Learn how to do anything: How to Write Fight Scenes

Fight scenes can be tricky territory for writers. A good fight scene should be action packed and should not slow down the drama of the story as a whole.^[1] Keep your fight scenes engaging by making the action hard, fast, and packed with just enough detail. Good fight scenes will make your reader feel like she is right in the action, fighting zombies, bad guys, and the odd lame boyfriend.

EditSteps

EditPreparing to Write the Scene

Read examples of fight scenes. Think about a fight scene in a novel or short story that you found effective and full of action. You also want to read other examples such as:
- The fight between Hector and Achilles in Homer’s The Iliad. The fight between Hector and Achilles has become a classic model for fight scenes in literature.^[2]
- The fight between The Man in Black and Inigo Montoya in William Goldman’s The Princess Bride. This is a great example of a sword fight, full of action and dialogue packed with wit and humor.^[3]
- The duel between Macbeth and Macduff in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. This pivotal fight scene has been reinterpreted as a fist fight and a gunfight in modern productions. But the original set up for the duel is a sword fight, the final showdown between the play’s protagonist MacDuff and the play’s antagonist, Macbeth.^[4]
Note if the fight scene is essential to the overall plot or story. A fight scene should always advance the plot of the story or reveal character. It should provide crucial information to the reader about the characters involved in the fight. Choose one to two example fight scenes and think about how they fit into the story as a whole.^[5]
- How is the fight scene situated within the overall plot or story? The fight scene should fulfill the promise of your book and feel like it fits seamlessly into the action of the previous chapters. If you’re writing a historical fiction novel, for example, the weapons and fighting styles of your characters should match the historical setting of the novel. A fight scene in a fantasy book may be filled with fantastical weapons or fighting abilities. Consider how the writer builds up to the fight scene and how the weapons and fighting styles of the characters matches the tone and setting of the rest of the book.
Think about the descriptions of the action in the fight scene. Consider how the writer positions the characters in the scene and describes their actions and movements as they fight. Is there a lot of description of each punch and kick? Do you have a clear sense of the movements of each character in the scene? Some fight scenes may use dialogue to alter the pace of the scene and keep the reader engaged.
- For example, in The Princess Bride fight scene, Inigo Montoya is given snappy lines of dialogue between each swish of his rapier to vary the pace and demonstrate his character in the scene.
Consider how the stakes change for the characters at the end of the fight scene. A good fight scene will dramatically shift the stakes of the overall story. Your protagonist may end up wounded, she may lose a limb that then limits her fighting ability, or she may be fatally injured. Or your antagonist may be defeated in the fight and your protagonist may come out on top.
- A fight scene may also create a conflict for your protagonist, as a close ally, friend, or family member may end up being collateral damage in the fight, motivating the protagonist to fight back.
Take a fight class. It may be useful to do some hands on research and try a basic martial arts or contact fighting class. This will give you a better sense of what a fight might feel like in real time, and the real life impact of a blow on the body. If you are writing a fight scene involving an inexperienced or first time fighter, going to a fight class will also give you a sense of how a fight feels to a non-fighter.^[6]
- Ask the fight instructor about common responses between fighters during a physical encounter. If you have no experience being in a fight, you will react differently from a seasoned fighter. Consider how a professional fighter might approach a fight, as they will likely be very relaxed and focused. Good fighters can see a punch or kick coming. They have had constant training and have been taught to focus on how the body moves in a fight.

