Guest Post!
Writing Fighting
By J.T. Nicholas
I love fight scenes.
Nothing quite gets the blood going like a good action sequence. For as far back as I can remember, my favorite scenes from books, movies, comics, et al. have been gripping, life-or-death, seat-of-your-pants battles where the heroes and heroines have to risk everything to succeed. In addition to being my favorite thing to read, they’re probably my favorite thing to write as well.
So, what makes a good fight scene? Here are my rules for writing fighting:
Rule 1: (in your best Jerry Maguire voice) Show me the action!
The first, and most obvious, is the age-old rule of writing in general: show, don’t tell. Nothing kills my enjoyment of a book faster than a fight scene breaking out only to have some cut away that prevents us from seeing the action. Convenient unconsciousness, blacking out in rage, or just simple scene breaking and moving on all leave me feeling cheated. It’s not really a fight scene if you don’t show the action! Give me details. I want to feel the blows, smell the sweat, bathe in the viscera. Okay… maybe not that last one, but you get the idea.
Rule 2: Don’t Break the Suspension of Disbelief
If you’ve never heard the term, “Suspension of Disbelief” is what lets us enjoy all forms of entertainment without having to go all Neil deGrasse Tyson on them. The problem is, there’s a point at which even those of us who embrace over the top action have to take a step back and go, “Wait a minute… that guy’s been firing on full auto for like three minutes straight and hasn’t reloaded once.” In other words, there’s a point at which we stop suspending our disbelief and start getting distracted by the things that don’t make sense. You have to find a balance between badassery and reality – once you move over into the realm of the impossible, unless you have a good explanation for it, you’re going to lose your readers.
Rule 3: Know whereof you speak.
There’s another adage in writing: write what you know. This doesn’t mean “only write what you yourself have personally experienced and never stray from those bounds.” That would make for some boring fiction indeed. But for the most part, we have the sum total of human knowledge contained in a magic box that we carry in our pockets. It’s a good idea to make use of it. Research is as important to writing a good fight scene as it is to writing anything else… maybe more so.
The internet can take you far, but I’m a firm believer that hands-on research is the best kind, particularly when it comes to action. Plus, it’s fun! Writing about fighting? Why not get some more practical experience (and no, I don’t mean go pick a fight)? Go take a martial arts class somewhere. Learn what it’s like to get punched in the face. It’s amazing how quickly it will change your perspective on just how much your hero can bear. Go to your local range – almost all of them offer basic gun safety and handling courses and firearm rentals. Or, go talk to the people who know – experts in any field are normally excited about sharing information, particularly with aspiring authors. Ask a doctor about gunshot wounds and how likely it is for someone to get shot “just a little bit” and be ready to go by the third act.
Really, this rule is an extension of Rules 1 and 2… or maybe a prerequisite. The more you know about the mechanics of fighting, the more you can show and the less likely you are to break the bounds of disbelief.
Rule 4: Setbacks are drama.
What about the pirate code? Well, it’s really more just guidelines. Look, there are times for your good guy to mow down the bad guys like wheat before the scythe. There are times to throw realism out the window and go full gonzo. There are even (begrudgingly) times to skip out on the action. The trick is knowing when it’s the right time to break the rules. This is definitely more art than science, but a good rule of thumb is it should always be the exception and never the norm. Did your protagonist just have a drawn-out fight scene with a villain? Maybe it’s okay to hand wave his way to victory against the mooks that rush in after. Love interest about to plummet to his or her death? All medical science aside, maybe the protag can manage to save the day despite the bullet that should have long since caused a catastrophic drop in blood pressure. Sometimes, doing the impossible is exactly what we need to see a character do.
Sometimes.
By J.T. Nicholas
I love fight scenes.
Nothing quite gets the blood going like a good action sequence. For as far back as I can remember, my favorite scenes from books, movies, comics, et al. have been gripping, life-or-death, seat-of-your-pants battles where the heroes and heroines have to risk everything to succeed. In addition to being my favorite thing to read, they’re probably my favorite thing to write as well.
So, what makes a good fight scene? Here are my rules for writing fighting:
Rule 1: (in your best Jerry Maguire voice) Show me the action!
