You have a sword.....so what?

action scenes are weird. I usually oversummarize the action myself, because I know I'll go into too much detail about the action itself.It get's really annoying after a while.

I know what you mean. For a while now I just take passive characters, so at least if I have to write an action scene they can think about how much pain they are in. I made a list of all the words that people use in such scenes...but it didn't help.

My fight scenes all come out sounding like play-by-plays by a bad sports commentator. I avoid them when I can but when I can't I keep them short sweet and to the point. Well . . . . maybe not sweet.

omg! I know what you mean. Allmy action scenes is like so-n-so did this then so-in-soso did this but so-n-so did this. Yeah, it makes me cringe. That's why I usually just say, they fought, but that sucks too...

Can anyone write good action scenes?

I've read some good action scenes. Terry Brooks is one of the best in the fantasy genre that I've read. But yeah, action scenes can be tricky. A delicate balance between chaos and clarity, between pain and comprehension, between knowing how they fight and knowing why. It can be done, though. But like I said, it's very tricky.

I keep them short and sweet, if I have them at all. It doesn't help when I'm co-writing with my sister, who's VERY violent.

I laugh, Liosis, cause It's so TRUE! Actually, if its not how you said it, its all talking and only a ghost of a though that they are still fighting.

I'm the violent one, Shark13, sorry. I love all that "good" stuff, with the swords, Glaves, staffs, and other lovly weapon out there...except guns...don't know much about guns....
It is comforting to know that I'm not the only one out there.*^^*

I sometimes just kind of give an overview of the action scenes. But when my MC or one of my SC's are personally fighting, then I describe it. I know a good amount of sword attacks, though its quite limited, but I still think its rather descriptive. I honestly do.

Psh action scenes are amazziling, but I can't write them worth a flip. I can always imagine them perfectly enough I just can't seem to find the right words to describe it.

Yes....lament with us....we feel your pain!

I hate hate hate doing exposition. OMG it just comes out all dry and boring and "Yeah, we're just saying this because you, the reader, don't know any better". Ugh. They're usually sitting or standing around not doing much, so sometimes I try to get them to DO something while they're talking, like making dinner or walking around town or throwing rotten peppers at the local Fool or something.

Still ... exposition = teeth being pulled! :-p

Winged Cheetah: I think you're mistaking 'exposition' for 'infodump.' Some writers are very bad at confusing the two. Don't follow their example! Exposition when written well flows with the story and is actually quite interesting. The best way I've found to make exposition interesting is to make the reader ask questions about it first.

I think that the best way to hide that action-scenes are your weak point is to interspurce them with dialogue and scene-setting. It can work in a similar way for dialogue and scene-setting (description, exposition, whatever.)

I'll do a test with MMC Hans, FMC Greta, Puppet Helen and Evil Scientist Karl from a possible 2008 NaNo, |On the 8th Day|. It will be up on my summary page sometime within the next few weeks.

Also, it's a good idea to have a brief summary of your events no matter what your scene, because if you do, tangential information won't occur as often, and when it does, you can easily separate it from what's important when you reach the editing process.

"infodump" I've never heard of it quite said like that!*^^* But I like the term! "infodumps" never really bothered me exsept that I always get carried away and give away too much too early.

I do use diologe during fight seans and thats' whats killin' it...for me anyway. But I think I just need to study the techneques a little more ...when I've got the time...darn it i'm too busy!

Glad you all are sharing! Its good to let it all out and talk things out. When your characters don't respond then its time to go to plan B.*^^*
~Laura

ps:.....what is "exposition"??0_0....

I got pretty good at them (I like to think that). Just do not try to focus on the actions. A movement-describing-only fight is boring, use conversations between the characters and feelings in the scenes. Build in pauses. They start, put in a few moves, they taunt, one hits, describe how the other is hurting very much, taunt again, clash, maybe a cool special move, describe the condition of the fighters (weary, bad constitution, top-fit, is the wound very draining?), then go again. This produces quite nice scenes, although I also like to keep them short. One fight is about 2 pages with me.

Ah yes, short is very good. Behemoth fights are just as bad in novels as behemoth dialogues are. Also, during my test, I've been finding that the rest of the scene should gradually build up to the fighting scene. Otherwise, you get a bundle of confused readers and another rewrite of the scene.

Technical fighting terms: (Nothing fancy, just learned it from videogames and hanging out with dudes...alot.)

Sword:
Slash = a typically vertical cut. There are 2 kinds of slash: Upward & downward. Only use an upward slash to attack a target's lower half if the attacker is already below the part s/he is going to upslash.

Slice = a horizontal or diagonal cut. To get a slash to not seem awkward, you really need to practice with some sort of sword or sword-replacement (like a stick, y'know?), and make strikes in the air or on a straw-dummy type target.

stab = an attack made by thrusting the sword forward into some hopefully soft part of the enemy. A strategically placed stab can end the life of the opponent. Stabbing is usually used for small or thin blades, such as stilettos (the dagger, not the shoe) or rapiers (french swords, now cheifly used for fencing.)

Chop= this is not a cut! Cuts are precise, chops or hacks are generally clumsy but extremely effective with very large bladed weapons if applied with the right amount of pressure.

Who does what? Generally speaking, certain people have certain swords and are more likely to use certain techniques:
An armored knight on horseback would chop his opponents limbs or head off; a duelist would slice his opponent into ribbons; a scheming queen, prince or adviser would stab their target in the back or the heart; an avenging hero would use a slash to de-finger his adversary, rendering weapons useless.

Fist: most anyone trained in a fist-fighting style (Boxing, not Karate) can use all of these moves.

