Battle Scenes

[Codey Amprim]

How in depth do you go with a major battle? How many words do you think is appropriate (or inappropriate?)? How much action versus the commander's point of view and what he or she is having to deal with? Is switching back and forth between the sides acceptable to portray how either side is feeling?

Your thoughts?

 

[sashamerideth]

I have a few battle scenes but I am not good at them, but I know how I like to read them.

I want to see how the battle effects the characters I care about. I want to see their fear, elation, worry, the personal affects of battle. The manoeuvers, retreats, advances, those should all be told from what our beloved people suffer through.

 

[Digital_Fey]

Agreed. The best way to make a battle scene really meaningful is to worry less about where the soldiers are sticking their weapons and write more about the emotions - how does it feel to be in the midst of so much violence/rage/desperation? What are the sounds, thoughts, feelings that assail the characters?

I think it's definitely acceptable to switch POVs between sides, provided one doesn't go overboard. For instance, in Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, he describes only one scene from the opposition's point of view - and that's sufficient to make the reader empathize, without destroying their loyalty to the main character's cause. The length of the scene depends mostly on the importance of the battle - I get annoyed when authors feel the need to describe every single skirmish in detail, leaving the reader totally desensitized by the time it gets to The Final Battle At the World's End.

 

[sashamerideth]

I think that if a habit is made of showing the opposing side on occasion before we see them in a skirmish, maybe follow a character on the opposing side through a couple adventures to build sympathy.

 

[TWErvin2]

There are a lot of factors to consider, such as the POV used, the purpose of the battle, your goal as a writer as to what the reader is supposed to get out of the battle, etc.

Your writing style will be pivotal in this.

You cannot go blow by blow by blow, by blow...for very long. It'll be worse than play by play, and really there's no 'right answer' to your questions, such as how many words.

My novel Flank Hawk has a number of battles from small skirmishes to large battlefield engagements. It's written from 1st person POV, and includes (in the largest battles: foot soldiers, archers, wizards, elementals, demons, panzer's stukas, zombies, ogres, trenchnes and fortifications, etc.
My upcoming novel is similar, except there isn't a 'large' engagement within the text of the novel. The most fun to write, I think are aireal engagements between dragons and their serpent cavalryman, or wyvern scouts and griffins.

I learned to write battle scenes by reading and studying how other authors did it successfully. I paid attention to how they utilized POV and description, and which characters they chose to prortray the action and their thoughts--including desperation, despair, sacrifice, bravado, tactics, blood-lust, etc.

Pick out some authors that you enjoyed reading who had combat scenes that are similar to what you're trying to accomplish. Study them--how and why they worked. Then apply what you learned to your story and your writing style.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

A battle could be as many words as you like as long as there's a point to it. How people fight could say a lot about a character, as well as how they feel about it.

 

[jhahilt]

A battle starts, lots of stuff happens, the battle ends. There is an outcome to the battle and the story goes on. This in most cases would be enough. Within the battle there is however a world of scope for detail, and a battle being a unique environment it can be used with great effect to focus on or introduce elements germaine to a character or the story in general.

 

[Guy]

How much action versus the commander's point of view and what he or she is having to deal with?

Depends. If the commander is your main character, his/her POV is going to be the majority. If not, it'll vary. The commander's POV could be a useful tool in showing the overall battle, perhaps showing an area where the battle isn't going well and this is the area your main character is in, then switch to your main character's POV. It all just depends on the individual dynamics of your story.

Is switching back and forth between the sides acceptable to portray how either side is feeling?

Absolutely. Just make your transitions smooth, so as not to confuse your readers.

 

[pskelding]

Digital Fey got it right... there must be an emotional component to your battle scenes or it will not be very engaging for your readers. I don't mean some sweeping battle like in a LOTR movies or Conan (1982 version...). Your character(s) who are the POV must have some emotional reaction to the battle.

A good recent example is Bremmer Van Gorst in The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie. He is so disgraced that he disobeys his king and thrusts himself into several battles hoping to die and forget his dishonor. His emotion drips through every time he fights in the book, he literally screams with internal dialogue saying "kill me, kill me".

 

[Misusscarlet]

I myself am trying to write a fight scene. Not a major scene, more like a training scene in my story to see how the characters will match up against each other. I researched and other writers have said write it like poetry flowing smoothly and easily also make it short and sweet with imaginative verbs. It takes a lot of concentration to write down the fight moves though and make it flow with enough detail to make a reader imagine it and enjoy the thrill of the fight.

 

[Allyssianne]

I tend to ask my brother. He reads a lot of the Black Library/Warhammer type books, so he advises me. Other than that, he also gives me tips on weapons and if needs be, acts out the fight scenes with me so I can get an idea of shocks and aches gained through the battle. I also borrow horses from my stable to help me get the mounted fight scenes right, from the point of 'if I do this, what will gravity/the horse do to me?'