Q: Action scenes

[jinkang.livejournal.com]

Any advice on how to write good action scenes?

Comments

[rosalinda-143.livejournal.com]

Well, I do a little action scenes but I don't know if they are good enough for what you want. But um, I could try helping anyway...

When you write an action scene kind of plot it out in your head, like a movie, because movie action scenes are great, right?
Try looking up Tae Kwon Doe moves, Karate moves, etc. (like the names of the kick/punch). But because I don't know what the situation is I can't really give you much.

That's really all I can give you, I can't really think of anything else. Hope this helps. Sorry if it doesn't... heh, heh.

Anyhoo, good luck!

[jinkang.livejournal.com]

I think that's the tricky part for me.

I feel as though the passage should 'read' like a movie but I shouldn't 'write' like a movie. Not sure if that makes sense.

[rosalinda-143.livejournal.com]

it makes sense, i no how u feel. but most action scenes r usually pretty, short (for me at least) just because it's hard to look everything up and then plot it in ur head.

sometimes when i have a fight scene i usually say a few kicks and punches and then say things like 'then it was like one of those big fight scenes in movies. i would flip anyone who grabbed me from behind...' things like that.

[cat-mcdougall.livejournal.com]

I prefer using props and friends to act them out, if at all possible. My brother and his husband came to dread the call of "I need someone thrown into a wall!" or something similar. Throwing was an often problem.

[verviana.livejournal.com]

Lol! The perils of having a writer in the family.

[jinkang.livejournal.com]

Sorry about the lack of explanation there! It was soon after I realized my lack of creativity and writing skills when I posted this. T_T

I'm trying to write a heroic fantasy...and yet the draft I wrote so far seems to lack vivid action scenes.

Probably the usage of the word might be wrong but I want readers to think, "wow, epic!"

Of course, I want to scale it down to a man/woman fighting one or more opponents. I can semi visualize it but words aren't coming. It's as if my brain froze. That or I never knew how to describe such scenes in English...which is entirely possible.

I'm guessing I should some Conan chronicles or something...

[rosalinda-143.livejournal.com]

I'm back!! So I was thinking, about your action scene, and you said that you wanted it down to 2 people fighting a group right? Oh wait, is this third preson or first person and if so who is the main character?

I think if you answere those 2 questions I can conjure up an example you can either use or use as an outline.

[jinkang.livejournal.com]

Perhaps I'm digging myself into a deeper hole for this choice but the draft is written from a third person POV from a boy, looking at the heroine. (30 something woman?)

I imagine what the boy _cannot_ see should not enter the narrative...yet enough should be there to tell the readers that this heroine is totally awesome.

[jinkang.livejournal.com]

This is something akin to what I have right now:

L moved like the wind. Stretching her muscle bound arm, she grabbed the nearest man and lifted him up. His feet dangled in the air as he threshed to free himself. She didn't give a chance; L threw him towards the two approaching her from the left.
"Look out," R shouted.
Another red cloak slashed, his lightening strike nearly tracing a line in the air. But L was already on the ground, her gaze already searching for the next victim. As the tip of the sword carved empty air where her head had been, her powerful kick connected with the man's leg. R heard something crack as the man went down.


As I said... I think I'm being a bit too descriptive here... feel like I'm sludging thru mud...

[the-mome-wrath.livejournal.com]

For quicker actions, shorter sentences will make them seem faster. So, you could write your first paragraph maybe something similar this:

L moved like the wind. She grabbed the nearest man. He thrashed to free himself. She threw him at the two approaching.

You don't need to play up the woman as being awesome. Her actions should do this on their own during the fight. You can play things up before and after the fight scenes if you feel you need to. Trying to play it up during the fight just slows things down and if you're not careful can easily turn into purple prose or make the fight scene drag on too long.

[rosalinda-143.livejournal.com]

Well I like it, it's pretty good. But the_mome_wrath is right, don't be too desrciptive, but makes sure people know what's going on. Also don't make the fight scene too long. Sometimes it's a bit hard to describe a fight scene unless it's in the movies. So short, descriptive (not too desriptive though), and too the point. Then end the fight in some dramatic (or not dramaitc) way. Any wounds, broken bones?

sorry, that might be a little much for u right now... heh, heh, when I get carried away I get carried away. Just take the first part into considerating the injuries thing, don't worry about until after.

