Action Scenes

We have finally arrived at the beginning of our work on showing things that happen! While it might be fun to talk about exposition (please not the hint of sarcasm), I decided to start with something near and dear to my heart- fight scenes. However, depending on how they are written, they can either make or break an influential part of your story. Therefore, I would like to bring up just a few things. 

·         Be specific with strikes. As a martial artist and a reader, it is not very helpful for my imagination to read “person A punched/kicked person B.” Where did person A strike, and what kind of strike was it? It is better with such words to say that he or she did a roundhouse kick to the person’s side, as it helps the reader to better picture the scene.

·         Remember, weapons are the extensions of your arms. There are many types of weapons, and each has a style and specific pattern of attacks. You will never see a person wield a staff (which is supposed to be as long as the person is tall) with one hand because he or she would be easily disarmed. Similarly, some weapons such as sai are used in pairs, and can be used for both offense and defense. If you are not sure how a specific weapon is used, it is best to do research to make sure that you get it right. It might be annoying, but it will make the portrayal of the scene much better (and more accurate as well).

·         Do not carry them out for extended lengths. Most fights do not last long in reality, especially if one party is much more skilled than the other. Also, not only is it taxing reading a fight that takes a long time, but it is also difficult to keep your concentration while writing it. Do not make it too short, but please keep it a reasonable length.