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Writing Fight Scenes: Professional Techniques for Fiction Authors (Writer's Craft Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Rayne Hall (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars 455 ratings
Learn to craft realistic, exciting action scenes: duels, battles, riots and more.

This is the updated 2014 edition of the 2011 bestseller.
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  1. Accessibility
    Learn more
  2. Publication date
    January 7, 2014
  3. Part of series
    Writer's Craft
  4. Language
    English
  5. File size
    1.2 MB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rayne Hall is the author of over 50 books in several genres (mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction), published under several pen names in several languages. She is the editor of the Ten Tales anthologies and author of the bestselling Writer's craft series. Rayne's muse is a black cat, adopted from the cat shelter, who likes to sit between her arms as she types.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005MJFVS0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scimitar Press
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 7, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.2 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 193 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Part of series ‏ : ‎ Writer's Craft
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 455 ratings

About the author

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Rayne Hall

Rayne Hall

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Rayne Hall MA is the author of over 100 books, mostly Dark Fantasy and Gothic Horror, e.g. The Bride’s Curse: Bulgarian Gothic Ghost and Horror Stories. She is also the acclaimed editor of Gothic, Fantasy and Horror anthologies (e.g. Among the Headstones: Creepy Tales from the Graveyard) and author of the bestselling Writer’s Craft series for advanced-level writers, including and the bestselling Writer’s Craft series e.g. Writing Gothic Fiction Writing Scary Scenes, Writing Vivid Settings, Writing Vivid Dialogue, Writing Vivid Characters, Writing Deep Point of View.

Born and raised in Germany, Rayne Hall has lived in China, Mongolia, Nepal and Britain. Now she resides in a village in Bulgaria, where men perform the annual demon dance, ghosts and sirens beckon, and abandoned decaying houses hold memories of a glorious past.

Her lucky black rescue cat Sulu often accompanies her when she explores spooky derelict buildings. He delights in walking across shattered roof tiles, scratching charred timbers and sniffing at long-abandoned hearths. He even senses the presence of ghosts… but that’s another story.

Rayne has worked as an investigative journalist, development aid worker, museum guide, apple picker, tarot reader, adult education teacher, belly dancer, magazine editor, publishing manager and more, and now writes full time.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
455 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this writing guide to be an invaluable resource, providing detailed guidance on various fight scenes and explaining different weapons. The book is well-organized, concise, and comprehensive, with one customer noting it's packed with excellent hints and examples. They appreciate the insights into psychological barriers and find it worth the money. The YouTube links aspect receives mixed reactions from customers.

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Information qualityWriting stylePacingInsightCombat styleValue for moneyOrganizabilityYoutube links
96 customers mention "Information quality"96 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be an invaluable resource, with one customer noting it is packed with excellent hints and examples.

"...with writing fight scenes, so I am very grateful for all the helpful tips in this book...." Read more

"...and eminently readable, the book is a testament to her own personal bank of knowledge, in-depth research, and admirable attention to detail..." Read more

"...The author gives wonderful advice and tips on what to use and what to avoid when writing the best fighting scene, which the scenes can be written in..." Read more

"...It really is helpful but like all writing resource books, they only help to a certain point, you're the one who has to sit down and write the fight..." Read more

95 customers mention "Writing style"95 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, which provides good solid guidance on various fight scenes and helps enhance and enrich their writing.

"...She takes us through the pre-fight, the suspense and anticipation building prior to (if the fight has a pre or building part), how the fight starts,..." Read more

"...to come my way for writing a fight right, including the right writing mood, and write evocative words...." Read more

"...Thorough and eminently readable, the book is a testament to her own personal bank of knowledge, in-depth research, and admirable attention to detail..." Read more

"...Author Rayne Hall has written an entire book on Writing Fight Scenes. Did you know there are two basic fight scenes?..." Read more

66 customers mention "Pacing"56 positive10 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, which is concise yet comprehensive, providing extensive lists of ways to incorporate fight scenes and explaining each weapon in detail.

"...The authors does all of this in a short and concise book chockfull of examples. I learn best by example and this author uses them with ease...." Read more

"...Thorough and eminently readable, the book is a testament to her own personal bank of knowledge, in-depth research, and admirable attention to detail..." Read more

"...There are several chapters on different weapons and the correct way to have your characters use them, such as swords, knives, daggers, staffs, spears..." Read more

"...fight scene, to battles, and even covers the different types of fights for different genres...." Read more

24 customers mention "Insight"24 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful, with one review highlighting its coverage of various fight situations and another noting its focus on psychological barriers.

"...She explains timing, training, strategy, skill, experience, psychological barriers and so much more...." Read more

"...She talks fighting from the personal (one-on-one hand-to-hand combat) to the macro scale (battles and warfare)...." Read more

"...The real gem in this book is the psychological advice, such as Chapters 18 (Make the reader care) and 19 (The inside experience)...." Read more

"...It goes into weapons, locations, types of fighters, the differences between men and women, level of training, military fighting, and even animals..." Read more

21 customers mention "Combat style"21 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's coverage of various combat styles, including duels, nautical fights, and unarmed combat techniques.