[jinkang.livejournal.com]

That's what I realized. I was comparing a movie/anime vs the book just today...and realized how short the paragraphs are.

It's still early but I feel like a rewrite of the draft now...haha.

Thanks for the tips everyone.

[nontu.livejournal.com]

Generally speaking, action scenes should play like a movie in the reader's head. Think of it like this: non-action scenes are often like a picture, a photograph. You can afford to be extra descriptive if you want, detailing things out, having a lot of dialogue.
In action you want action. You want short simple words, short descriptions, a whole lot of person A doing action B. Avoid the passive tense. Avoid speeches.

[rosalinda-143.livejournal.com]

I thought maybe this would help...

example:

We were back to back surrounded by the enemy. There were 15, or maybe 20, too much to count. They were poised and ready to attack but so were we. I unsheathed my weapon (if he/she has one) and got ready for the battle. I heard my partner to the same.
I started as a few of them came at us at once. I jumped dodging an attack and kicked the guy in front of me's face. He fell back and as he started to get up two guys came behind and the side. I hit the guy at my side with my weapon and while he was dazed I flipped the guy behind me. He landed with thud. I turned around to see if my partner needed help.
He already had five of them down. I turned back around as a guy lunged at me. Not ready we hit the ground wrestling for the weapon in my hand. He was strong but kneed him in the gut and he fell back. I hopped back up just as another one came at me. I twirled to avoid his attack and kicked him as I jumped into the air. He fell down and never got back up.

Well there's some example for you, I didn't finish because maybe this'll give you an idea and you can finish by yourself. I hate when I have writers block but it'll pass soon.

[the-mome-wrath.livejournal.com]

First of all, keep them short. Long action scenes are great in movies, but not in fiction. If an action scene is drawn out too long it's easy to bore the reader. Shorter sentences will give the illusion of speed during the scene. It's also a good idea to focus on the before and after rather than the action or fight scene itself.

Try to keep things realistic when describing blows. Find out a little bit about the fighting style you're trying to describe and what kind of injuries it would actually cause. If possible, talk to someone who does martial arts or fencing. This helps a lot. Even if your world is fantasy or you're using magic, a little bit of realism goes a long way towards making a world more believable.

[adalira.livejournal.com]

I always imagined writing an action scene like I was actually watching it and typing what I saw as it was happening. I always tried to include as much detail as possible with out using a lot of words.

Like if you were to watch a UFC fight with your eyes closed, you'd still have a pretty good idea of what was going in from the commentary.

[jinkang.livejournal.com]

Watching UFC with eyes closed...that's something I haven't tried. That's a great idea. Thanks.

[lady-fellshot.livejournal.com]

A slithy tove told me I'd find this topic interesting ^.^ I've run into this question more that a few times and most of the best answers I've come up with are here: http://www.fanfiction.net/topic/32910/2407445/1/ Actually, fighting groups is covered in that thread.

I actually wouldn't go so far as to look up martial arts moves by name as many of them sound slightly silly when translated into English and may or may not be descriptive of the movement required of the practitioner.

I also wouldn't try to sort out commentary from boxing or MMA announcers. They tend to use specific vocabulary which can be somewhat disorienting if you are totally unfamiliar with the particulars. Since you cannot be sure what your readers know, it's usually better to err on the side of simple, short and easy to describe.

The Mome wrath is giving good advice. Short and staccato sentences will draw the reader through the fight scene quicker. Most fights, particularly ones with blades, are incredibly brief, a few seconds at most. They shouldn't take more than a minute to read (although they do tend to be a bit word heavy).

Also, you should not feel as if you must add fight scenes to a fantasy story if you find the story moving nicely without them. Truth be known, a fight scene is just filler in the narrative. The important parts are who, why and who walks away afterwards.

[jinkang.livejournal.com]

I think it depends. Perhaps in usual sense, fighting scene don't matter; but for heroic fantasy (a sub-genre) I think it's fairly important. At least that's what I would read for anyway.

Thanks for the link!