Cheers, this explains why I skim read so many fight scenes and then despair when I have to actually write one. I thought I was copping out by not describing every blow by blow. Need to figure out how to save this.
SdC has been on my tbr list for so long that I need to just give in. Joe, on the other hand, is too dark grimmy for my tastes. I loved his books till ‘Best Served Cold’ and then I ran away.
Funny story… after reading First Law Trilogy, I went to his site and complained about the sparse female characters. So naturally, when BSC came out, I jumped on it, feeling validated. That validation turned to ash real quick. She scared the day and night light out of me. Proper scared me.
Great tips here for writing fight scenes!!! I hate reading too many descriptions of physical actions, I'd rather be more grounded in the character's head. A list of actions gets boring fast lol
Ok, fine., I'll keep my substack account for now. This was just too good! Great advice. Thank you. I was wondering why my fight scenes weren't working. It was the play-by-play. Too much technical detail, not enough emotion. I'd noticed other authors writing the opposite way and always wondered why. Now I know. Because that's how it works!
So glad to hear you're staying! Now I just gotta make sure my next post is good too 😁
As with all things writing, I wouldn't say blow-by-blow fight scenes NEVER work, but they definitely suck all the emotional investment out of a scene pretty fast
Hope you have fun experimenting with different approaches
I think it could work for some of the Star Wars lightsaber fights in the original trilogy. They're so slow, you can take them one hit at a time and really delve into the psyche behind each warrior's movement. Blaster fights? No. I've tried that. There's only so many ways you can write: "Bob shot a laser and it blew up."
So true! I normally skim fight scenes because the blow by blow is just not very interesting. Will be looking for these details from now on... I love the idea of writing from the character's point of view rather than writing from the observer's
It really changes everything! Some of the best fight scenes I’ve read are deeply embedded in the pov of the character with most to lose. When something important is on the line, suddenly every moment matters
Love this! I recently realized I had a character who wins fights with his fists but I designed him to be more shrewd. Problem three is the highlight of this article for me. I can give you the "yes, and" and "no, but"s of the overall story but get lost in the weeds. The play by play problem hit right up against the whole "show, don't tell" advice. Thank you for the checklist. I can't wait to edit my fight scenes.
I'm excited to hear how you get on! Those little blow-by-blow moments of “yes, but”/“no, and” are so tricky to navigate, but so rewarding when they all come together
Definitely saving this. Edited a scuffle earlier and felt like it could need more improvements.
Thing is, one of the protagonist is an omniscient with a troubled mind. Hard to figure out exactly when and to what extent will that character participate in the fight.
Have to say, tip also works pretty well in a less-fighty scenes, like escaping and whatnot. Great article!
Cheers, this explains why I skim read so many fight scenes and then despair when I have to actually write one. I thought I was copping out by not describing every blow by blow. Need to figure out how to save this.
They're so tricky to get right, and are so skimmable when they go wrong!
Highly recommend Sebastien de Castell for great fight scenes. His Greatcoat books are brilliant for it. Joe Abercrombie does an excellent job too
Also should be a bookmark-shaped save button on the post. Sometimes it's in the three dots menu at the top, sometimes it's in the bar at the bottom 🤞
SdC has been on my tbr list for so long that I need to just give in. Joe, on the other hand, is too dark grimmy for my tastes. I loved his books till ‘Best Served Cold’ and then I ran away.
Cheers for the save tip. Learn something new. 😜
Heh, whereas I love everything from Best Served Cold onwards! Funny how different tastes can be, isn't it? Love me a bit of dark and grimmy 🤪
Funny story… after reading First Law Trilogy, I went to his site and complained about the sparse female characters. So naturally, when BSC came out, I jumped on it, feeling validated. That validation turned to ash real quick. She scared the day and night light out of me. Proper scared me.
She's one of my absolute and most favourite characters of all time 😂😅
Great tips. I will definitely be using this as I edit my fight scenes. Thanks.
Love this! All the best with your edits!
Great tips here for writing fight scenes!!! I hate reading too many descriptions of physical actions, I'd rather be more grounded in the character's head. A list of actions gets boring fast lol
I feel the same way! Nothing will make me skim through a scene faster 😅
Ok, fine., I'll keep my substack account for now. This was just too good! Great advice. Thank you. I was wondering why my fight scenes weren't working. It was the play-by-play. Too much technical detail, not enough emotion. I'd noticed other authors writing the opposite way and always wondered why. Now I know. Because that's how it works!
So glad to hear you're staying! Now I just gotta make sure my next post is good too 😁
As with all things writing, I wouldn't say blow-by-blow fight scenes NEVER work, but they definitely suck all the emotional investment out of a scene pretty fast
Hope you have fun experimenting with different approaches
I think it could work for some of the Star Wars lightsaber fights in the original trilogy. They're so slow, you can take them one hit at a time and really delve into the psyche behind each warrior's movement. Blaster fights? No. I've tried that. There's only so many ways you can write: "Bob shot a laser and it blew up."
Thank you so much, Cae. I write blow-by-blow fight scenes so I'm grateful to know there are other ways to capture the action.
I love this! Really happy to hear you found it useful. Have fun experimenting and let me know how you get on!
The Pirates of the Jaunty Jill
https://wendycockcroft.substack.com/p/the-pirates-of-the-jaunty-jill
Pirates attack a Spanish galleon
How did I do?
Thank you!
I don't have a fight scene... yet. I'll come back to this when I do though!
Hope you find it helpful when you come back to it! I’d love to hear how you get on
Absolutely!
So true! I normally skim fight scenes because the blow by blow is just not very interesting. Will be looking for these details from now on... I love the idea of writing from the character's point of view rather than writing from the observer's
It really changes everything! Some of the best fight scenes I’ve read are deeply embedded in the pov of the character with most to lose. When something important is on the line, suddenly every moment matters
I really struggle with fight scenes and rarely read good ones. This really helps put things in perspective.
Thanks so much for reading. Really glad you found it helpful. I love a good fight scene but, like you say, they can be so hard to find!
Love this! I recently realized I had a character who wins fights with his fists but I designed him to be more shrewd. Problem three is the highlight of this article for me. I can give you the "yes, and" and "no, but"s of the overall story but get lost in the weeds. The play by play problem hit right up against the whole "show, don't tell" advice. Thank you for the checklist. I can't wait to edit my fight scenes.
I'm excited to hear how you get on! Those little blow-by-blow moments of “yes, but”/“no, and” are so tricky to navigate, but so rewarding when they all come together
Definitely saving this. Edited a scuffle earlier and felt like it could need more improvements.
Thing is, one of the protagonist is an omniscient with a troubled mind. Hard to figure out exactly when and to what extent will that character participate in the fight.
Have to say, tip also works pretty well in a less-fighty scenes, like escaping and whatnot. Great article!
Yes! It honestly applies to any sort of action scene
Also your scuffle sounds really interesting. All the best with it!
Very helpful, and I appreciate the examples.
Thanks for reading! I've definitely heard the examples are helpful, so always try to include them when I can
It’s like you’re in my head. I’m writing fight scenes today.
I have powers 🔮
Hope you find it useful!
I have been yearning for this. Thank you, Cae!
Yay! Fingers crossed it’s what you need
This is helpful! Thank you.
So glad it helped!