As those of you who read my Minecraft-inspired novels know, battle scenes are a big part of my stories. In my earlier books, I really didn’t understand the purpose of the battle, other than to raise tension, but over the years, I’ve realized that battle scenes can do much much more. Now, when I write a battle scene, I try to use it to accomplish multiple goals.

1. Reveal something about the characters – this is super important. Every chance you have, you should reveal something about your characters, or their relationships with each other. Show some fear or uncertainty, or maybe show the thirst for violence in your villain; there are a number of things you can do with your characters, and a battle scene is a great place to do it. This will strengthen your characters in your reader’s minds, and hopefully, make them empathize with them.
2. Reveal a weapon, ability, or strategy that will be needed later in the story – You never want some trick or weapon appear at the end of the story without showing it to the reader first. My books, as many of you already know, are about action and adventure, and there will always be some kind of epic battle at the end of the story, with a clever trick or strategy used in that final battle to save the day. I always hint at that trick or strategy earlier in the story so the reader won’t be totally surprised, but when I show it earlier, I’ll just briefly mention it, and make it seem insignificant so the earlier reveal won’t be so obvious.
3. Make the fight advance the plot – The fight just cannot be something to fill space in your story. There must be a reason for it in the plot, and it must lead to something important after the battle.
4. Make the fight unique from the other battles in your story – You can’t let every battle be the same. In my story, I try to have Gameknight999 do some kind of trick or build some kind of mechanism to help him in the battle. If the battle scenes are just guys (or girls) with swords fighting zombies, then that will be boring very quickly. Each battle must be different, so outline what you want to have happen in your battle scene, then look at your other battles, and make a list showing how they are different.
5. Make the battle a sensory experience for your reader – A battle must be a personal experience for your main character and for your reader. And the way you do this is to use the character’s senses: what are they hearing, screams of pain? Are they hearing swords crash on shields, or laser blasters causing the tree next to your hero explode? Does your hero feel the heat from that explosion? Do tiny slivers of wood splash across his skin, making tiny little cuts? A battle scene is a great opportunity to add lots of sensory input, and readers love that!

I don’t think I ever hit all five of these things, but if I do none of them, then the battle scene must be cut. In my 3rd novel, Confronting the Dragon, there was going to be a Wither Battle, but I realized it did nothing to advance the story, and didn’t reveal anything about the characters; it was just a fight scene for no reason . . . so I cut it out of the story. I moaned and groaned a bit when I hit delete, but it had to be done. You need to think about that with your battle scenes and make sure they are meeting at least one of the five above.

Epic Battle!

Sequence of Events

A battle scene is like a mini-story placed in the middle of the larger adventure. Your battle needs a beginning, a middle and an end. There needs to be a moment when it looks like the hero is going to lose, but they do something to turn the tide and defeat the enemy. Or maybe you plan is to have the hero lose the battle and be defeated, that’s ok too. In my book, right now, I’m working on the critical midpoint of the story (Dark Night of the Soul), where it looks as if the good guy will be defeated. So, for my battle, my hero is going to lose and will be forced to retreat, but in the process, he’s going to find that thing he lacks, maybe it’s bravery, maybe it’s self-esteem, or maybe he’ll find acceptance; whatever it is, it’s part of the character arc and is critical to the story.

In every battle, I have a sequence of events, not always in the same order:

1. Enter the battle – The hero finds himself or herself confronted by his enemy.
2. State the importance – The hero will say or think about how important this battle is to the plot. It’s important the battle moves the story forward.
3. What happens if we lose – The stakes get summarized by someone. If the outcome of this battle doesn’t matter, then you shouldn’t have it in your story. The consequences of what will happen if they lose the battle will be mentioned, so the reader knows this is important, and hopefully, they will root for the hero.
4. Hero/others show emotions – The hero says something about his fear for himself and for his friends (If any are part of the battle.)
5. Hero/others find courage – The hero will somehow come up with the courage to engage in battle, so he can protect his friends. Here is where we reveal something about the character, or show the relationship between characters to reveal something new about the character to the reader.
6. The battle starts
7. SENSORY INPUT!!!!! – I’ll write about what it’s like to be in this battle. I’ll show to the reader what it sounds like, feels like, smells like (thankfully, zombies stink) . . . I’ll use every sensory opportunity in the fight scene to make the reader feel like they’re in the battle with the hero.
8. Increase tension – The tension in the battle must increase as the fighting gets harder and harder against the hero. The reader must wonder whether the hero is going to be victorious. If the reader knows the hero is going to win, then the battle will be boring.
9. Looks like the hero will lose – Somewhere in the battle, you want it to look as if the hero is going to be defeated.
10. Hero uses trick or strategy to start winning – The hero will use some kind of trick to gain the advantage and start winning the battle. You do this only if you plan on having the hero win the battle. If this battle is part of the Dark Night of the Soul, then maybe they lose the battle here and the hero retreats instead of winning.
11. Hero and friends rally and find courage – The hero and his companions push back on their enemy and win the battle.
12. Show what the victory has done for the hero and the story – Somehow, show how the stakes have changed because of this victory or defeat, so that we can propel the story forward.

Below, you will find a chapter from my book, Into the Spiders’ Lair, as an example of a battle scene. I may have hit all 12 points, or some of them may have been stated in the previous chapter. Notice, I show in chapter 20, the cost of the battle to Watcher as a friend is fatally wounded. This adds to Watcher’s character arc, which is about guilt and responsibility. Also notice, I show Watcher afraid, which is realistic and will make the reader empathize with them, and there is a moment, when Watcher is backed up against the wall, when it looks as if the NPCs might be defeated, a mini Dark Night of the Soul.

Check the link below to see the Citadel of the Horse Lords battle:

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