This week, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn spar at the Round Table. What makes a fight scene memorable to readers? How do you manage both choreography & time in fight scenes? How much detail is just enough? What about wounding your characters? Making the epic specific? And more!

VIDEO

AUDIO

SHOW NOTES

What are some problems with fight scenes? What happens if you go too quickly? Or too slowly? How can you slow the action down in a good way? What does slow action do to the tension within your story? And don’t forget about your character’s wounds!

What we talked about:

What is Kathryn’s problem with fight scenes? (0:35)

What happens if you go too quickly through a fight scene? Or too slowly? (1:44)

Don’t resolve your fight scene too quickly! (4:10)

How can you slow it down in a good way? (5:10)

Robert’s theory about fight scenes and ratcheting tension. (6:30)

Know what you are doing with your narrative! (9:53)

How does the aftermath of your fight scene work into your story? (12:55)

How do you handle massive battle scenes? (15:10)

Think like a film director, when should I be close? When should I be far away? (19:25)

The right way to slow things down! (22:05)

Wound trivialization! (23:50)