Fights scenes and battles can be tough to write, but don’t worry; just like everything else, your skill will improve with time. This post is to help those who are struggling to keep their fight scenes tense, exciting, and/or realistic.
WRITING A FIGHT/BATTLE SCENE
#1. Use short sentences. Choppy, powerful sentences, one action after the other after the other. When there’s a lull in the fight, use longer sentences as your character has time to evaluate the situation, the leap back into the action with snapping sentences.
#2. Focus on actions, not thoughts. Fights are all about survival and the heat of the moments. No theoretical contemplations, just don’t die. If your character dwells on thoughts during a fight, they’ll most likely get punched in the face.
#3. Just like with the sentences, use short, lashing words with strength and gusto. Long, lingering words have no place in a fight scene (unless of course there is no other wor you can use.)
#4. Use the strongest words you can think of, and eliminate as many adverbs as you possibly can. Plunder, slash, bellow, plunge, charge, heave, shatter, howl, shriek, shred.
#5. Even minor pain will stick with a character. When you bump your head hard, you still feel the bruise a few days later, as with burns and such.
#6. Don’t leave out a single sense. An intense fight will leave your character tasting metallic blood, salt from sweat. If there are exposed chemicals in the air or nearby, your character will taste and smell them too. Adrenaline will give them a dry mouth. And the sense of touch: sore muscles, aches and bruises, sometimes stabbing pain, headaches, blood pounding.
#7. Eyesight and focus will blur and sharpen in the heat of battle, depending on how much energy your character has spent. Quick/sudden movements, flashes of color, and loud noises catch attention.
#8. When you shift the character’s full attention to one thing, your readers’ attention shifts too.
#9. Fights are messy, messy, messy. Confusion, blood and sweat, injuries, and exhaustion greatly affect the fighter’s ability.
And for the tenth tip, here’s something I read that I really found fascinating…
#10. A lot of people think that adrenaline is what helps you in a fight. While it’s true that adrenaline will give you bursts of strength, it actually works against you. Adrenaline is what tires one out in a fight, making them shaky and inaccurate. They’re so focused on staying alive that their skill actually decreases. Adrenaline may keep you alive, but it doesn’t give you the ability to execute a pro karate kick to the opponent’s face. That kind of skill comes from training. Also, any extra strength/energy adrenaline gives you during the fight often pays off with heavier exhaustion once things have calmed down.
If you have anything to add or any questions to ask, leave a comment and I’ll get back to you personally.
Note: These tips have been collected from online and other writing forums, with added information.
Beginners Guide to Writing 