Dieselpunk + Steampunk Culture
Furious Fatal Fists of Steamfunk: How To Write Fight Scenes That Ain’t Wack!
Furious Fatal Fists of Steamfunk: How To Write Fight Scenes That Ain't Wack!
I am a writer.
I write speculative fiction – mainly, Steamfunk and Sword & Soul (for more on those genres, check out this link and that link, respectively).
My Steamfunk and Sword and Soul novels contain lots of exciting action and fight scenes.
My friend, renowned spoken word artist XPJ Seven, told me "Dude, I like your fight scenes."
"What do you like about them?" I inquired.
"They're not like the fight scenes in most of the fiction I've read." He replied, his brow wrinkling as he scowled.
"What's wrong with those fight scenes?" I asked.
The wrinkles in XP's brow deepened into canyons as he frowned in disgust. "Dude…they're wack!"
Can't argue with the wisdom of XP.
Thus, I write this as a helping hand to my fellow writers who may struggle with writing fight scenes. If writing fight scenes for you comes easy, please, keep reading; You're already here…you might as well. And – in the spirit of all things not wack – if you will be so kind as to contribute your wisdom to this post, it will be greatly appreciated.
First and foremost, let the following Fight Scene Plan guide you toward the light at the end of that dark, dank tunnel called wackness.
Just remember – all good plans are malleable. As author, Milton Davis says, "A plan is a work in progress. It must be adjusted and modified based on results. An inflexible plan will eventually lead to failure."
TO READ THIS BLOG IN ITS ENTIRETY, PLEASE VISIT: http://chroniclesofharriet.com/2012/06/21/furious-fatal-fists-of-st....
Tags: steamfunk
Views: 75
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cap'n Tony on -
Good advice! I subconciously do much of what you advise when I write fight scenes, but had never really formulated why. I always just tried to "write the flow" as I saw it in my head and re-edited when a line felt "wack". I've also tried conciously to evoke the fight scene elements I liked from authors skilled in that area (Steven Barnes) while avoiding the "wack" from authors poor in that area (Hickman & Weis). This is a really good systematic approach to fight-writing and manages to explain a lot of what I hadn't conciously thought about. Great blog!
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Permalink Reply by Balogun Ojetade on -
Thanks, Cap'n Tony!
Steven Barnes is a martial artist and it shows in his fight scenes.
I would love to read some of your work!
Cap'n Tony said:Good advice! I subconciously do much of what you advise when I write fight scenes, but had never really formulated why. I always just tried to "write the flow" as I saw it in my head and re-edited when a line felt "wack". I've also tried conciously to evoke the fight scene elements I liked from authors skilled in that area (Steven Barnes) while avoiding the "wack" from authors poor in that area (Hickman & Weis). This is a really good systematic approach to fight-writing and manages to explain a lot of what I hadn't conciously thought about. Great blog!
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Permalink Reply by Cap'n Tony on
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Not a problem, Balogun, I enjoy your blog and am looking forward to reading your novel (I need a Kindle! Any pdf copies for sale?).
Barnes is a favorite and not just for the martial arts. He's possibly the most under-appreciated author in Science Fiction at the moment. The Lion's Blood series alone blows Turtledove out of the water for How To Do Alternate History and I wish he'd continue the series (he left us hanging with a war looming, dammit!).
If you're interested in my scatterings of work (few and far between at the moment what with fatherhood plus full-time job) I've got some quick-and-dirty stuff in the Athena Exposition here on site and there's a link to my (sadly on long-term delay) Alternate History timeline somewhere in Projects...and of course my quick-and-dirty Cap'n's Cabaret articles every Saturday here on Dieselpunks.org. There's a short story in Palladium Books' Rifts Chi-Town 'Burbs anthology (called the Brothers Perez). Otherwise I have a story in the upcoming Twit Publishing Dieselpunk Anthology, whenever that's scheduled to come out.
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Permalink Reply by Grant Gardiner on
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Nice article.
Recently I had the 'joy' of choreographing a bar fight seen with two different groups of fighters. About eight fighters all up. Trying to manage that many different fighters from a third person perspective throws up a lot of problems when it comes to simultaneous action. But it does make you apreciate a good fight scene when you read one.
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Permalink Reply by Bard Constantine on -
Great article. I enjoy writing fight scenes, and it's interesting to think of it as choreography. My rule of thumb is never to make them too long -what seems super cool in your mind may start to bore the reader if you spend an entire chapter describing blows to the body and head. I like the comparison to movies -that's how I try to style the fight scenes in my books. If you can make the reader see the scene in their heads then you've done your job...
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Permalink Reply by Balogun Ojetade on
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Thank you! Wow...eight fighters is a LOT!
Grant Gardiner said:Nice article.
Recently I had the 'joy' of choreographing a bar fight seen with two different groups of fighters. About eight fighters all up. Trying to manage that many different fighters from a third person perspective throws up a lot of problems when it comes to simultaneous action. But it does make you apreciate a good fight scene when you read one.
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Permalink Reply by Balogun Ojetade on
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I concur.
Thank you!
Bard Constantine said:Great article. I enjoy writing fight scenes, and it's interesting to think of it as choreography. My rule of thumb is never to make them too long -what seems super cool in your mind may start to bore the reader if you spend an entire chapter describing blows to the body and head. I like the comparison to movies -that's how I try to style the fight scenes in my books. If you can make the reader see the scene in their heads then you've done your job...
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© 2013 Created by Tome Wilson.
