Writing a Fight Scene?

I've written a few - not that I know if they're any good or not - but a few ideas that might help...

Try short, sharp sentences. Don't ramble on, like "...and then he pulled back his fist and he swung it at my face, but I dodged him and then got him back with an uppercut and he fell back and then and so on and so forth..."
Shorter sentences (in active voice!) convey the actions and speed much better: "He swung his fist at me. I pulled back, drove my fist into his jaw. His head snapped back, and he crashed to the ground." Sounds a bit better, nay?

Another bit of advice is to do with action-reaction, or cause-effect, so using the above example, you should write:
"I pulled back, drove my fist into his jaw. His head snapped back, and he crashed to the ground."
rather than:
"He crashed to the ground, head snapping back after I smashed my fist into his face." It's not exactly incorrect, but in your head you're having to work out the scene backwards, and that could pull the reader out of your story.

(Actually I got that bit from Jim Butcher's journal, and he probably explains it better so here's the link http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/, plus he's got tons of other great writing advice!)

Also watch out for any 'props and scenery' your characters could use; eg. bar brawl= smashing chairs, tables and bottles; kitchen = flying crockery, pans and knives; desert or beach= throwing sand in your opponent's face, that kind of thing

Anyway, hope it helps :)

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars
Kahlil Gibran

Well, I'm not sure you can consider it tip, but whenever I try to write a fight scene, I end up standing and trying to mimic the movements myself, wondering if they're feasible. Otherwise, I could only advise to read a lot of them or to watch Zorro's movies all over again!

Oh, and there's also length. I don't know for others, but I don't like my fight scenes to stretch over page after page without any real evolution. And I'm talking of one fight here, not if you have multiple characters fighting different things at the same time. The hardest thing, I believe, is to learn to balance our descriptions with the rest of the book so that they don't interrupt the flow of the story too much - and if they add greatly to it, all the better.

I think a good way to do that would be to focus not necessarily on every single move but on the characters fighting style. There's no point in describing every parry and thrust, but you want to convey what kind of attacks your MC or anyone else does, because that often varies from one another. Is he a fluid, twirling fighter or does he rushes in, enraged? Experienced or not? That kind of things. Then you describe the key moves, those that change the course of the fight, and you'd have a good enough fight scence.

I think. Now would be a good time to point out I'm not all that experienced in writing, although I do a lot of fantasy (which leads to lots of fighting, at least). Would be cool to get someone else's opinion.

Thanks very much, both of you, for your replies :)

If actors in a play we are,
I fear this farce has gone too far.

I'm not sure if this is needed... but when I write a fight scene (I've only done one big one) I tend to go wide scale, if there are lots of people involved. Sweep back and forth across the scene, mix it up. Focus in on one character's showdown, then move on to another scene. Really, unless it moves the story along and interests the reader, I wouldn't go past a chapter or two.

Then again, if it's something like a war and is central to your plot it's different. But I don't think that's what you asked, right? Oh, and here's what I really hate in fight scenes. Please don't do this:

"Gary-Stu swung his hand back forcefully and punched the other boy hard and laughed, knocking the other boy to the floor, rendering the other defenseless."

Oh my gosh, count 'em, 2 "ands", godmodding (not giving the other a chance to do anything) and playing the all powerful. No one's that good, unless they're a god. See godmodding. =)

That's my five or six cents!

Another important detail to remember is that you're writing a book, not filming a movie. The thought of a fist smashing into someone's cheek at high speed is satisfying, but you don't have to explain it in detail; "He lashed out with a right hook" is enough. We can picture that high speed cheek smashing goodness.
Be short, quick, to the point (much like an actual fight). Don't have a lot of complicated moves. Always stop to read it back to yourself, or have someone else read it to make sure it's clear. The image in the reader's head is what you're going for, instilling your own specific image into their head isn't really a good choice. Let them picture the fight themselves, ya get me?

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Bloodcider's Blag

I suck at writing fight scenes, because I don't know much about fighting so find it hard to choreograph them. If Char1 punches Char2 is he leaving his guard open? could Char2 sweep his feet out from under him at this point or would it be physically impossible?

When I can I get round it by telling it from the POV of someone just like me who has know idea what's going on. They see lost of quick moves and the general tide of the fight (whether it looks like going one side it going to win or the other) but not much else. I highlight one or two moves if they're particularly impressive/nasty, but otherwise my little bystander sees a blur of action and the loser on the floor and that's about it.

One thing I forgot to mention that might help: I don't know what sort of tv channels you have (but most people have cable or digital these days), watch out for any documentaries about fighting and martial arts. A while ago Discovery had this series called Fight Quest, where these two guys went around the world to learn all different kinds of martial arts and fighting. I taped it and got loads of ideas and inspiration from it. There was another called Mind, Body and KickA** Moves (I forget which channel). You could easily record these and replay them slow motion to work out the moves - just an idea...

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars
Kahlil Gibran