On fighting and action scenes · 10:59pm Oct 17th, 2017
Over the course of my long history on this site and others, I have noticed one question show up through the many forums. A lot of people asking one similar question that matches up with something that some people say that I do quiet well.
How to do fight scenes. How do you do it well and make them interesting.
And this also ties into well with Starfleet, as I noticed a large problem with the fic in question. Something that comes up constantly throughout the entire seires. And that is, for a story that wants to just get to the fights and to the action in lew of plot, characters, or even world building...
THE FIGHTS ARE UNBELIVABLY BORING!!!!!!!!
Yes, it's interesting that a story so dedicated to fights, finishers, and the like can come up with some of the most boring and uninteresting fights in the history of writing. Yes, even more boring than that one time I read a Sailor Moon crossover with Xena and the guy's Gary Stu OC spent five minutes kicking the main bad guy's ass and the senshi were just standing back and watching in awe.
So, what makes the difference between an interesting fight like you would find in say RWBY vs Starfleet? Well, I think I can break it down into three catagories.
1. Variance
Let's face it, all of the Starfleet team members fight the exact same way and in the exact same style. Oh, sure, the names are different but they break down into basically three main catagories
Weapon with basic attack
Barrage move
Finisher
The only exceptioin is Lighting Dawn, but I think we will save him for later in the blog. This leads to some very boring fights as they all break down into: Run at opponent (And the mooks if you are later on in the show) use your attacks to hurt and damage foe, and then finisher that will heal/kill/capture ect. In effect, this also makes the fights very boring to read and/to watch. This doesn't help to make it a sit through the fic any better, and at times when I am reading the story I find myself skipping the battles because I know excatly what's coming.
Well, what about Lighitng's battles. He lacks magic and skill, doesn't his involvement add to some variety of the fights? No, not really, his battles are also very much the same: Race in, get beaten around for five minutes, let the team do the above steps, and then use the attack du jour. It gets even worse in the finales when you can be certain that, rather than seeing our heroes conquer the odds on their own, you will see Celestia and Celesto get involved in the final battle in some way. The sole exceptions being the movies (I think. Anyone care to verify that) and that was only because they were incapictated at the time. Hell, they even find a way to barge in on the fight in Starfleet humans, much to my dismay.
But, you wonder, how can I say this when I am a fan of Sailor Moon, Power Rangers, and DBZ. Well, interestingly enough, when you watch those shows long enough to do crossovers between each and can probably outwit Team Four star on DBZ Triva, you do notice that there is actually variance to the fights in the above series. Goku, for instance, fights like he is observing, gaging his opponent and only laying out his most powerful moves when the need arises. Vegeta is very pragmatic, commonly ditching a move when he finds it worthless. Even Picciolo has his own variance wich makes the fights interesting as well.
The same can be said for the senshi and sentai. All of the sentai characters have variances to their fights that makes the fights interesting (Be it the Mighty morphin team's focus on weapons to the Lost Galaxy swordsmanship) or for the individuals (Take SPD red's gun play in comparison to his teams hand to hand) that allow the fights to become something interesting. Even Sailor Moon, something that also follows the "Weaken bad guy, let Usagi blow the guy away." does a variance in the senshi's moves. Buring Mandala is not the same as Shine Aqua illusion, Love me chain is not the cressent beam, and none of the Outers have the same moves as the inner senshi. Starfleet on the other hand has none of this, as most of the time, they are either beams or barrages. Here is a common descriptor I found on the cast.
(attack name) a (Adverb) (NOUN)
Now, how does this compare to my own stuff? Simple, I tend to take in the mane six into consideration for their fighting styles and personalities when it comes to who they are. Take Twilight.
Now, while we know she is a badass and a professional asskicker when the show lets her...she is still a squishy wizard. This means that she is a mid-to-long range fighter. According to Starfleet lore, the mane six joined up with Starfleet in appreciation for saving their lives (Wich is bullcrap. You don't join out of apprecation, inspired yes, but not because of appreciation. Not to mention, Dash is the only one who would join such a group.) and are trained in martial arts to match Starfleet.
Here is a problem, there are only three girls I know who would be good at that: Applejack (I always see her going muy tai or Sevate, something that focuses on her legs. Or at least a brawler) Rainbow Dash (Jeet Kun Do, or Southern Shaolin, something that empathises her speed over durabilty) and...Rarity! (Yeah, a shock, but one: remember who it was that kicked a Manticore in the face, and two, I see her more interested in the art of the fight and not the attack) the other three just wouldn't really make sense. So, thus, Twilight would be more apt to focus on her magic and keeping her brains in her head, rather than getting up close. Even Immortal Game, one of the best pony fics, mainly gave Twilight a sword and have her focus more on being a powerhouse.
The same can be said for the girls and how I focus on their skills.
Dash: Speed fights
Applejack: Brawls
Pinkie Pie: Jackie Chan style battles.
Rarity: More elegant, more one on one and only to use things like Arrows and swordsmanship in an elegant way.
Fluttershy: Only in extreme measures, most of the time, just be a pacifist and a distraction.