Uppercut: Think of this as the swordless slash. Unlike a slash, however, an uppercut can be used on the lower half when both parties are on equal footing with each other. Just remember that the uppercutter has to crouch a bit to catch most of the lower half of the target in the uppercut.

Jab: A jab is a stab that doesn't pierce. The jab usually doesn't do a whole lot of body damage since it's quick and light compared to its cousins. However, jabs are useful for stunning, faking out or chaining comboes to more powerful punches.

Straight: simply a punch that propels the fist in a straight line to the target. It's a bit slower than a jab, but it can cause more damage. A straight can be dodged easily, a flurry of them, not so much.

Hook: imagine throwing a curveball. Now imagine your fist still attached to the curveball, headed toward some poor chap's jaw. Essentially, that's a hook. Hook punches are slow and strong, and should be used sparingly, inbetween jabs and straights, for the most dramatic effect. Hooks are usually from the fighter's stronger hand, and likely headed for the weakest parts of the face.

I have a lot of problems with action scenes. They always come out horribly contrived and cliche. In my earlier draft of my novel, the bad guy actually spends a great deal of time monologuing *barf* But at the same time, Jerhan is the type who would monologue, so is it better to be cliche and true to the character, or attempt at originality and deny Jerhan his true cliche self. Ha. Anyway, more to the point, action scenes suck *thumbs down*

I have a lovely chapter that sounded promising when I wrote it...then i read beack over it with a read pen...
think not an inch of white and you have the prognosis for the chapter...damn that chapter four!...i'll have to get my mum to edit it...
*cries in pain*
And the sad thing is I just can't chop it out because it needs to be there!...o_0 It will not drive me insane...well maybe it will...

how you write a fight scene really depends on how realistic you want the fight to be. If you want pure realism for the the tone of the story it's over in less than a page, mostly description of action, no dialouge and only used scenery. In a fight you rarely have time to conciously think, it's all done on an observation becomes action without much by the middleman of conciousness.

An epic fight would have everything and the kitchen sink and be very unrealistic. Action, dialouge, scenery mentions and the camera(level of the description) would keep moving around. Maybe start up close, then pull back as the opponents clash, then move in for the end of the action and seperation for dialouge, change perspectives, ect.

As a rule of thumb for myself, I keep one vs one to a close perspective, large battles get a large perspective that focuses over a few distinct individuals and the amount of realism varies by story.

You're a saint!T_T*** Your a more reliable source than what I've been looking at...
Maybe I can get past the block now!
I don't do vid. games so it would make sense that I wouldn't know. Thanx!
~Laura

Out of curiosity, who was that directed towards?
If it's towards me, my experience in how real fights goes comes from a few years of boxing and fencing. Touches and rounds, no matter the weapon, are almost always over before you can think and analyze the action. You don't see the crowd and you barely notice the ref or judge.

Also, I don't remember writing my previous post in this thread, but I agree with it!

Fight scenes. Oh Flamin' Aekai. This is going to be... fun.... =/ Hopefully I won't kill it.

... My Dark Lord Dude/Person/Thing is probably going to die NOT BY THE HERO'S HAND! It'd be more fulfilling to let someone else kill him and then still be stabbing his lifeless body when the Hero shows up or have him like, commit suicide, or escape or sumptin'. Mr. Badguy's not going to be the 'normal' type. =D He's going to be more... happy. Making up gory songs and planning on giving the Hero a 'nice funeral with lots of pretty flowers.' And the like. XP I shall name him something really random... Okay. Must. Stop. TALKING!!!!!!!!!! ... I think my braces are making me hyper. It's either that or the asprin.

Pencil Eater left out two important "moves" with a sword (or any other hand-to-hand weapon).

Block - Use the flat edge (always the flat edge, unless you have a sword-breaker type setup), to stop your opponents attack. Can either be a horizontal block, (think holding your sword sideways in front of your face), or a deflection to the side with your sword vertical.

Parry - After you block an attack, you use the momentum of your opponent's attack, to strike back. Think like deflecting his blow to the side, and using your strength to push his weapon farther away opening up a strike for you.

Different weapons have different ways they should be used. Sleder swords and daggers, lots of thrusting and parrying. Big honking swords, axes, that sorta thing. Lots of choping and blocking. Spears and Polearms are a completely different area, as you can really use them in anyway, (though, I'll tell you right now, Slicing with a polearm, is not an easy thing to do).

I guess I have an easier time writing fighting scenes since I sword fight (well, I use a polearm :) ) with some of my buddies all the time. I can see how they use their weapons and it makes it easier to describe.

Lucky! I wish I had friends to sword fight with. It's just me around here.

Oooh. Salvatore's fight scenes. Well, I'll admit he has one really awesome one. The problem is, he writes it over and over and over again.

Now for my complaint: I finally get a descent plot to write about, one with an ending and a middle, and I can't think of how to start it. I know what kind of scene would be best but every time I try to get it written it eats my soul.

Oh my, firestarter911, i know what ou mean. All my english papers used to be like that. I'd get all these comments back that say something like "the beginning is a bit messy so I really didn't get the ending"
*sigh* such is life.. there is no remidy for this kind of this. Its a learn as you go along thing.
Good luck!
~Laura

I hate writing action sequences... but I've noticed that they're easier to do when you have guns instead of swords/kung fu/whatever. It's quick and fairly neat, and you can say "shots rang out, as shots are wont to do." Which is one of my favorite lines ever (not my own cleverness, unfortunately.)

Ouch, fight scenes. So painful to write.

I try to keep them short- after all I don't want some sort of epic ten-page fight. (Seems a little cheesy, like some bad manga or something.) It's comforting to know that most fights didn't last long anyways.