I've always wanted to write a review response help piece. Reading some great ones of FictionPress, and especially after reading How To Write A Review by Burnt Bread, I've decided that I'd like to add this to the archive. I also decided to pick what I am proficient at, at least in my eyes. Bread, forgive me if this is similar to yours in its creation!

----------------------------------

How To Write A Fight Scene

Fight scenes are an essential component in any action story. Though my specialty is archaic, these can be gun fights, superpower fights, sibling rivalries, hand-to-hand combat—anything you can think of, really.

The part of the fight scene that most writers tend get stuck on is the flow. Having a fight scene go smoothly is quite a challenge for anyone. Kind of like watching Mr. Rogers without yanking your hair out on a $15 bet that I lost.

PART ONE: REPETITION

The number one cause of jerky fight scenes is that evil, evil happening: Repetition. It is incredibly common to see a word used too many times, distracting the reader from the fight itself. A real pain in the ass, really. Synonyms are a very important part of the creation of the fight scene.

For example, in a sword fight. Saying 'sword' or 'blade' too many times just sounds stupid. Here are some synonyms for commonly used fighting objects, in case someone needs a bit o' help:

Sword: 1. Blade

2. Steel

3. Cutting edge

4. Katana

5. Dagger (depends)

Gun: 1. Firearm

2. Pistol

3. Revolver

4. Handgun

5. Pretty much all types of firearms, actually

Powers: 1. Skills

2. Talents

3. Abilities

4. Specialties

5. Endowments

6. Forces

Fist: 1. Arm

2. Limb

3. Knuckles

4. Hand

5. Palm

Universal: 1. Weapon

2. Attack

3. Armament

4. Weaponry

5. Defense

6. Hardware (doesn't work too well for archaic pieces, also is kind of a Freudian Slip…)

If you need some for something else, ones that don't appear on the 'synonym' option of right-clicking, request as such. I'll do my best.

Also, adding adjectives to the weapon can help. Shining blade, blazing gun, or clenchedfist, for example. These can help draw attention away from the repeated use of the word. Distracting the reader will open the door for you to draw him into the fight…and take his soul.

I mean, if you want…

Repetition can also be avoided by adding some dialogue, putting in vague action after the character speaks. That way, you can say, 'He said, jerking out ofan attack's path.' , after the speech in question. Use this to lessen the mention of weapons.

Also, changing weapons during the battle itself can be useful. Having characters lose weapons or switch them out for something else can be better and easier to write about without more repetetive stuff. Unarmed fights can involve all body parts, so repetition is hardly a worry if that should arise.

I hope this helped with that topic, and if this gets some responses, I'll add the next chapter, which will be:

Progression

Or maybe something that a reviewer requests assistance with. Hope you like this!

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.