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action scenes are one of the most challenging things to write, so as someone whoâs been told my action scenes are pretty good, i thought iâd put together some advice on what has helped me get better at writing fights/action 
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1) the primary thing i recommend is reading/watching action scenes you enjoy and taking mental (or physical!) notes about what makes them engaging. so, you might try to think of a particularly exciting battle in a book youâve read or a movie youâve seen-
reread or rewatch that scene a few times and think about what makes it enjoyable, interesting, and/or harrowing. (iâll go into a bit more detail as to what works in a good action scene, so that might help!)
off the top of my head, six of crows by leigh bardugo is one of my favorite books with a lot of well-written action. also the percy jackson & the olympians series by rick riordan has a lot of great fight/battle scenes as well; theyâre succinct but exciting and fun.
when i was starting out writing action, i remember one of the most helpful examples someone suggested to me was âthe princess brideâ in particular they recommended this classic scene (the actual fight begins about 3.5 mins into the video):
of course since this movie is a comedy the action is a little over the top, however i do think it still provides a useful example of how to choreograph an engaging fightâi.e. the way the characters use the entire space, the unexpected twists (âiâm not left-handed either!â) etc.
another great example is âavatar: the last airbenderâ which i think in general is one of the best tv series to study as a writer, but one of its many strengths is its use of action. thereâs a ton of terrific fight scenes but hereâs just one example:
what i think works super well about the action scenes in this show is that they do a great job balancing character using their elemetal powers, hand-to-hand combat, and use of weapons-
they also always use the environment around them in a dynamic and effective way (for example in the scene provided above, jumping onto or throwing furniture, crashing through the wall, etc.) iâll talk a bit more about use of environment later!
2) in a similar vein, another thing that has really helped me is watching a lot of self-defense videos. not only is it useful knowledge to have in general, but itâs helpful to have at the back of your mind when writing action-
for example, how is your character going to defend themselves if they donât have a weapon? if their weapon is damaged or knocked out of their hands? if someone sneaks up and tries to attack them from behind?
3) now, a bit more detail about using the environment effectively. this is a super important part and can really bring your action scene to the next level-
if characters are fighting in the same spot the whole time, or thereâs no description or involvement of the setting around them at all, itâs like theyâre fighting in a vacuum and itâs not all that engaging to read.
so, take a moment and think about the environment and how it might be advantageous/disadvantageous. for example, what objects are at their disposal? anything they can use to defend/hide themselves (i.e. a tree to hide behind, a bottle they can smash over someoneâs head)?
furthermore, what about the environment might be dangerous in the midst of the action? could there be tree roots to trip over, a cliff they might fall off of, itâs raining and they canât see very well? etc. these can all make it more interesting & exciting!
going back to the princess bride scene as an example, note how they really use & interact with the settingâhow they work their way up the stairs, how inigo tries to push wesley over the crumbling stone wall, and so forth.
4) building off of that, it helps to have a sort of âmental mapâ of where the characters are. the more you move them around that space and use their environment effectively, the more exciting it will be.
try to maintain a clear mental image of where and how your characters are dispersed throughout the space and donât lose track of them. this is more applicable to fight/battle scenes with groups of characters rather than one-on-one fights-
but there are a few other things to keep in mind: for example, how many enemies are there? are they attacking the protag(s) from multiple directions? once the protag defeats one enemy, is it possible another one could sneaking up behind them?
5) itâs also important to create a good balance not just of the action, but things like the protagâs internalization, possibly dialogue between the characters as they fight, and so on. (ofc they probably wonât stop and have a Whole Conversation but yknow what i mean.)
6) lastly, keep the reader on their toes! generally itâs most interesting when the reader canât tell whoâs going to win, and when the protagonist & antagonist/other enemies take turns having the upper hand.
for example, you might have one character or the other suffer an injury partway through the fight. how does that affect the outcome? do they keep fighting despite the pain, even when it seems like they might lose?
of course this advice is all pretty generalized & it may vary depending on what youâre trying to accomplish with the scene, but i hope this is at least a helpful start! now go write about people kicking each otherâs asses
