by Joshua Peacock

Created on: June 20, 2009   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

Physical conflict doesn't get any more gut wrenching and suspenseful than a good fist fight. Unfortunately, many people neglect writing any sort of fight scenes in their novels, resorting to other forms of conflict. This is because most people do not have a working knowledge of how a fight should work. But the main reason is because it so hard to do. It takes a particular writing style to accomplish.

Regardless of how you construct your narrative, non-violent action, or dialogue, the way you write a fight scene is always going to have to be in a certain way. You simply cannot form a fight scene completely around emotional response; nor can you completely around the physical movements. You have to strike a balance, knowing when and where to inject the emotional aspect of the fight (which is actually what creates the most suspense, contrary to what one might believe). Also clarity is an issue; many writers construct overly complex and often confusing sentences to describe what is happening during a brawl. In the end, you have no idea who was doing what, and somehow the main character's missing limb just doesn't add up.

Fear not! Following a few simple guidelines will help keep you from confusing your readers. First, in order to make the action intense and fast paced, cut out most of your eloquent narrative techniques. You need to be straight forward, to-the-point; without heavy poetic descriptions. Some techniques are needed, but most of them need to be cut out for the sake of clarity and speed. It also depends on what sort of fighting there is going to be. Is it realistic, or fantasy (like Hong Kong Cinema type action)? The fantasy kind is harder to write, because of its complexity and elegance, which is hard to describe in the way you see it on screen. The realistic kind, however, is easier, for it requires only straight forward language, and only to describe crude movements, as real fights look nothing like the movies.

When writing your sentences, its crucial that you bring the reader into your action; constructing it to sound as if it were happening. For example, instead of writing, "Jason jumped across the room and slashed at Thomas," you should write, "Jason leapt across the room, slashing at Thomas." Not only did I replace "jump" with a less cliche, yet more descriptive word, I also made the sentence more immersive and flowing by changing "slashed" to its "-ing" form. The "-ing" form of a verb is a very powerful tool when writing action, and you should use it often.

Thirdly, use short sentences. Now that doesn't mean every sentence should be three or four words long. What I'm saying is that you should avoid long, complex sentences that slow the action down. Using short sentences speeds it up; allows the reader to sense that the situation is urgent - drawing them in. If you fall in the trap mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, of using only super short sentences with no variation, the action will become boring and robotic. Rather, like before, we should strike a good balance, but between short and medium sentences - no long sentences unless its absolutely necessary for some bizarre reason.

In the end its a lot of practice - and understanding, eventually - that defines good action from the bad. The only way to get good at anything is to practice, and writing is no different.

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