Michael
asked
Sebastien de Castell:
I feel like your fight scenes are some of the best written I have encountered. I know your experience makes you extremely capable in this regard. What do you see as the keys to writing a great fight scene?
Sebastien de Castell
Thanks for the kind words, Michael.
As to the key aspects of writing a fight scene, I've written about this in a couple of places but I'll give you the short answer and then point you to the articles.
1. The fight needs to be about something, and whatever that is, everything else (weapons, styles, moments in the fight) needs to connect to those stakes.
2. We have to have some sense of jeopardy for both sides of the fight. The more we know about how important winning is to the villain (assuming there's a villain at all in the scene) the more we care about what happens. Even some thing as simple as a woman in the forest fighting off a cougar becomes more interesting if she's aware that the cougar's territory has been encroached on by the townspeople, year after year, and now it's in danger of starving.
3. At some point (usually early on in the fight) you need to show the reader how the weapons or styles work. They need to be able to picture the motion of the blade or the way a punch is thrown. Once you've done that just a bit, the reader can then imagine the rest of the fight, which can then be more focused on the viewpoint character's emotional responses to what's happening and any dialogue between the fighters.
For more on this, check out these short articles:
http://decastell.com/the-sword-on-the...
http://decastell.com/5-tips-for-fight...
http://decastell.com/fight-scenes-on-...
As to the key aspects of writing a fight scene, I've written about this in a couple of places but I'll give you the short answer and then point you to the articles.
1. The fight needs to be about something, and whatever that is, everything else (weapons, styles, moments in the fight) needs to connect to those stakes.
2. We have to have some sense of jeopardy for both sides of the fight. The more we know about how important winning is to the villain (assuming there's a villain at all in the scene) the more we care about what happens. Even some thing as simple as a woman in the forest fighting off a cougar becomes more interesting if she's aware that the cougar's territory has been encroached on by the townspeople, year after year, and now it's in danger of starving.
3. At some point (usually early on in the fight) you need to show the reader how the weapons or styles work. They need to be able to picture the motion of the blade or the way a punch is thrown. Once you've done that just a bit, the reader can then imagine the rest of the fight, which can then be more focused on the viewpoint character's emotional responses to what's happening and any dialogue between the fighters.
For more on this, check out these short articles:
http://decastell.com/the-sword-on-the...
http://decastell.com/5-tips-for-fight...
http://decastell.com/fight-scenes-on-...
More Answered Questions
Kyle Eckstein
asked
Sebastien de Castell:
Nehra frowned. "Do you always run headlong into certain death?" "Sometimes he walks," Dariana said. "Occasionally he shuffles. Once I'm pretty sure I saw him amble into certain death." Such a simple exchange, but I have never laughed so hard in my life. Even though I still have 2 books left, I don't feel like even that is enough time with Brasti, Kest and Falcio and the rest.
Beverly
asked
Sebastien de Castell:
Thank you. I understand. I was thinking of the Greatcoats purpose of dispensing justice to those who otherwise would get none and how many stories they could tell? Yes, Michael is very protective of his Riyria characters, Hadrian and Royce and has said that he will write new stories of their exploits as long as readers ask for more or until it feels that Riyria have said all they can say.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more