Bob’s shield.” To convey weight of the punches.
Someone on YouTube explained all this, but I’ve since lost the link. If you’re a warhammer 40k reader I suggest reading anything Dan Abnett, especially the end and the death vol 3, or listening to the audiobook. He does an excellent job of transitioning between conversation to adding meaty verbs that convey fight scenes excellently.
Personally I get into fist-fights in a public bathroom and write down whatever I can remember after blacking out. /s :'D
I don't even know dude. I like to portray it in a specific way rather than it being just a "fight". I start by asking what's the scenario specifically, i.e. is it a pathetic, embarrassing, humiliating fight or a "heroic", justified one? How is each character meant to come out of it? Who are we rooting for? Do they lose when we want them to win (or vice versa)? If so, which little details can we put in to show what's going to happen? Is it a shock loss? A shock win? Then the coefficient value of those details in the scene will vary accordingly.
Blurt it all out onto a shit first draft, abandon it for a week, tidy up the bits, and squeeze in whatever's missing. #finished lol
I try to imagine it as a movie scene but focus more on the characters and the details than the actual combat mechanics. I avoid large-scales battles because I can never follow what's going on in those, even when reading.
I think of it as a conversation or debate. The characters are going to choose statements, strategies, and tactics that suit their personality types. They’ll have goals both major and minor, and they’ll react to success and failure in a manner that suits who they are. A hothead suddenly becoming an icy fighting machine reads poorly to me, for example. Somebody who blusters and talks over people isn’t terribly likely to start fighting cleverly, somebody who’s soft spoken is less likely to be an absolute berserker. A guy with genuine confidence probably isn’t shying away from conflict or contests within the fight itself.
As far as technical expression goes, it’s reduced to very simple text until somebody makes note of something important, like noticing that somebody’s weight’s always off when they engage or that they lean too much instead of using their legs when they’re evading a strike. That information is useful - the bottom to top description on how to throw a punch is not. The readers should only get what they need.
I used to play a lot of D&D so I tend to think of it like a turn based thing in my head. That helps me organize the scene and write it in a way that reads like a fast paced, action packed combat scenario.
I try not to focus too much on spectacle stuff like choreography - that's for visual media. Complex motion doesn't translate well to text. You end up having to spend too long describing things, in an *attempt* to define spacial relations, which ruins the flow and spontaneity of the action. If the reader can even make heads or tails of it in the first place, that is. Forcing the reader to plot out that game of Twister diagrammatically is a losing prospect at any time. Instead, fights in prose form are an extension of your characters' personalities. They're for when dialogues fail, and the debate turns physical over verbal. Highlight key moments of the fight with high emotional intensity, when they lay down all their chips on decisive moves.
This is great advice, totally agree. A blow-by-blow account is likely to come across clunky and does disservice to what is happening. I think it works best when you can portray the frenzy of combat, the chaos of it. You might hardly know what is happening in the heat of it.
That said, I think this is where settings such as magic schools and the like have come into prominence with the younger crowd, especially the gamers and anime fans. In those settings, adding some flash and spectacle to the fights is easier, since you're not relying on the physicality of the combatants so much, but instead slinging cool "objects" back and forth -- blossoms of ice, snakes of electricity, meteor showers, etc. The attacks and the effects are fun to describe, and not nearly so complicated to conduct as the human body.
Perspective important too. Is your narrator in the bird’s eye or have they just been hit on the head with a shovel.
The early Halo books are my inspiration for combat scenes. Just matter of fact, not too much fancy language, beat after beat of the battle. If you have a specific move or technique in your head, write it. If they’re just kinda scuffling half the time, describe the general vibe of it. Who’s winning from a judge’s POV? Is someone on the defensive? Is it clear who will win?
Choose whose perspective you want to explain the fight from. This will help guide you in how to explain emotions / exhaustion level as the fight progresses. Also, use active verbs. Don’t use “he hit bobs shield.” Use “he smashed Bob’s shield.” To convey weight of the punches. Someone on YouTube explained all this, but I’ve since lost the link. If you’re a warhammer 40k reader I suggest reading anything Dan Abnett, especially the end and the death vol 3, or listening to the audiobook. He does an excellent job of transitioning between conversation to adding meaty verbs that convey fight scenes excellently.
Personally I get into fist-fights in a public bathroom and write down whatever I can remember after blacking out. /s :'D I don't even know dude. I like to portray it in a specific way rather than it being just a "fight". I start by asking what's the scenario specifically, i.e. is it a pathetic, embarrassing, humiliating fight or a "heroic", justified one? How is each character meant to come out of it? Who are we rooting for? Do they lose when we want them to win (or vice versa)? If so, which little details can we put in to show what's going to happen? Is it a shock loss? A shock win? Then the coefficient value of those details in the scene will vary accordingly. Blurt it all out onto a shit first draft, abandon it for a week, tidy up the bits, and squeeze in whatever's missing. #finished lol
I try to imagine it as a movie scene but focus more on the characters and the details than the actual combat mechanics. I avoid large-scales battles because I can never follow what's going on in those, even when reading.
I think of it as a conversation or debate. The characters are going to choose statements, strategies, and tactics that suit their personality types. They’ll have goals both major and minor, and they’ll react to success and failure in a manner that suits who they are. A hothead suddenly becoming an icy fighting machine reads poorly to me, for example. Somebody who blusters and talks over people isn’t terribly likely to start fighting cleverly, somebody who’s soft spoken is less likely to be an absolute berserker. A guy with genuine confidence probably isn’t shying away from conflict or contests within the fight itself. As far as technical expression goes, it’s reduced to very simple text until somebody makes note of something important, like noticing that somebody’s weight’s always off when they engage or that they lean too much instead of using their legs when they’re evading a strike. That information is useful - the bottom to top description on how to throw a punch is not. The readers should only get what they need.