Fight Write Right

Where there are people, there is conflict. Whether you’re writing romance or fantasy—it’s likely you will need to write a fight scene at some point and time. It may not be an epic world war battle or a fight-to-the-death duel—but your characters will punch, kick, slap, or shoot one another in a heated moment. Or—get kidnapped, beaten up, or run for their lives. Or—accidentally cause harm or death to someone. Every good book thrives on conflict.

And when there is conflict, there is pain—physically, emotionally, and psychologically. It wasn’t until I sat down to write my first fight scene, that I realized there is a science to writing a realistic and enticing fight scene. When done correctly, your reader’s pulse will race, flip the pages while holding their breath, and not want to put your book down. It will be memorable—in a good way, hopefully!

Of course, I have read horrible fight scenes that snap me out of the story as I pause and question what I just read. Sometimes, the fighters seem to have too many arms and legs as they maneuver through their skirmish. Or, the fight scenes fall flat, as they lack excitement and emotion. Or, the scene becomes unrealistic as the person fighting continues to battle on even though they receive death blow after death blow. There are countless flaws that can enter into a fight scene that ruins what could have been an epic moment in your novel.

And, when there is pain—there are injuries, both the seen and unseen. An author may have constructed an epic fight scene, but they failed to acknowledge the post-fight pain, both physically and psychologically.

Having recently experienced my first major surgery, this all is hitting a little close to my day-to-day life of the past month as I recover. Keep in mind, a skilled surgeon executed my surgery. I have painkillers at my disposal. I planned for this surgery and set aside weeks to heal and recover, so I do not undo all the stitches and have a setback. My day-to-day pain the first week left me in a cloud of brain fog—unable to read, write, or do much beyond sleep. For the first three weeks, I could hardly do anything without being in pain or exhausting myself. It is only now, four weeks later, that I am getting back to real life. That is just the reality of physical trauma.

As I heal, I have read a handful of books, and I found myself examining a fight scene in a fantasy book with more scrutiny than I have in the past. As a fan of fiction, I’m willing to suspend reality and allow creative liberty to the author, as I want the pacing of a book to continue. No one wants to read a month-long saga about a main character healing from their wounds (although, it is a great way to have a little forced proximity for a few days). But don’t expect me to believe they can get stabbed in the side, hop on a horse to ride for miles, and stay conscious—or even alive. Adrenaline can only overcome so much for so long.

With this recent surgery experience in mind, I reread Fight Write by Carla Hoch with a fresh perspective. This book breaks down EVERYTHING you need to consider in order to masterfully write a battle or brawl scene.

Hoch does an amazing job dividing her book into five “rounds” to consider as you work to write an amazing fight scene:

ROUND 1: Why, Where, Who

• Hoch walks you through the three main things you need to consider before you write a fight scene: the why, where, and who—in that order—and then takes you deeper to make sure the motivations, consequences, and stakes are all set in place.

ROUND 2: Being Human

• In this chapter you examine human nature during fighting: fear, adrenaline, fight/fight response, psychological effects, and more.

ROUND 3: Fighting Styles

• There is so much to take into consideration: setting, culture, skills/abilities, and terminology—before you even get into the many different TYPES of fighting styles (of which she presents many) and the mechanics and cause/effects of the strikes and defensive moves. If your character needs to fight a robot or fight while flying a dragon—you find that in this chapter, too.

ROUND 4: Weaponry

• Hands are a weapon in and of themselves, but if you choose to put a gun/sword/knife/poison/ bow/etc. in your character’s hands—this chapter will help you understand the vocabulary, mechanics, and damage they can cause.

ROUND 5: Injuries

• It is important to decide ahead of time if you want your character to be “hurt” or “injured”—and to what extent. This chapter is very important not to skip, as I understand we often want our characters to “suffer” to up the stakes, but we can’t assign them too serious of an injury and expect it to be believable that they can fight off the zombies—yet again—the very next day. However, if you want a beloved character to die, she covers how to write that, as well.

I highly recommend this book to any and all writers. It is a treasure trove of information that you will want to reference again and again.

If you’d like to learn more about Carla Hoch’s Fight Write book—I highly recommend this PODCAST!