The first, and most obvious, is the age-old rule of writing in general: show, don’t tell. Nothing kills my enjoyment of a book faster than a fight scene breaking out only to have some cut away that prevents us from seeing the action. Convenient unconsciousness, blacking out in rage, or just simple scene breaking and moving on all leave me feeling cheated. It’s not really a fight scene if you don’t show the action! Give me details. I want to feel the blows, smell the sweat, bathe in the viscera. Okay… maybe not that last one, but you get the idea.
Rule 2: Don’t Break the Suspension of Disbelief
If you’ve never heard the term, “Suspension of Disbelief” is what lets us enjoy all forms of entertainment without having to go all Neil deGrasse Tyson on them. The problem is, there’s a point at which even those of us who embrace over the top action have to take a step back and go, “Wait a minute… that guy’s been firing on full auto for like three minutes straight and hasn’t reloaded once.” In other words, there’s a point at which we stop suspending our disbelief and start getting distracted by the things that don’t make sense. You have to find a balance between badassery and reality – once you move over into the realm of the impossible, unless you have a good explanation for it, you’re going to lose your readers.
Rule 3: Know whereof you speak.
There’s another adage in writing: write what you know. This doesn’t mean “only write what you yourself have personally experienced and never stray from those bounds.” That would make for some boring fiction indeed. But for the most part, we have the sum total of human knowledge contained in a magic box that we carry in our pockets. It’s a good idea to make use of it. Research is as important to writing a good fight scene as it is to writing anything else… maybe more so.
The internet can take you far, but I’m a firm believer that hands-on research is the best kind, particularly when it comes to action. Plus, it’s fun! Writing about fighting? Why not get some more practical experience (and no, I don’t mean go pick a fight)? Go take a martial arts class somewhere. Learn what it’s like to get punched in the face. It’s amazing how quickly it will change your perspective on just how much your hero can bear. Go to your local range – almost all of them offer basic gun safety and handling courses and firearm rentals. Or, go talk to the people who know – experts in any field are normally excited about sharing information, particularly with aspiring authors. Ask a doctor about gunshot wounds and how likely it is for someone to get shot “just a little bit” and be ready to go by the third act.
Really, this rule is an extension of Rules 1 and 2… or maybe a prerequisite. The more you know about the mechanics of fighting, the more you can show and the less likely you are to break the bounds of disbelief.
Rule 4: Setbacks are drama.
We all want our heroes to be bad asses. Of course, we do! They’re there to win it all. But you have to be careful to never make it too easy. Think of Die Hard. John McClane is iconic not because he blasts through the bad guys, but because he takes a beating doing it. He literally has to drag himself across a field of broken glass to save the day. Setbacks make characters more relatable and they also build the drama and tension. They make us worry for the heroes. They make us wonder how they’re going to pull it off this time. If your character walks through every fight scene without a scratch, there’s no danger. If there’s no danger, there’s no risk. And if there’s no risk, there’s no real action. It’s the difference between watching someone jogging (yawn!) and watching a race in the Olympics.
Rule 5: Know when to break the rules.
Sometimes.
The Sickness unto Death
The Synth revolution has come at last. The supposedly synthetic beings humans crafted to do their dirty work for them have fully actualized their own humanity—and they no longer acquiesce in their enslavement. Victory in the struggle to tear down the institutions of oppression seems just a matter of time. But the halls of power are not so easily shaken—and a counterstrike is inevitable.
Former Detective Jason Campbell has pledged his life to the Synthetic cause. So when a mysterious virus starts wiping out Synths left and right—and shows signs of mutating to target everyone else—he must lead a race against time to prevent the outbreak of the most horrific plague the world has ever seen. If he succeeds, he’ll expose the moral bankruptcy of the depraved elites who will stop at nothing to restore the old order. If he fails, it could mean the end of life on this planet. For both Synth and Human.
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Author bio:
J.T. Nicholas was born in Lexington, Virginia, though within six months he moved (or was moved, rather) to Stuttgart, Germany. Thus began the long journey of the military brat, hopping from state to state and country to country until, at present, he has accumulated nearly thirty relocations. This experience taught him that, regardless of where one found oneself, people were largely the same. When not writing, Nick spends his time practicing a variety of martial arts, playing games (video, tabletop, and otherwise), and reading everything he can get his hands on. Nick currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife, a pair of indifferent cats, a neurotic Papillion, and an Australian Shepherd who (rightly) believes he is in charge of the day-to-day affairs.
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