Dos and Don'ts of Battle Scenes
Avoid These Common Mistakes for More Interesting Fantasy Story
Sep 7, 2007
A well-written battle scene can add pulse-hammering excitement to a story, whether it describes hand-to-hand combat between two individuals, a small skirmish in the woods or an all-out, Lord-of-the-Rings level battle for control of the world. Although writing battle scenes can be a complex process that doesn't work exactly the same each time he attempts it, learning a few simple rules can give the fantasy writer a solid foundation and help him save time learning not to make common mistakes.
What to Do and What Not to Do When Writing Battle Scenes
Don't. Please, oh please do not give your readers a dry, blow-by-blow account of the action. This approach is boring. Readers don't want sequences of events; they want stories. Your battle scene should be treated as a story-within-a-story, not as something to simply get through. Writers who game may be especially prone to making this all-too-common mistake.
Do. Make your readers feel the battle scene you are creating by using all five senses. Don't tell them they should be afraid – they won't believe you. Instead, show them. Show them the color of the blood on the ground and tell them whether it dripped or splattered. Help them hear the sound of the bone cracking as the blade slices through a limb. Make them smell the unwashed bodies or the sweet smell of the grass after the gentle summer rain. All these details will create emotions.
Don't. Whatever you do, don't forget your priorities. Describe the important events of the battle in more detail than you describe the rest of it. Believe it or not, some writers forget to do this, and become distracted by a pretty flower on the battlefield while the enemy critically injures the main character, which they then neglect to describe.
Do. Focus your attentions for effect. Use this focus to lead the reader. What do you want the reader to come away from this battle knowing, or feeling? Have your goal in mind while you write. Some writers even go so far as to put their goal on an index card and display it in their writing space so they won't become sidetracked.
Don't. Of course, all rules are made to be broken, so don't adhere dogmatically to these, or to any other, rules of storytelling. Stick to them pretty closely at first, but once you've learned how do use them, experiment with breaking them. Remember: A trick that works in one situation will not work in another, and vice-versa. Experiment, but pay attention to what actually works.
