You want to write a fight scene which is entertaining as well as realistic. Your goal is to leave the reader breathless with excitement.
As an editor, many of the writers I collaborate with, struggle to write fight scenes.
A small disclaimer here, my expertise lies in the craft of fight scene writing and editing, not fighting. I’m not a warrior. I’m sure a real warrior can easily beat the crap out of me.
However, I can write and edit a really good scene about it afterward.
There are two types of fight scenes. Entertaining ones, and gritty ones. Before you write your fight scenes, you need to decide which group they belong to.
Gritty Fight Scene
This shows violence as it is; brutal, nasty and quick. The typical gritty fight scene could be written in three words:
Slash. Gore. Dead.
In this type of scene, the actual fight is over quick. The build-up to the fight is suspenseful and slow, and the aftermath is prolonged. The fighter sustained horrific injuries, is spurting blood and there’s terrible gore. The aftermath is horrid, mutilated corpses, bellies with guts spilling out and people dying.
The gritty fight scene invites the reader to feel real horror and revulsion. Its purpose is to shock. Critics will tell you that these fight scenes desensitize people to violence.
Entertaining Fight Scene
This is the heroic, spectacular, exciting, entertaining, and fun fight scene. It allows the protagonist to show honorable behavior and display impressive skills.
The fighting action is prolonged while the aftermath is often non-existent.
Entertaining fight scenes can be unrealistic.
The hero finishes off five attackers without breaking a sweat. There’s little to no blood and guts, and the wounds are only scratches. If there is any blood, it blooms like a red rose and a white shirt.
The hero may get a slash on his cheek which will heal into an impressive scar, while the loser limps off with only a couple bruises and always lives to fight another day. Death is rare. Even if someone dies, they finish as decorative corpses.
The Entertaining fight scene uses its location creatively. Fighters leap across gorges, slide down banisters, jump on tables, etc.
The entertaining fight scene invites the reader to feel admiration for the fighter’s skill, its purpose is to entertain. Critics will say that these types of fight scenes glorify violence.
Blending Entertainment and Grit
Many entertaining fight scenes contain a touch of gritty realism, and many gritty fight scenes contain heroic elements. You can model your fight scene on one of the two types, and temper it with elements from the other.
For example, if you write lighter-hearted fiction, you may choose to make your fight scenes entertaining, with a healthy dose of realistic grit added. If you’re more on the darker fiction side, you may want to make your fight scenes gritty, but prolong them and give your hero the chance to show off his skill.
A great example of blending entertainment and grit together in a fight scene is Kill Bill 1.
It’s essentially an entertaining fight scene of (one against many, prolonged action, skills display, acrobatic feats, creative use of the location, unrealistic outcome), while also containing strong gritty elements (brutality and a lot of spurting blood.)
Which Style Is Better?
This depends on your personal taste. Think about the fight scenes you’ve watched or read, whether they were gritty or entertaining and whether you enjoyed them.
If brutal violence makes you sick, and you can’t stand the sight of blood, don’t even try to attempt to write a gritty scene.
It also depends on the genre. Some genres call for gritty fight scenes with or without entertaining elements while others, require that you have entertaining fight scenes with or without blood.
Read how writers in your genre have handled their fight scenes.
How Much Violence Does Your Fight Scene Need?
If you’re writing “gritty,” a lot. If you’re writing “entertaining,” very little.
Do you want to create realism without violence? Insert a sentence about how the ground feels underfoot. It always adds a touch of realism to a fight scene.
Do you want to use realistic violence without grossing the reader out? Make the violence graphic, but keep it short. Most readers can stomach one or two sentences of graphic descriptions.
Do you want to shock your readers without disgusting them?
Describe only a couple of gory details – the sound of blood dripping from the ceiling, the eyeball hanging down from someone’s cheek – but not more. Leave the rest implied.
When you incorporate these tips into your fight scene writing, remember to avoid:
- Implausible acrobatic feats in an otherwise realistic novel.
- A ton of disgusting blood and guts in a genre whose readers want gentle escapism.
Need editing or publishing help with your fiction story or memoir? I offer free consultation and personalized quotes. Let’s connect. Send me an email: griffinsmith74@gmail.com