"...She takes us through the pre-fight, the suspense and anticipation building prior to (if the fight has a pre or building part), how the fight starts,..." Read more

"...videos of fight scenes (some famous, some less well-known) and fighting styles, as well as a list of mistakes for writers to avoid..." Read more

"...There are a few chapters on unarmed combat and self-defense...." Read more

"...like the difference between a gritty fight scene vs. an entertaining fight scene, to battles, and even covers the different types of fights for..." Read more

15 customers mention "Value for money"13 positive2 negative

Customers find the book worth its price.

"...The book's worth the price for these topics alone...." Read more

"...It's money well spent! If only my writing professors had instructed as clearly this author does!" Read more

"...Well worth the price and I will be referring to it often as my novel advances." Read more

"...I really think this book is worth the amount of money that I spent on it (very cheap and worth every penny) because it contains a lot of information..." Read more

8 customers mention "Organizability"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well organized, with one mentioning that the chapters are logically placed.

"...There they were, laid out logically, clearly, all the why's and wherefores, and how to's of writing outstanding fight scenes, and avoiding the..." Read more

"...Everything is in great order, the chapters logically placed and the themes giving you just the right amount of a kick to let your imagination fly...." Read more

"I liked the layout and explainations. They were descriptive, yet short and to the point. It was a good read." Read more

"Very well organized. Written entertainingly but it is not sell mocking or smug. Covers just about any kind of fight you may think of...." Read more

12 customers mention "Youtube links"8 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed feelings about the book's inclusion of YouTube links, with some finding them helpful for illustrating points, while others find them excessive.

"...She cites several examples from films and provides a youtube link to each...." Read more

"...What does knock out a star is the constant links to videos...." Read more

"...enough, each chapter includes (where applicable) links to sample YouTube videos of fight scenes (some famous, some less well-known) and fighting..." Read more

"...Because it is an e-book, it also offers links to youtube videos after it talks about certain fight scenes from movies, which was helpful since I had..." Read more

Obvious, and Ridiculous
1 out of 5 stars
Obvious, and Ridiculous
This book was a huge disappointment. The tips were either blatantly obvious or extremely sexist.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Melissa Sugar-Gold
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Craft Book on Writing Fight Scenes for Writers of all Genres
    Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This is a valuable resource book for writers of all genres. I think I now have all of Rayne Hall's instructional, how to, writing books. I even purchased one for a genre that I seldom read and certainly don't write and was pleasantly surprised with the amount of information in that off-genre book that I could tweak enough to make it work for my own genre.

    Writing Fight Scenes is the best how to book for writing fight scenes that I've come across and I've read and/or purchased all that I've discovered on Amazon. The author admits up front that her book is not a replacement for full blown research, but if you are anything like me you had no idea how difficult writing a fight scene would be until you had to actually write one. I admire the author for creating her own instructional book on a subject after she had trouble finding enough information on her own. Writing Fight Scenes grew out the author's early personal struggle with exactly that, writing fight scenes. When she looked for guidance, she found none. I'm glad she went the extra distance and turned her personal guidance into a resource book for the rest of us.

    Writing and timing an actual fight scene is hard. I'm not kidding. I've never been in an actual, physical fight of any kind and my guestimate on the timing, adrenaline surge and emotions would have been way off. There is so much more to a fight scene than the actual hand to hand or weapon combat and Rayne Hall explains all of that to us in a blueprint for a fight scene. She takes us through the pre-fight, the suspense and anticipation building prior to (if the fight has a pre or building part), how the fight starts, the physical action involved, the emotions the characters are feeling, thoughts zipping through their minds, the surprises, climax of the fight and the aftermath. The authors does all of this in a short and concise book chockfull of examples. I learn best by example and this author uses them with ease. She cites several examples from films and provides a youtube link to each. I highly recommend that you not only read her book, but follow up by watching the fight scene example videos.

    There is so much more to a fight than many of us will ever experience first hand. The author shares all of this. She explains timing, training, strategy, skill, experience, psychological barriers and so much more. She devotes much of the book to the different types of weapons you might select for your own story and blunders to avoid when writing your fight scenes. You will find tips on dialog and pace, and the use of Euphonics, word choices that subtly set a mood within a reader's subconscious. I strongly recommend all of Rayne Halls's writing how to books and I unequivocally recommend Writing Fight Scenes for authors of every genre.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • M. E. Hemphill
    4.0 out of 5 stars Informative
    Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I have always struggled with writing fight scenes, so I am very grateful for all the helpful tips in this book. I'm not a fan of all the links, especially since (inevitably) some of them are now broken.
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  • T. Pawels
    5.0 out of 5 stars FIGHTING WORDS
    Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Writing Fight Scenes

    There is no story without conflict. From the swordplay of Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in a castle of yore, to the Cisco Kid and the villain duking it out in the last reel, to James Bond outwitting OddJob, to Jackie Chan chop socking it to Jet Li, to Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner's WAR OF THE ROSES, the fight is the climax, not the chase. Sooner or later, most story tellers will have to create a fight. Writers would rather love than, so how to write a scene that doesn't provoke derision from scarred fighters?

