Fictional Combat Teaser Tuesday #rabtbooktours

 

Non-Fiction

Date Published: February 14, 2025

Publisher: Changeling Press

 

From fist fights to dragon duels: NYT bestselling author Angela Knight explores how to write fictional combat.

 

As a novelist, teacher and editor, I’ve seen bad fight scenes ruin too many good stories. My objective in this book is to demonstrate how to write fights that keep readers on the edge of their seats -- and publishers begging for more.

I’ll discuss how to use YouTube to research combat techniques and construct thrilling fights blow by blow. You’ll also learn how to use those fights to reveal character and build reader sympathy.

I’ll demonstrate the warning signs of an anticlimax and what to do about it. I’ll show you how to build tension and excitement with every battle until you reach a climax that has the reader craving your next book.

 

Note: This is an updated and heavily revised version of my book, How to Write Fight Scenes.

EXCERPT

Knowing how to write an exciting fight scene is crucial in genres ranging from romance to horror. As a teacher and editor, I’ve seen bad fights ruin too many good stories.

My objective in this book is to share techniques that keep readers on the edge of their seats -- and publishers begging for more. You’ll learn how to use YouTube to research combat techniques and construct thrilling sequences blow by blow. I’ll also demonstrate how to use those scenes to reveal character and build reader sympathy. You’ll learn what anticlimaxes are and how to avoid them. I’ll also share the tricks of building reader tension with every fight until you reach an exhilarating climax that will make you an autobuy.

Storytelling and the Brain

What do good books, college graduations, professional football, weddings, and chocolate have in common? As Lisa Cron points out in her terrific book, Wired for Story (Cron 2012), it’s dopamine -- the brain chemical that rewards us for accomplishing something difficult.

Remember the rush when you graduated high school or college? That was dopamine. Your incandescent happiness at your wedding or the birth of your child? Dopamine. Even chocolate and cocaine trigger dopamine, the first a little of it, the latter a lot.

Dopamine floods can even be triggered by someone else’s success. Remember your joy when your favorite team won the Super Bowl? You were just sitting on your couch, but you still felt as if you’d personally scored that winning touchdown.

The harder you work for something, the greater the dopamine rush your brain produces when you succeed.

A good writer is a merciless god. Yet it’s cruelty with a purpose, because it forces the protagonist to discover their strengths and overcome their fears. In sharing that struggle, the reader may experience more than just a happy buzz -- they may find the courage to face their own challenges. There have been times in my life that felt unbearably dark and grim, yet a novel helped me find the hope and guts to keep going. “Hey, if a vampire who hates his own penis can overcome his self-loathing, maybe I’ve got a shot at it too.”

I genuinely believe giving other people courage is the best reason to be a writer. But to do so, you must be willing to put your characters through the hell of a hard, desperate fight.

I guarantee some of your readers are facing their own brutal challenges. Let them find hope -- and a welcome distraction -- in your fictional world.

About the Author

New York Times best-selling author Angela Knight has written and published more than sixty novels, novellas, and ebooks, including the Mageverse and Merlin’s Legacy series. With a career spanning more than two decades, Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine has awarded her their Career Achievement award in Paranormal Romance, as well as two Reviewers’ Choice awards for Best Erotic Romance and Best Werewolf Romance.

Angela is currently a writer, editor, and cover artist for Changeling Press LLC. She also teaches online writing courses. Besides her fiction work, Angela’s writing career includes a decade as an award-winning South Carolina newspaper reporter. She lives in South Carolina with her husband, Michael, a thirty-year police veteran and detective with a local police department.

 

Author Links

Author’s Website

Author on Facebook

Author on Twitter

 

Publisher on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @changelingpress

 

Pre-Order Today

Shameless Self-Promotion + Inspiration: Who The Hell Said You Could Write?

 

Image by Chen from Pixabay

I also publishing the cleaned-up version of this essay on the Crazy Creatives Cheerleading Camp blog. 

http://crazycreativescheerleadingcamp.blogspot.com

I'm publishing both the first draft and the cleaned-up version here to illustrate my editing prowess. 

Challenge Prompt: Who was the first person you told about your decision to pursue paid writing, and what was their reaction?