This allows for a better cariety of battles and makes it so the audience aren't bored seeing the same battle all of the time.
Part 2 Descritpion
"Star Shower" Starla fired an energy blast that fired a barrage of hits.
Starla frowned, narrowing her eyes at the small group of opponents. Holding out her hands, she breathed slowly as she let the magic flowed into her palms, making them glow brightly. With a shout, she threw her hands repeatitally and fired a volley of energy blasts shouting, "Star Shower!"
Same thing, but note...one sounds more interesting doesn't it? This is because one is more descriptive than the other. See, this is another problem that pops up in Starfleet a lot, the lack of description and summarization of the fights. Much like how we are told that Starfleet are super strong and super fast but we never really see it beyond when it's just to show how much better they are than the mane six, summing up the attacks kind of weakens the prose.
Saying that a man uses a flurry of kicks and punches doesn't really carry much punch as to a description of speed and strikes. Instead, it makes me think of someone using baby Flurry Heart as a weapon of mass destruction. When you describe an attack and give it a vision, you end up making it feel real and visceral. Now, I admit...I used to go to far in my description of the moves and pointed out where everything hit, but I learned. There is a limit to describing it, and going to far will take away the punch of the scene that you are giving. (Sorry for the pun) however, summarizing the fight is just as bad because you are not really into it. You are just left looking at that scroll bar and praying to Celestia that the fight ends soon.
So, how did I learn that balance? Surpisenly simple, I mainly read a lot of fight scenes in my favorite fics (Immortal Game and Fallout: Equestria) and I also paid attention to my favorite fight scenes in films and anime. For instance, try describing some of the below fights.
Now take a chance to look at those fights, think about what excited you, think about what was interesting in those battles. Chances are, if you found those exciting, then the audience will find it exciting.
When you summarize a fight, you tend to make it less cool. You can say that Goku fired this cool beam and that Usagi threw her disc, but without the words to back up the moves, you're just left with words that have no meaning and are just flat to both the reader and the story present.
Part 3: The moment
Take a look at this. This is probably one of my favorite anime moments (Even though I despise the Dic dub)
Now, do you know what I see?
An ordinary girl who has been put through hell. A destiny she didn't know she wanted, a lover killed by a monster, and friends murdered. Her weakness, fear, and clumsyness forgotten as she stands alone against the demon who was responsible for everything that had happen so far. One against a monster, a girl who all said was pathetic and weak and a coward, is against the worst monster she would ever battle. In this one moment, the coward is gone and a hero is born, and wiht the power of her friends, she takes out the monster.
A mare standing up against the devil himself,
An innocent heart that lets out his rage for one brief moment against a murderer
These are all the big moments in different moments and battles of the story that brings out a reason for the fight. Hell, it doesn't even have to matter about the characters. Quick, RWBY fans, remember seeing this at the end of season 10 of Red vs Blue
You didn't know who this girl was, why she was fighting all of these wolves, or why she was there. You just sat in awe as this 14 year old began to slash and blow away the monsters with her scythe. This, and the previous moments are all...the moment. The part of a big battle that makes you thrust your arm in the air and cheer for the character. The part of the battle that gets you into the fight and makes you want to copy the moves yourself.
Starfleet, lacks these moments, even in the attempt to use finishers, these moments are gone. Chalk this up to many reasons, the characters are uninteresting, sure (Though not the only as I demonstrated with Ruby) and the battles are uninteresting as I have pointed out. But even a boring fight can be improved with that moment. The main reason why Starfleet lacks these moments is...well, a lack of connection to the scenes. Titan was evil? Well...ok, but what has he done lately? Oh, sorry beam. Chyrsalis is taken out? Well, that is fine but no one has any connection to her. Sombra is Dusk Shine, but the fight was mainly Lighting's. Dark King? Well...he is only a future threat that should've died since paradox.
The moment is an important part of any fight, it's what helps to seperate a typical senshi and sentai battle into one that is memberable. I personally try to think of at least one badass thing that happens during each fight, wether it's ripping tusks off a boar or using a lighting bolt tornado to take down an elephant. It's what makes it feel like something important is happening that the fight is actually worthwhile to watch. Think of your favorite fights and why you enjoy them and see how it works.
And last but most important...
Part 4: The characters
Never forget this. This is a theme throughout all of the parts, but this is always important. There always needs to be a connectioin between you and the characters that will make the fight worthwhile. Without it, all of the finishers and attacks will be nothing but a bunch of lights and flashes.
Thank you for such lesson I will remember this when I need it👍
If I ever need to write detailed fight scenes, I know where and whom to turn to.
So that's how you write fight scenes, I know where to read when if ever I need to write one
Good analisis... I wonder how long will it take for this blog to get a response blog where you get called stupid, a moron ,pathetic...
While i am not a big fan of fighting scenes I like when the techniques are distinct enough to recognize who's doing what technique
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Excatly, that's part of variation and description. You can say that a team has a couple of moves or so, but if they are the same then there is no point in having the team if the moves are all the same. It also helps to make the big damn heroes moments (Another specialty of mine it seems) all the sweeter.
I think I'm going to look for you to review any fight scene I write for a fic.