I get a lot of positive feedback on my fight scenes, so I put together a guide with the tricks I use to write them. These are all tactics I made use of in my fight scene-heavy novel, including the method I used to write a 1-v-7 fight with knives, guns, truncheons, swords, and multiple kinds of magic at play.
At its core, writing a good fight scene comes down to asking the right questions and finding the best way to visualize the scene to keep track of all the moving parts.
I hope you find it useful 
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Link: A Slightly Unhinged Guide to Fight Scenes
"Loyal as a badger, Ma’am, and valiant as—as a mouse."
Book: That Which Sings: It's like John Wick, if you replace John with a sixteen-year-old girl with neither training nor impulse control, the Russians with sociopathic supermodels from another world, and the dead dog with the aforementioned girl's kidnapped uncle. A brutal, beautiful punk-rock fairy tale.
Substack: Wren Scarborough
HM: 2
SHM: 1
SF: 1
Oh wow, that's a great guide -- super detailed!
If you're not already familiar with Jill Bearup's channel on YouTube, I suspect you might like her movie/tv fight reviews! (She has a similar style / sense of humour to you.)
@petelead thank you!!
Jill Bearup has a lot of good stuff. I haven't watched her reviews in a while but I remember her having some great commentary
"Loyal as a badger, Ma’am, and valiant as—as a mouse."
Book: That Which Sings: It's like John Wick, if you replace John with a sixteen-year-old girl with neither training nor impulse control, the Russians with sociopathic supermodels from another world, and the dead dog with the aforementioned girl's kidnapped uncle. A brutal, beautiful punk-rock fairy tale.
Substack: Wren Scarborough
HM: 2
SHM: 1
SF: 1
Good points. Thank you for taking the time to write that up.
I prefer not to draw out a fight scene. In the real world, it often comes down to double-tap or break knee/arm/nose and walk away.
Two skilled fighters can fight for much longer, given they know how to counter each other. Then it becomes a battle of attrition, which if written well could be great. Otherwise, I've read too many stories I just flip past the multi-page fight scenes because they drag on.
Two skilled fighters that don't know how to defend against each others styles/weapons, which may be more realistic given the multitude of things can be used as weapons. That could be a fun scene to write.
Writers of the Future:
2026 V43: Submitted, editing HM for resubmit
2025 V42: RWC, HM (HM Resubmit), HM, SHM
2024 V41: RWC (HM Resubmit), HM, RWC, Finalist (RWC Resubmit)
2023 V40: HM, HM, R, HM
2022 V39: SHM, HM, Semi-finalist, HM (HM Resubmit)
2021 V38: -, -, -, HM
2020 V37: -, R, -, -
Other Achievements:
2026: 46th "On The Premises" short story contest: HM and Published in HTML format
2025: Southeastern Writers Association: 1st in Crime Fiction and 3rd in The Lighthouse Prompt
Todd S. Jones
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."~ Henry Ford
@toddjones thank you
Pacing is absolutely an vital part of a good fight scene (or any scene, really). It's important to keep them as concise as you can, though of course it depends on the circumstances of the story. I think what people need to bear in mind while writing a fight is that nine times out of ten, everyone involved is trying to get this done as quickly as possible. The best way to win a fight is to finish it.
"Loyal as a badger, Ma’am, and valiant as—as a mouse."
Book: That Which Sings: It's like John Wick, if you replace John with a sixteen-year-old girl with neither training nor impulse control, the Russians with sociopathic supermodels from another world, and the dead dog with the aforementioned girl's kidnapped uncle. A brutal, beautiful punk-rock fairy tale.
Substack: Wren Scarborough
HM: 2
SHM: 1
SF: 1
The best way to win a fight is to finish it.
Well said. The goal is to walk away without being hurt.
You've inspired me to revisit a story I wanted to brush up a close quarter gunfight scene in a brick ranch. I thought of it as a mild Quentin Tarantino scene with a 20-ish using a 38 revolver for the first time against a coked up dealer. I believe Quentin was on to something in the Pulp Fiction scene where a kid came out of the bathroom and missed John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson's characters.
Writers of the Future:
2026 V43: Submitted, editing HM for resubmit
2025 V42: RWC, HM (HM Resubmit), HM, SHM
2024 V41: RWC (HM Resubmit), HM, RWC, Finalist (RWC Resubmit)
2023 V40: HM, HM, R, HM
2022 V39: SHM, HM, Semi-finalist, HM (HM Resubmit)
2021 V38: -, -, -, HM
2020 V37: -, R, -, -
Other Achievements:
2026: 46th "On The Premises" short story contest: HM and Published in HTML format
2025: Southeastern Writers Association: 1st in Crime Fiction and 3rd in The Lighthouse Prompt
Todd S. Jones
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."~ Henry Ford
You've inspired me to revisit a story I wanted to brush up a close quarter gunfight scene in a brick ranch. I thought of it as a mild Quentin Tarantino scene with a 20-ish using a 38 revolver for the first time against a cocked up dealer. I believe Quentin was on to something in the Pulp Fiction scene where a kid came out of the bathroom and missed John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson's characters.
Dude. That sounds AWESOME.
"Loyal as a badger, Ma’am, and valiant as—as a mouse."
Book: That Which Sings: It's like John Wick, if you replace John with a sixteen-year-old girl with neither training nor impulse control, the Russians with sociopathic supermodels from another world, and the dead dog with the aforementioned girl's kidnapped uncle. A brutal, beautiful punk-rock fairy tale.
Substack: Wren Scarborough
HM: 2
SHM: 1
SF: 1