The First Draft

I can’t recall anyone ever telling me I should pursue a paid writing career. If anything, my family pushed me to avoid pursuing any kind of creative occupation, despite my father being a professor of literature and social sciences. I ended up following my parents’ chosen path for me and went into health care, a choice which ended up destroying my own health. I later learned that my father hoped I would become a professor of middle English since I displayed a love for it at a young age. I was a precocious learner when it came to language. I could read the Dr. Seuss books by the time I was four years old, and by the time I was six, I was reading Edgar Allan Poe.

Scarier still, I found myself relating to Edgar Allan Poe. I was never a particularly happy child. I never felt like I belonged in the world. I realized at a young age that the world was a scary place filled with awful possibilities. Perhaps childhood should be carefree and idyllic, but it’s naive to think it actually is.

These days I find myself wishing I could go back in time and tell my parents, “I know you’re doing what you think is best because of what you learned from your own families, but you need to stop and rethink things. You are really fucking up this child, who, in the future, will become the horrifying swamp witch you see before you. You are fracturing her fragile eggshell mind before she even has a chance to learn how to critique a concept and see if it holds up. You are contributing to the creation of a neurotic, traumatized soul who has no self-confidence or belief in herself.”

I can’t do that, though. I don’t have any sort of time machine or portal spell that will allow me to travel to the past and talk sense to my parents or push my bullies into a mud puddle if I’m feeling benevolent or a fire ant hill if I’m feeling less so. I grew up in New Mexico. I learned to hate fire ants early on. I’m surprised I haven’t written a horror story about fire ants yet. Or maybe I’m not. I really don’t care for stories about creepy crawlies.

Right now, I’m not entirely sure what my intention is with this blog. I keep trying to re-invent my blogging presence. There are certain things I’ve learned along the way, but I’d feel like a bullshit artist if I tried to present myself as any kind of know-it-all expert. I do know I’m done screaming into the void hoping someone will sympathize with my pain and validate my existence. I can only speak from my own experiences. I can’t tell anyone else what to do. If I manage to help someone else by exposing my own foibles or relating my misadventures, it’s a win.

The Edited Version

I can’t recall anyone telling me to pursue a paid writing career. My family discouraged me from entering any creative occupation, despite my father's background as a professor of literature and social sciences. I ultimately followed my parents' wishes and entered the healthcare field. Ironically, working in this field destroyed my health.

I later learned that my father hoped I would become a professor of Middle English because of my early interest in the subject. I was a precocious language learner. By the time I was four years old, I was reading Dr. Seuss' books. By six, I was reading Edgar Allan Poe.

Scarier still, I related to Edgar Allan Poe. I was not a particularly happy child. I never felt like I belonged. I realized at a young age that the world was a frightening place filled with awful possibilities. Perhaps childhood should be carefree and idyllic, but it’s naïve to believe it actually is.

These days I find myself wishing I could travel back in time and tell my parents, “I know you’re doing what you think is right because of what you learned from your own families, but you need to stop and rethink things. You are really fucking up this child, who, in the future, will become the horrifying swamp witch you see before you. You are fracturing her fragile eggshell mind before she even learns how to analyze a concept to see if it holds up. You are contributing to the creation of a neurotic, traumatized soul who has no self-confidence or belief in herself.”

I can’t do that, though. I don’t have any sort of time machine or portal spell that will allow me to journey to the past and talk sense to my parents or push my bullies into a mud puddle if I’m feeling benevolent or a fire ant hill if I’m feeling less so.

I grew up in New Mexico. I learned to hate fire ants early on. I’m surprised I haven’t written a horror story about fire ants yet. Or maybe I’m not. I really don’t care for stories about creepy crawlies.

I’m not sure what my intention is with this blog. I keep trying to reinvent my online presence. There are certain things I’ve learned along the way, but I’d feel like a bullshit artist if I tried to present myself as some kind of know-it-all expert.

I do know I’m done screaming into the void, hoping someone will sympathize with my pain and validate my existence. I can only speak from my own experiences. I can’t force others to care about me. If I help someone else by exposing my foibles or relating my misadventures, it’s a win.

Summary

I removed 50 filler words and restructured sentences and paragraphs to enhance clarity and readability. Both versions of the post convey the same message, but the second one does so more efficiently.

If you're interested in booking editing services, you can learn more here.

https://ornerybookemporium.blogspot.com/p/ornery-literary-services.html

Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors