Art by Alison Hunt
(Do I Need to Use a Dragon?‘s final section is on ‘The Quest’. Just a colorful way of saying ‘the plot’. One of my favorite scenes to write are fight scenes. They’re a fun challenge and a necessity in most fantasy stories. There are many ways to do them, but there are a few tricks to making them remain clear.)
While I can think of many mistakes people make with fight scenes, there are two that stand out the most. Avoid these and you’re already halfway there.
First, make sure the weapons and armor fit the characters. If I already said this, then I’m saying it again. The characters need to be able to wield their gear, which have to match their style. A gnome running around with a 500-pound axe is going to require a lot of magical enchantments. Thieves who work with stealth aren’t going to be wearing regular platemail, which is loud and heavy. This is something that will be taken care of in character creation, but you should keep it in mind. As I said, magic can give you a way around these issues, but it shouldn’t be abused.
The second mistake is much more dire and destructive:
REMEMBER THE INJURIES!
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve read or seen a fight scene with a character who is moving around fine after getting badly hurt. There is a suspension of disbelief here, so they can push harder through pain and blood loss. I will fully admit that the heroic ‘plot armor’ characters receive can give you some leeway. For those who don’t know, ‘plot armor’ is how certain heroes are protected from harm due to their importance to the story. Even with this tool, there are limits or you risk making the fight scene utterly ridiculous.
The worst of the forgotten injuries have to be cuts and broken bones, especially with the limbs. If a warrior’s arm is damaged then they can’t be at full strength. Sword arm means they can’t hit and parry as well as before. Shield or free arm is the same, but for blocking and catching. Leg injuries hinder movement. Twisting away from attacks should no longer be a smooth motion since pain is involved. Injured heroes get tired faster as well. If you fear that you make these kinds of mistakes then maintain a log on the side. This way, you will know who is capable of doing what during the fight and the aftermath.
To keep a core fight scene exciting, it’s best to create a back-and-forth that keeps the reader guessing about who will win. Even the protagonist can lose without dying or fight to a draw instead of pummeling the enemy without effort. An extended fight gets boring if it’s a full overpowering by one character and a simplified one doesn’t do any better. Nobody enjoys seeing a one-shot crushing, especially if there was a build up to the fight. The result is a sense of the author trying to be funny or getting bored with the story. Not to say that you can’t write a fight where a person is defeated swiftly, which is done to push a specific plot point. The loser needs to lose bad to be either removed or given the desire to get stronger.
If the reason for the fight is to deliver a payoff of brewing tension and push development then you need to make it a show. Use parries and dodges with each combatant looking for openings. Remember the terrain and have that play a part, which can shatter momentum and move things either to the middle or the opposing side. Try to have moves blend into each other, which prevents the fight scene from coming off as jerky. A thrust with a spear can be turned into a quick smack with a flick of the wrist. This can result in the opponent jumping further to the side and then diving in low for a slash to the back. It isn’t easy and takes time to have actions work together, especially if it’s between more than two characters. This is another reason why you shouldn’t rush through a plot essential fight scene.
Still nervous about writing a battle or skirmish since they seem fairly complicated? Then it’s time to do . . .
Legends of Windemere 
Great tips on fight scenes! Remember the injuries–yes! The stakes seem pretty low in a fight if a character leaves unscathed. Luke lost a hand to Darth Vader! Frodo wasn’t nine fingered for nothing! I’m not saying every character has to lose limbs or digits. But if the fight is costly, that needs to be shown. Even if a character doesn’t sustain a physical injury, perhaps the fight took an emotional toll that he or she has to deal with.
I can’t suspend disbelief in a fight scene where a woman outweighed by her male opponent is able to beat him down with her fists. And after winning she doesn’t experience any pain in her fists.
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Pierce Brosnan playing James Bond is a great guide to remembering injuries. He spent at least one movie operating with an injury. I remember he showed that he was hurt and struggled many times too.
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I know it’s hard to sideline a character with an injury. But that’s what character development is for. 😊 In some series nowadays the character aren’t injured at all. We’re supposed to believe they’re so good they can instantly injure or kill others without once sustaining an injury. 🙄
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I’ve seen some shows and movies that still injury heroes. It’s really the ones trying to idealize and politicize things that forget the injury rule.
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We have it drummed into us from an early age (via that thing called a TV) that a hero can take an incredible beating and bounce right back up as if nothing happened (maybe a bandage on the forehead?) I’ve gotten a lot of laughs out of these scenarios!
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I remember that becoming less common in the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s. The idea of a hero getting hurt and still fighting became more inspirational. Lately, I’ve seen many heroes designed to be unstoppable, which is a shame.
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Lots of great advice here, Charles.
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Thanks.
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Great ideas, Charles.
I have fight scenes in all my books, I think. When someone gets injured, I look up medical websites to find out more details. Currently, I have a character with concussion after being knocked out in a battle. It will take him a while to recover.
I recently critiqued a book where a character was knocked out and suffered concussion, then was back the next day, seemingly none the worse for her injury. I pointed this out to the author who agreed it was a mistake to have her fit and chirpy.
I also have a character in my recently finished book who was severely burned. I spent ages researching burns.
Something else that you mention is weapons. Often we have stories where elves, slight, slender people, are wielding long bows. A long bow is a difficult thing to draw and takes tremendous strength (note how Penelope kept suitors at bay by making them try to draw Odysseus’s bow). Unless you have established that elves are much stronger than they look, elves using long bows is not believable.
I’m all for sticking to as much feasibility as you can, even in fantasy.
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Concussions are a tough injury to work with. Most people think they’re just a momentary disorientation where you can’t go to sleep. It can be like that for some, but only if really mild. This is why I tend to avoid this injury.
Elves have always been weird in fantasy. I think Tolkien gave them incredible strength, but didn’t declare it. You just figured it out through how Legolas acted. So, elves being slender and strong kind of just became the unspoken norm.
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This is great stuff. Maybe those who wrote John Wick should check it out. I tried to show plenty of injuries in my latest, and Mari even walked into her big fight already injured.
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Weren’t the John Wick guys former stuntmen?
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No idea, but there was a lot of wounding, and missing, and killing.
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