The whispers of fighting scenes.

[EldritchCoomer]

Okay, while researching some advice and experimenting with some practice runs on how to write an interesting fight scene I have some been hearing some whispers of tying them to your overall plot or making it have meaning.

I'm here to tell you to not do that. If you make every fight some thematic big ultra important fight you'll get bored real quick, (or at least I did) especially if you're not well versed in doing high impact fights yet as a newbie.

You'd want to limit the length of the fight and not drag it out, which in my opinion is the worst thing you can.
Also there is no reason to have a climatic point in every fight, some flights can just be there cause you like to do a fight scene or it's been a while since the last one, you can also do the fight as sparing or training.

If you do decide to throw a fight scene for the hell of it, I advice to not write every feeling and sensation in such a gross detail. It'll pay to be less descriptive in this instance and just let the audience enjoy the fight you have shoved in there.

The thing though you don't want to drag this fight scene for long since it's not a big deal, half a page or 250-420 words should be sufficient for your short meaningless fights (I write a lot do if you write below 5k-8k words, maybe don't follow this one)

 

[georgelee5786]

Good advice

 

[Iamnotabot]

I'll have my fight for about 700-900 words is that good or bad ? My chap is usually 1k more or less words

 

[J_Chemist]

I'll have my fight for about 700-900 words is that good or bad ? My chap is usually 1k more or less words

Utilizing word count or page numbers as a guideline for writing isn't something you should do. Write what is necessary to fulfill the goal of the scene. If you want to add detail and immerse your reader more into a scene or action, then having more words is fine. On the flip side, if the scene isn't really important or there isn't a huge "impact" coming from the action/movement, then less detail is fine because the Reader doesn't really need to know about it.

Utilizing word count as a guideline/yardstick is unnecessarily constricting and demanding. Limiting yourself beneath a word count will force you to cut corners where you actually might want to increase the detail. On the other side, forcing yourself to reach a word count will cause you to add unnecessary verbiage that will just bore your Reader.

Write enough to convey what you need to say. Whether it's a lot or a little. If the fight is less important, then yes- you probably want to aim for something short and sweet. If the fight weighs heavily on the plot, expect to put more effort into it. But with both of them, ensure the details are sufficient. Your reader will thank you for it.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

Most memorable fights last between 15 and 30 pages(7500-15000 words) in traditionally published books. These are usually big fights such as between the main antagonist and main protagonist though so smaller fights don't need to be as long. Even so, you shouldn't consider the the length of the fight when writing it, but rather, whether the fight makes sense and can be enjoyable. That means having enough details to paint a clear picture of the fight whilst keeping the readers engaged in it.

 

[K5Rakitan]

Different people are going to like different things, so you might have a few readers who want to read long, glorious fights that take up 95% of the book. The question to ask yourself: Is that what I want to read when I'm reading a book? Write the book you want to read, and you'll find your people.

 

[EldritchCoomer]

I'll have my fight for about 700-900 words is that good or bad ? My chap is usually 1k more or less words

The others are right, I usually limit my word count to try and not go too far off and make my work a jumbled mess of incoherent thoughts.
This of the minimal word count for the small fight scene as a goal to achieve, yes, but you can still go beyond it and only stop once you feel like you it'll be enough

 

[Iamnotabot]

The others are right, I usually limit my word count to try and not go too far off and make my work a jumbled mess of incoherent thoughts.
This of the minimal word count for the small fight scene as a goal to achieve, yes, but you can still go beyond it and only stop once you feel like you it'll be enough

Thanks, i'll keep it mind.

 

[Gryphon]

Here's my take on how many words should be in fight scenes.

Fight scenes where MC or side character faces nameless goons: 100-400 words

Fight scenes where MC or side character faces higher level goons: 300-600 words

Fight scenes where MC or side character faces bosses: 500-1500 words

Fight scenes where side character faces final boss: 1000-2000 words

Fight scenes where MC faces final boss: 2000-5000+ words

This is mainly from my own experience in writing fight scenes. There's plenty of ways to keep a fight scene interesting past the first 1000 words. The only thing keeping an author back from making longer fight scenes interesting is just experience.

Some tips for anyone wanting to make long fight scenes interesting and fresh throughout:

• Don't start the characters going full strength. Have them start off like they're testing each other's physical capabilities before going all out. There may be cases where going all out from the start can make things interesting, but keep in mind the context surrounding the characters, setting, and the relationship between the fighters.
• Change in scenery every 1000 words. If you start a fight in the courtyard, end the fight in the lord's mansion that's halfway destroyed and burning. If a 5000 word fight begins in a courtyard and end in the courtyard, the fight will suck. Change in scenery can show progress in the fight. As the characters get more beaten, destroy the setting to show how fierce the fight is and how run down the fighters or fighter is.
• Keep the tug of war between fighters constantly going back and forth. Make sure each fighter has a moment where they're winning the fight. If character A starts of winning the conflict, then by 1500 words in character B should have an advantage. Keep the pendulum of advantage swinging back and forth until one character miraculously pulls out a victory.

 

[Premier]

Tying fight scenes to plot doesn’t mean it has to be a big, thematic showdown, just that every fight in some way advances the plot

It can be a small personal development.“MC realizes they have a weakness”, “Defeats a monster they couldn’t before” or “MC finds it so easy they decide to push themselves harder”

It can be a change in relationship with a friend. Or an introduction of a minor faction or bad guy. A reveal of a new system or a quirk of an old one.

The last thing you want to do is write fight scenes as skippable filler. It’s a waste and you’ll end up training people to skip reading them as they never matter.

Just ask yourself what the reader learns during the fight and if the answer is “Nothing” it’s really not that hard to find something to put in there. It doesn’t need to be a huge life defining moment but just writing filler leads to boredom.

 

[Corty]

I'll have my fight for about 700-900 words is that good or bad ? My chap is usually 1k more or less words

I wouldn’t limit myself into word counting. Write it in a way your are satisfied with. Short? Long? As long as you feel you made the fight play out as you wanted, then its good.

 

[EldritchCoomer]

Tying fight scenes to plot doesn’t mean it has to be a big, thematic showdown, just that every fight in some way advances the plot

It can be a small personal development.“MC realizes they have a weakness”, “Defeats a monster they couldn’t before” or “MC finds it so easy they decide to push themselves harder”

It can be a change in relationship with a friend. Or an introduction of a minor faction or bad guy. A reveal of a new system or a quirk of an old one.

The last thing you want to do is write fight scenes as skippable filler. It’s a waste and you’ll end up training people to skip reading them as they never matter.

Just ask yourself what the reader learns during the fight and if the answer is “Nothing” it’s really not that hard to find something to put in there. It doesn’t need to be a huge life defining moment but just writing filler leads to boredom.

Hm, true. True. I didn't mean for the fight to so far away from the actual plot that it becomes filler or pointless. I think no writer worth their salt would ever consider writing in such a terrible way.
I actually proposed what you talked about, but just not impactful as advancing a level all the or refining a power or skill.
Some times people just want to write a fun fight scene filled with crazy antics.

 

[Premier]

Some times people just want to write a fun fight scene filled with crazy antics.

I write lots of those! But it’s not hard to also make them serve the story while you’re doing it.