If You Want to Write a Fight Scene, Try THIS

[@BidwellRunner]

I've watched a lot of smash brothers, and listened to a lot of commentary during matches. I think I would like to think about if I were commentating this fight, what would I say to make it interesting? You have play by play commentary, color commentary, analysis of the match up, player analysis, discussion of momentum swings, how players have been performing recently, discussion of the stage, etc. There's so much I think you can glean from fighting game commentary to incorporate into writing about fight scenes.

[@Bookfox]

Great insight.

[@anthonywritesfantasy]

Also! That could be an interesting author style: not old kung fu movies, or military training, but smash bros style fight scenes. I'd read that!

[@fiktivhistoriker345]

Don't describe the fight, describe the reactions of the spectators. Once i wrote a story were two people started a swordfight. The spectators cheered their champions, placed bets on them. Cut. Hours later some of them played cards, some fell asleep, some went for getting food. Until the fight stopped, because one of the fighters lost his hand.

[@28318511]

Nice touch with the switch to the cleaver at the end.

[@robertrdbrooks7658]

Stay away from Frankenstein writing. Repeated poundings. Layer the fight scene with: thought, dialog, description spectators environment, strategies, shift momentum, goal of the fight, escalate wounds, pause with dialog. (I remember the old batman shows where they spoke to one another between the BANGS! 💥 and the BOOMS! ✨️ lol'!😂 childish? but I get the point.) Question: How about a (short gazing) Mr.Miyagi "like" mentor moment. Use the force LUKE! Wasn't long & it didn't go on and on. It was quick and to the point. I was 13 in the movie theater watching star wars for the first time, & I cried compounded with the dramatic music. Still, hits me in the chest right there. I really like your videos! Thank You! 👍💥

[@kit888]

Thank you, great list. Just want to point out the Princess Bride scene was written for laughs, so isn't typical.

[@Bookfox]

Yeah, the movie definitely is funny, but I still think you can steal some techniques from their fight scenes.

[@Markmightwrite]

Awesome tips. Thanks for sharing

[@JoJoboiWav]

1:59 John Wick and Sakamoto Days

[@norfangl3480]

0:38 everyone knew the mountain was gonna win because if he lost, we wouldn't have our Cleganebowl

[@PenSwordTheFirst]

Keep it up, mate. These videos are good.

[@sarahsander785]

Oh, unusual weapons not only make for an interesting fight and characterization, it also makes the person and the fight extremly memorable. I remember playing "Judgment" around last winter and as a spin-off of the Yakuza-series it involves TONS of fights, naturally. There's a lot of swords, knives, fists, some guns and make-shift weapons (potted plants, chairs, etc.) but one guy in particular stuck with me and my friends. We call him the "cane guy". In his first fights he used a cane sword, which in itself is pretty cool an memorable. But the devs kept excalating the fights with him and gave him more and more unusual combinations, until he fought with a cane gun. A cane concealing a gun. That was novel. And weird. And strangley fitting. And it wasn't even our last standoff with the "cane guy". There was still one final fight left and we were absolutly joking on how he might hid a canon in his cane. Sadly he didn't, he just used every weapon he had used before, one after the other. This made the fight brutally hard as well, as every weapon was accompanied by a slightly diffrent fighting style and thus the player had to approach the enemy diffrently, switching tactics mid-fight. This was great and it's telling that we remember this fight over the actual end boss.

[@TaeKimFinancialTortoise]

This is great!

[@stevensandersauthor]

Excellent

[@BologneyT]

It's the knife from your movie in that other video!

[@timbuktu8069]

Read Robert E Howard

[@xChikyx]

wjat about writing car chases?

[@A-rogous-1]

Can a fight be used to show a character's willingness to kill unnecessarily?

[@jameydunne3920]

Definitely. You could add how the person hesitates a bit before each swing, or emphasize the how the person is only making submission blows, not killing ones

[@MSigurdHall]

You misread Dune if you think the fight is the reason why Paul was accepted by the Fremen. It was his giving of living water that cemented their respect for him, not killing Jamus, that won their loyalty.