Can anybody recommend any stories which would be a good inspiration for writing duels? Apart from Bungle in the Jungle, I had that recommended and second person makes me want to eat a gun.

 

Catharsis by nuhuh is the best you'll find. When Harry and Dumbledore go at it, look the fuck out.

Then take a look at Demon's Feign, Merlin's Pain, also by nuhuh.

Notice a pattern here?

 

On the Way to Greatness by Mira Mirth - Dept. of Mysteries battle

HP and the Summer of Change by Lorddwar - any of Praeceps training battles, plus confrontations with Bellatrix

To Fight the Coming Darkness - opening scene at the Bones, in particular

(that's just off the top of my head)

Honestly, I think it's useful to take the visual cinematography of cool movie battles and keep them in mind when considering battle scenes- think Die Hard, Desperado, Saving Private Ryan...

What affects a combat is the conditions, visibility, mobility, cover (which protects you, as opposed to concealment, which can be penetrated), etc...

 

Shezza does a decent job stylistically in the second and third books of his trilogy.

Time, Mr Potter? has some pretty good duels if you ignore all the random non-canon magic.

The Sacrifices Arc has some amazing combat scenes, but it's not even using the same system of magic, so...

Sitra Ahra has some decent duels later in the story.

That's all I can think of for the moment.

 

Only Enemies

 

Be inspired:

Formal dueling in The Lie Ive lived

 

For some reason I recall Stranger in an Unholy Land having some pretty awesome fights. Also Skitterleap, fo sho.

 

Damnit, now I have to read Lie again. As for duelling inspiration, I don't really remember any spectacular ones that weren't already mentioned.

 

Harry and Sirius taking on Voldemort in nonjon's A Black Comedy ranks among the great duel scenes.

Rayne Hall, an author who runs workshops on this stuff, has given pointers than may be useful in writing fighting scenes.

 

Stranger in a Promised Land had a Harry vs Grindelwald fight, that I thought was the best duel I'd ever read at the time. It was part swordfight though.

 

I'll double up the recommendations for Summer of Change, Lie and Only Enemies. Great duelling in all three of those fics.

 

Yo Only enemies has some awesome action. Dakaath the dark prince dope ass battle at the train, and my favorites would have to be from The wastelands of time is absolutely amazing

 

The problem with these is that they aren't using HP magic. If I wanted to read about D&D wizards trying to kill each other, I wouldn't read HP fanfiction.

 

Even if its tiring to read at times, the Wheel of Time series by the late Robert Jordan are full of scenes that are full of action and battle. It has it all, from the physical descriptions of a sword fight to beautifully written scenes when an Aes Sedai is wielding her power.

 

Umm, what? If you mean they aren't canon spells then any ambitious HP fic will likely not be to your liking. However, I don't think that's what you mean. I'm assuming you're talking about the /way/ magic is used. For example, the Godric's Challenge and the mirror!Harrys in Catharsis, and the Singing Magic and resurrection of Voldemort in DF/MP.

Those are certainly not the "point wand, yell incantation, see spell effect" of the majority of HP fanfiction. And in my opinion, that's infinitely more enjoyable than what I normally see. I'm sick of seeing "Stupefy, Stupefy, Diffindo, Protego" over and over and Harry vs. Whoever being nothing more than a glorified "Redcoats vs. Colonists" type of "you shoot then I shoot" fight.

I guess what I'm saying is that it's refreshing and wholly engaging when the fight is written in a creative and unexpected manner, and magic is used to a fuller extent. I was blown away by the mirror!Harrys and the invisible Reapers in Catharsis, for the very reason that it was like nothing I had seen before.

Personal preference, I guess.

 

I think it's unfair to compare Nuhuh to some preteen authors who think that just listing incantations constitutes for a duel. It's perfectly possible to write good action scenes while preserving the feel of HP magic.

But yes, it is a matter of taste and I could very well be in the minority.

 

Many thanks for the suggestions, guys. I'm planning a summer of writing for after I finish my exams and am very much looking forward to it.

 

I remember Ambient by Calz having some pretty awesome duels.

 

Voldemort and Dumbledore's duel at the end of OotP remains to this day my favourite fight scene in all Harry Potter, including HP fanfiction. I feel that this one scene perfectly captures the feel of high-end Potter magic. They're using powerful stuff, but it still feels like Harry Potter.

 

I would probably agree, Taure. Both parties' use of different schools of magic (my favourite is the Transfiguration they use) show just how formidable they both are.

My current favourite fight scene ever is James Potter and Voldemort (Sitra Ahra, Preludium) Love it.