How to Write Battle/Action Scenes

Action scenes are the bread and butter of a story. It gets the reader's heart pounding and can easily move the story along or introduce a new conflict.


Identify Weapons
Whether it's a fight scene, an escape, or an all-out war, your character probably needs a weapon.
It could be their fists, a sword they carry around everywhere, a pitchfork, or even a rock.

Figure out the current setting and utilize it. For example, if they're fighting in a stable, they could toss hay into their enemy's eyes, beat them back with a pitchfork or a whip, or maybe frighten a couple of horses into running into them.


The Action
You can do so much more fight moves than thrust, and parry. Not every second of the scene is trying to kill the other guy while defending themselves.

Add unexpected twists, like another person showing up, a fight in a bell tower, a rickety assault atop an old bridge, unexpected weather.

However, NO CHARACTER SHOULD END UP COMPLETELY UNSCATHED. I don't care how good a fighter he's supposed to be, he needs to get dirty. You don't have to maim him, but give him a few near-death experiences, a slice on the cheek, or bruised ribs.


The Resolution
How is the fight ended? Does the foe run home with his tail between his legs? Does authority show up and stop the fight? Is he overpowered? Is it ended with a death?

What is the result of this scene? You can't just throw it in because it's cool.
Do they get captured? Is an evil defeated? Or does his begin a long-standing hatred between two of the characters?