Everyone loves a good dose of
action, some more than others. There are many types of action that can add to a
reader’s enjoyment, be it a gun battle, chase scene, a clash of swords, or
hand-to-hand combat. But as great as an action sequence is, there are things I
believe that can make it better.
When I write a scene of action in
my fantasy novels, I like to inject a good deal of detail. Given my background
with martial arts and being a big fan of Hong Kong cinema, I take my training
and inspirations of Bruce Lee and the like and place them into my stories. Some
say that a true martial arts film either has a training sequence or a fight
every 10 minutes and so I like to follow the same sort of structure when I can.
I like to have either a fight or practice taking place every two to three
chapters if it fits into the plot and doesn’t feel forced. If I do not have a
sequence for four or five chapters in a row, I usually will have two or three
chapters in succession that have a heavy hand of action that makes up for the
lack previously.
As I write out my fight scenes, I
like to add in a few highlighted moments by describing a few detailed movements
before falling back into the basics of telling how the rest of the battle plays
out. I might have it start out with two characters brawling, trading small
punches and kicks, etc. Then if one character executes a nice combination of
attacks, I will describe two to four of the moves with greater detail. Example:
Tride led in with a pair of jabs, distracting his foe long enough for him to
follow with an uppercut that landed soundly on the bandit’s chin. The burly man
stumbled back against the wall, his eyes watery from the attack, unable to see
and react as the elf unleashed a powerful sidekick into his unguarded stomach.
Then I might say: Tride continued
to punch him in the ribs repeatedly, throwing in swift knees for good measure,
until his enemy surrendered to the pain and fell to the ground.
Think of it as a television sports
show that highlights small pieces of a fight that were the most exciting to
see. Another good tip would be not to get too technical with specific terms
that belong to certain martial art styles. You can use universal terms such as
uppercut, sidekick, front kick, etc, but try to avoid using names such as
Raining Steel, Dragon Whips Its Tail, etc that describe self defense moves or
katas used by a style you might have taken or researched for your book.
Generally, readers will not understand what a certain name like that is unless
they have also taken the same martial arts style. But I think most people would
know what an uppercut or sidekick is when they read it in your story.
The
last bit of advice I would like to share is that there needs to be a reason on
why the violence in the story is occurring. Even if it is the slightest of
reasons, it is important that it is there. You cannot have readers reading
about people fighting in the plot just for the heck of it. There needs to be
some sort of motivation behind it, something that drives the story forward and
makes the readers care about one, two, or all of the characters involved in the
violence.
With a
bit of flare and explanation for scenes of action, it is a winning combination
for both the writer and the reader.
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Great interview/article - will use some of the suggestions in my current WIP, thanks.
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