    Few writers have any idea of how real fights differ from stage fights, or the difference between trained fighters, assassins, brawlers, and punks. They don't know how manual weapons are used and what they do to a body. Trained fighters (paid by the minute) can trade punches for fifteen rounds without suffering more damage than wrestlers, and stage fighters (paid by the page) can run up and down stairs for longer than Ivan Skavitski Skivar and Taras Abulbul Amir, but real fighters rarely exchange more than a couple strikes before one of them collapses from exhaustion or mortality. How does a little woman deck the Horrible Hulk? Why stab the belly rather than the chest? How many attackers can the hero fend off? What is the difference between male and female bodies in battle; what is the difference between male and female psychology in battle --- policemen's wives won't like it.

    Rayne Hall provides the first compendium to come my way for writing a fight right, including the right writing mood, and write evocative words. Although no Lara Cross, she undertook some training in martial arts, discussed the realities of fighting with many trainers of self defence, and studied the weapons of hand-to-hand combat through historical times; she gives particular attention to matching the weapon to its time, and ability to social class in different ages. Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara could hardly plug a looter between the eyes with a heavy Colt revolver because nice, spoiled debutantes did not get weapons training in antebellum Georgia; she might have done it with a teensy Derringer when the damn Yankee got close enough to grab her.

    A fighter who can and does write instruction, stories, and psychology is as rare as a writer who can and does fight in the ring, in foxholes, and on the street. WRITING FIGHT SCENES is a rare breath of reality in the most important scene of drama (and unintentional comedy).
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Nina
    5.0 out of 5 stars Totally worth it
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    For less than a cup of coffee this book offers you a handy reference and tips & tricks to write (better) fighting scenes. The kindle version comes with proper intergration, not one of those lazy ports. So the table of contents works (yay!), links work, etc.

    The book covers a range of topics, from how to fight with specific weapons, to how to write a battle scene, to psychological barriers, to name a few. Yes, okay, the chapters are quite short and there's a bit of repetition here and there, but with 34 chapters on a huge variety of fight-related topics, I actually think this is a good thing! After all, I don't need to read the advice on nautical battles if I'm just after some tips on unarmed combat. In particular, I loved the "blunders to avoid" section at the end of each chapter, although some of them are quite noddy.

    The only bit of the book I wasn't so keen on was the male/female stereotyping. For example, there are two chapters, one on female fighters, and one on male fighters. On the whole, I found the advice about physical differences helpful. However, the male fighter chapter "aims to help female writers write about male fighters". Because apparently if you've got a "feminine upbringing" you will have a tendency to write pre-fight dialogue that goes like this "It's your fault, because if you hadn't first done this-and-that, I wouldn't have had to resort to so-and-so, and then the bad thing wouldn't have happened." Whereas men apparently would just say "Take it back."

    To be fair, Rayne does qualify it by saying "the suggestions in this chapter are generalisations, applying to most but not all men. Your hero of your villain may be different." But it's still mildly irritating. I'd suggest you read that chapter with a humourous tone in mind where every sentence is intended as a joke and then it's a lot more palatable.

    So why still give it 5 stars? Oh, come on, it's less than 2 quid! Great reference with proper kindle support for that price - totally worth it!
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  • Moziny
    5.0 out of 5 stars For fight beginners priceless
    Reviewed in Germany on September 21, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This book is very helpful, if you never fought yourself whatsoever but need to write fight scenes in your piece of art to make it work. Although it mainly serves a fantasy writer you can also find information on realistic fighting. I loved particularly the way, the author manages to bring across the feelings and thoughts that can or cannot cross a fighter's mind, pointing out typical errors that have been made by non-professionals.

    Sometimes the book hangs on to stereotype clichés, like for instance the take on female fighters, I believe today even a female fighter can be bad-ass. But still the book helps to concentrate on the basics and comes with lots of useful links and examples.
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  • Lucia Canovi
    5.0 out of 5 stars très intéressant
    Reviewed in France on February 7, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Un livre très intéressant et très riche... je sais que je dois encore mettre quelques mots de plus, ouf, c'est fait.
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  • Andreina Grieco - Genie in a Bottle Blog
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all the fantasy writers
    Reviewed in Italy on January 25, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I find this book very useful for the revision of my fantasy book. Now I have a lot of tips to start rewriting all my battle scenes.
    I appreciate the absence of useless ramblings or small talk that fill a lot of writing books. The advices are straight to the point, schematic and well organised. Also the video links provided are very good to visualize fight tecniques

    (Sorry for my english, I'm Italian)
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  • Linda Blackshaw
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must for writing fight scenes
    Reviewed in Australia on February 3, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Loved the easy to read format of this book and the blunders to avoid when writing a fight scene. I had the book on the shelf until now. I have a one-on-one fight scene plus a huge battle scent to write to finish the fantasy I'm writing.
    I enjoyed this book and its usefulness and will be looking at purchasing some of the others.
    Highly recommend
    Report

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