I was just wondering about the fact that it is hard to write good fight scenes. Did someone try to do it as a kind of roleplay where two opponents are two different writers. With a chat one could allmost do that in real time, which would maybe give the whole thing some some kind of reality with time pressure and so on. Or going even further write a story where one person writes the Dumbledore parts, one for Harry and one for Voldemort? Does that work as a help in writing? I dont mean the actual games. Most of the stuff there seems ridiculous and doesnt have a plot.

Just an idea. I didnt see that yet, but maybe I didnt look as thourogh as I should have.

Anolfrik

 

That's an interesting idea.

Personally, I hate writing fight scenes - I find them so much harder then anything else. Agh. It's so easy to let them slide into a repetitious lull.

 

I find that too many authors make the mistake of doing this:

--

And Harry drew his wand in anger, his heart hammering in his chest. behind him, he heard his love, Tonks shouting at him to stay back...

START FIGHT SCENE

Stupefy!

He dodged, sending a Reducto back.

Harry put up a shield, and send another one in return.

Voldemort threw an unknown black curse, causing his shield to buckle.

But Harry gatherted all his strength...

AVADA KEDAVRA!

THe green light hit Voldemort, and he dropped dead.

END FIGHT

Begin plot, detail, characterization and all that once more.


---

And then, you have this:

---

And Harry drew his wand in anger, his heart hammering in his chest. behind him, he heard his love, Tonks shouting at him to stay back.

Stepping forward, he threw a reductor curse at the snake like man, his thoughts all centered on the pink haired woman behind him.

Would they survive?

-insert random thoughts-

A green light broke him out of his thoughts, and he reurned an AK of his own.

-angst fest-

And he threw a massive beam of power at him...

---

Authors either stop the story, make a fight scene and resume the story, or they will just weave the fight into the plot, downplaying it so much where there is more thought and description that actual fighting.

 

http://forums.darklordpotter.net/showpost.php?p=33895&postcount=16

Read it and read it carefully.

 

Thanks MS, the whole thread is good.

But what I meant is the action itself, not the style.
In many fighting scenes one just gets his ass handed by the other.
I thought it would help with the creativity of the actions and make the struggle back and forth more interesting if I wouldnt be able to gage the others move as if it was my own.
It would also be a great chance to come up with interesting(aka desperate) spell usage, like using the environment or using household charmes.
You wouldnt need a plot-integrated (dark) spell-lexicon, if you knew charms to iron, chop, freeze or pepper in the nose, salt over the cuts, boil etc. But thats another topic.

Another advantage would be that you wouldn't be writing two persons at once and could concentrate on your own actions. Fight scenes often have this tennis effect. They shoot and they shoot once on each turn.

 

Has anybody ever thought of writing action scenes in real-time?
For example, one person does Harry while the other does a Death Eater or Voldemort, and then you write you own curse/sheild slash whatever and continue it on without the other person knowing what would happen.
I'd be interested if something like that got started

Shezza88

 

Excellent points, although I think he should have mentioned people using more than just the same spells. Voldemort, a man so feared people can't even say his name, does not just throw around unforgivables and know nothing but protego shield. He spent 20 years travelling the world and studying magic, he should know hundreds of powerful dueling spells.