Formulating Fabulous Fights for Fiction
It's officially 2018, and how have I started the new year off? Appropriately enough, with violence and threats of apocalyptic-level mayhem. No, I'm not talking about my newsfeed. I'm referring to my most recent chapters in Book 2. (Any parallels are entirely coincidental.)
Ironically enough, it's worth mentioning that fight scenes are actually one of my least favorite things to write in my stories. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the ones that I've written, and I do love me some good-old fashioned action sequences. I grew up with Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a wide variety of action and adventure movies. Martial arts sequences in cinema? Yes, please! I play video games regularly (mostly in the fantasy RPG style) and my tabletop games have plenty of hack and slash action to make back up characters a must (I swear my dice are trying to kill me most days).
In short, I'm hardly a pacifist when it comes to fiction.
But real world me doesn't actually know the first thing about fighting. I don't do conflict. Arguments (even ones I'm not directly involved in) launch my anxiety through the roof. I've had no formal martial arts or self-defense training (even though I've always wanted to try it). I certainly have nothing resembling a military background because, let's be honest, giving me access to weapons while simultaneously having some dickhead drill sergeant screaming at me would end badly for everybody. (Some people have claimed I have an issue with authority figures. I prefer to look at it as a severe allergy to random B.S.)
In short, my fight scenes are developed entirely off of exposure to Hollywood cinematics, internet research, and the logical application of (basic) physics, physiology, and kinesiology. TL;DR: I totally make this shit up as I go along.
One thing I have found helpful in trying to keep my fight scenes moving and (relatively) clear to understand is my ability to see my scenes in a cinematic way as they play out. It makes it a lot easier to describe what's happening when I can see it in my head. I generally assume that if I'm rereading something and find myself confused by it, there's no way my readers are going to know what I meant. But it's a tricky business describing a fight scene. You want the pace to be quick, but you don't want it to go so fast that the reader has to reread the same paragraph or page six times just so they understand what happened. Conversely, you don't want to bog down your fights with so much blow-by-blow technical detail that it's not even fun to read anymore.
The other thing I do (because I live alone and the cats know better than to comment) is attempt to act out the action in the sequence. If I throw an elbow this direction, what does the momentum created permit me to do next? If the bad guys are appropriately waiting their turns to attack like they do in all the "great" martial arts movies *cough*, what would an appropriate sequence of events be that remains (relatively) believable? Aside from author favor and dumb luck, what is keeping this character from getting shived in the back while they're throwing punches and roundhouse kicking the opponent in front of them? While my lack of martial training and significant physical limitations prevent me from exploring the full range of this option thoroughly, it does help to keep me grounded in the realistic aspects of a fight (even when the combatants are supernaturally charged powerhouses hell bent on pummeling each other).
Another fun (possibly cheap) trick I've made use of frequently in Book 2 is to avoid the fight description entirely. (You're on your own, dear reader. Imagine the fight in as much or as little blood-thirsty detail as you want. The focus character and I are going to be over here doing this other thing that is slightly more pressing and character appropriate. Enjoy!) One reason I've done this is obvious - it keeps me from having to waste a lot of time working through fight scenes that may or may not be entirely relevant. Another reason is character focus. In Book 1, Ashton Firebrand is a barroom brawler and scorpion hunter. It makes sense to follow his action sequences closely as a matter of character perspective. In Book 2, Neko Goodbrush breaks out in a cold sweat when he gets handed a sword. Keeping him fight adjacent simply makes more sense for his character. Finally, when you avoid getting deep into the details of fights early on in a battle heavy story, it makes it that much more impactful when you actually do commit to giving a blow-by-blow description. It raises a flag in the reader's awareness (and possibly yours as a writer) that, "Ooh, crap. This is important." You signal that something about this specific fight is either pertinent to the story or to the character(s) involved. Perhaps the character isn't combat oriented. Perhaps the character is militant in nature, but hasn't had their skill demonstrated effectively yet. Or maybe the fight itself will have a greater impact on future events. If every fight in your story is one blow-by-blow rundown after another, you lose the opportunity to give the truly important scenes their proper spotlight. (The matter of blood and gore that is appropriate in a story is an entirely different topic, usually influenced by genre and author preferences.)
At any rate, it's back to the battlegrounds for me. Hopefully this Blog offers some insights to other writers that might find my approach useful. For those of you who follow along as readers of the Chronicles, I hope you found the peek inside my writing methods interesting! Either way, thanks for reading!
Whatever fight you're facing in the new year, be it smashing the (demon-lizard) patriarchy, marching for equality, or perhaps even just the day-to-day struggles of life - Keep fighting my friends. We all have our demons to fight, but as long as we face them together, no battle is insurmountable. Need some inspiration? Check out this song by Jenny Owen Youngs celebrating the 20th anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Speaking of kick ass fight scenes!) "Demons to Fight" - Jenny Owen Youngs
