Spider-Man vs Juggernaut (Marvel Comics)
I’ve talked about writing action scenes before and people still ask for some tips. Today I’m going to give a few that center on knowing your character. Some might be repeats from other posts, but it doesn’t hurt to hear it again if you plan on doing a lot of action.
- You really need to know the limits of your characters. The above picture shows that Spider-Man may be strong, but Juggernaut is stronger. The writer/artist know how to work such a fight without going outside the limits of the characters. You would lose readers if Juggernaut starts doing nimble backflips or Spider-Man hurls the big guy into the next county. As powerful as they are, each one has a limit.
- Not every weapon can penetrate armor. I thought of this when I caught part of a movie that had two knights fighting. They had platemail and it ended with a simple slash across the chest. There was no mark on the other warrior that you could see since he fell face down, but it got me thinking. How often do authors focus on the weapons and tend to forget the armor? You can get so caught up in the offense of an action scene that you ignore the defensive side beyond a few blocks.
- Being a warrior doesn’t mean you can use EVERY weapon created. Check out the heroes of Windemere and you’ll see that each one has signature weapons. If they grab something else then they tend to wield it like their favored weapon. The idea of a ‘Weapons Master’ is common in fantasy, but tends to be reserved for ancient characters that take the role of mentor. A young hero like Luke Callindor shouldn’t be able to use more than his sabers, a range weapon, and a few simple things. Though his level of skill would vary. Remember that practice and training is necessary for a character to develop even if they’re a natural.
- If you describe a character as having long legs then kicking might be more useful than punching. I always wonder why some fight scenes exclude any moves from below the waist. If the character is a skilled fighter then they you can believe they would play to their strengths. Powerful and long legs shouldn’t be ignored. I’m not talking only kicks to the head too. Injuring an opponent’s legs will slow them down, so shots to the knees and ankles should be considered.
- Height, weight, girth, etc. is something that I try hard to remember. Case in point, a halfling or gnome is a shorter target. A taller warrior would have to stab down, swing low, and alter their fighting styles to handle a ‘below average’ height. The trade off is that shorter characters need to find ways to reach more vital areas on their enemies, which is where stealth and range come into play. Yet, there is another side of this and that’s allies remembering this fact. There’s a fight scene in Prodigy of Rainbow Tower where Nyx and Nimby are back-to-back. Nyx takes advantage of having a shorter ally and ducks high strikes without worrying about Nimby getting hit. Same goes for archers being able to shoot over shorter allies.
Those are what came to mind and I’m sure there are more that I forgot. I’ll probably revisit this if I can think of any others. As usual, I’m always up for suggestions and questions that can create other posts.
Legends of Windemere 
Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
Whilst my characters rarely take on superhero status….always very interesting to know how to ensure that your action man is within believable parameters..
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Thanks for the reblog. Even non-superheros can have some action though. 🙂
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Great tips!!! It’s funny how some people make their main characters adept at every single weapon in the world at a young age. I also crack up when a 100 pound woman is able to easily defeat an opponent the size of a sumo wrestler without the aid of super strength.
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The weapon master thing is always a strange thing to see in a young character. I rarely see a good reason for it. As for the 100 pounder versus a sumo, I think it can be done if she uses speed and aims for weak spots. As long as you make it believable, any character can beat another using the right strategy. That’s a big part of action scenes. Not just the movements, but the mentality.
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Reblogged this on Shirley McLain and commented:
Here are some helpful suggestions about action in your writing. I thought I would pass it on. Have a blessed day.
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Thanks for the reblog.
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Great points, Charles! Another excellent post 🙂
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Thanks. Been a busy day.
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Great tips! Even warriors have limits! Am reblogging. 🙂
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Thanks for the reblog.
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Reblogged this on Princess of the Light: Books, Writing and Inspiring Others and commented:
An excellent article by my friend, Charles. Writing action scenes are about timing but also have their limits. Even superheroes can’t be perfect!
MRS N aka N. N. Light
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Details. Details. Great post.
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Thanks. 🙂
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Good tips all. Did I miss a post today?
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Not sure. I did a lot of reblogging. This was the only non-reblog today.
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I confess I’m a little worried that when I try to write a novel, there will be some sort of physical combat that I must try to describe in words. When I read fight scenes, I always find myself wondering if I could pull it off. I might get to find out. 🙂
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Ever think of reading a book on choreography or finding some YouTube videos that explain it? Those kinds of things can help because that’s basically what you’re doing when you write a fight scene. The only difference is that nobody is acting it out after you write it.
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That’s a great tip. Thank you. 🙂
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You’re welcome. Glad to help put your mind at ease. 🙂
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Great point, I’m guilty of my hero managing to learn weapons all too quickly, I’ve got to work on that!
Great post as always.
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I may have cheated. All of my heroes get introduced after their training stages, so they have the knowledge. Though I make sure they have signature weapons and don’t stray far from the type. Be weird having the massive barbarian wielding a pair of knives.
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True, a barbarian would just smash two enemies together.
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That’s happened a few times. Though I made the barbarians of my world smarter and wiser. They simply have the ability to go rage and have a ‘predatory presence’.
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Great points. I need to remember – more kicking! 🙂
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Knees and elbows too. 😉
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It’s probably okay if the main use they get out of the unfamiliar weapon is catching an opponent by surprise, I think.
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True. It could be a clumsy attack due to unfamiliarity too. I think my main pet peeve in this arena is when a character picks up a new weapon and is a master within a few swings.
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Great post. Thank you. I certainly need to think a lot about the fight scenes I want to write. It’s probably the one part of my book I’m least confident with.
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It takes a lot of practice. One thing I do is think through the action part of the scene before I write. Not so much the details, but the key moves that everything else will revolve around. It’s basically choreography.
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Still worries me but perhaps I just need to read more books with those types of scenes. Thank you for the advice :). My book’s at the very early stage, I’ve just started writing it but the idea has been in my head for a solid three years so most of the story already exists. It’s just transferring what I see in my head into something that makes sense and hopefully sounds good on paper.
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Oddly enough, movies with detailed action scenes help too. Martial arts movies will show you how a fight can go back and forth instead of it being one-sided. The first draft is always the hardest. 🙂 Good luck.
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Thank you 🙂
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