EditWriting a First Draft

Determine how the fight scene fits into your story. Have you built up enough suspense and action in the previous pages of the story to prepare the reader for a big fight scene? Your protagonist and your antagonist may play cat and mouse throughout the novel, leading to a showdown fight at the end of the novel. Or your protagonist may be trying to save a key character by fighting the antagonist. There may be multiple characters involved in the fight, or just two characters. Think about what purpose the fight scene will serve in your story and how it will advance the plot.^[7]
- Note how many characters are going to be in the fight scene, and where the fight scene is going to take place. Consider the time of day, the mindsets of the characters involved in the fight, and the stakes of the fight. Will it be a fight to the death or a fight with minor injuries?
Reveal character through every character action. The fighting style of your protagonist will give the reader a sense of their character. Your hero may be an amateur fighter with street smarts and motivation, or she may be a more seasoned fighter with great technical skill and a taste for blood. Your hero’s opponents may also be out for blood, with equal skill to your hero or a higher level of skill. Revealing character through a fight scene is smart writing. By showing your character in a violent situation, you avoid telling your reader how to feel.^[8]
- Avoid a blow by blow description of each character action, as this will feel too technical and dry. The scene should feel chaotic, much like a real fight. Keep the character actions simple, clear, and to the point.^[9]
- Avoid long sentences and don’t use adverbs or too many adjectives in the scene. This will only confuse and distract the reader.
- For example, short sentences like “I aimed for his nose and connected. Blood splattered on the ground” are more effective than longer, more detailed sentences such as: “I curled my hand into a fist and aimed for the front of his nose. My fist hit the bridge of his nose. His blood splattered all over the ground of the warehouse.”
Include interior character thoughts. A real life fight involves very little spoken dialogue between the fighters. The characters will be responding to each other through action, rather than speech. However, you can show interior character thoughts to give your reader context for the fight and to show the character’s mindset during the fight. This will give the fight a clear perspective and make it easier for the reader to follow the action.^[10]
- For example, your hero may be facing a challenging adversary and start to feel she is losing the fight. She may have interior character thoughts as she struggles to gain the upper hand. “She hits me again and I taste blood. Come on, Buffy, get up. Find the stake. Get up. She grabs my head, her fingers digging into my scalp, and lifts me until I’m dangling on the tips of my toes. She slams her hand into my ribs and I wince. The pain ripples across my chest. Come on, Buffy. Focus. I lock my eyes on the dead, black holes in her head and jab my palm under her chin. She reels back, releasing her grip.”
Use dialogue to alter the pace of the scene. Give the fight scene a sense of urgency by including dialogue between characters around the fight itself. This will help move the scene forward and lead in to the actual fight in the scene. Use short bursts of dialogue, and avoid using too many dialogue tags, as this can slow down the action.^[11]
- For example: “Go now, Buffy! Save the others.” “Are you sure, Giles?” Giles sprayed silver bullets into a wall of vampires. I watched a few slam against the concrete, splattering guts and blood. The rest of the pack moved closer. Giles glanced at me over his shoulder. “Go Buffy, now!” I run.
Show the aftermath of the fight. In the aftermath of a real fight, you bruise, you ache, you hurt. Consider how your characters will feel after the fight. Give your character a realistic recovery period, and think about how the adrenalin rush of the fight will help them recover or get away from the scene of the fight.^[12]
- If your character suffers a cut or stab wound, for example, you will have to show her recovery or if you are jumping ahead in time, her scar from the wound. If a character has bruises and cuts to the face, this might limit her ability to eat or chew. If a character is in a fight for the first time, she may feel shock and anxiety from the fight. Or she may feel hardened and ready for more.
Overwrite, and then edit down. For your first draft of the scene, you may end up including more detail than necessary. It can be difficult to plot out the action of a fight scene without overwriting it. Focus more on getting a sense of the movements, actions, and reactions of each character in the scene. Read over your first draft and pare down the language so it is concise and to the point.^[13]
- For example, you may start with a first draft a scene that has sentences like: “Buffy counted ten vamps in the room, though it was dark, so there could be more than ten. She had two stakes in either hand and two more tucked in her back pocket. And the knife strapped to her ankle, which could do some damage if needed. The vampires locked eyes on her, blood thirsty, and ready to kill. She sized up the room and her weapons. “Ready?,” she said calmly. Not waiting for an answer, she arches her arm back to throw a stake into the heart of the nearest vampire.”
- Your edited version may appear as: “Ten vamps in the sealed off room. Dark in here though, so there could be more than ten. Two stakes in either of her hands, two more in her back pocket. And the knife strapped to her ankle, which could do some damage if needed. She feels their eyes on her, blood thirsty, dead, focused on their kill. “Ready?”, she says. She arches her arm back and throws a stake right into the heart of the nearest vampire.”