I'd like to add my own - battles are places of extreme paradoxes. Love of comrades and hatred of enemies, the clash of horror and bravery, a duality of humanity's worst urges and greatest virtues, all these come into stark contrast in battle. An deep awareness of these dualities leads to great battle-writing.
There's one more of these paradoxes I'd like to append to the "battles are not organized" note - yes they are! But they also aren't! Medieval battles might be a great place to look at this phenomenon - these have long and protracted "organized" phases, and not just pre-battle, but at the climax of the actual fight. This is something movies regularly get wrong.
Formation was everything - your shield protected the man to your left, or your spear protected the man to your front! This reliance on organization is what made attacks on the flanks and the rear of a formation so devastating. It becomes extremely difficult to trade places with the man in front of you when there is no front! Yes, the front rotated every 5-15 attempted blows delivered/absorbed, enough to wind a very fit person wearing effective armor and wielding a proper weapon.
There might be considerable chaos in the minds of the participants, but an iron discipline throughout as well - otherwise their cause is hopeless. When a formation breaks, it's usually because that side is about to lose or already lost. Most of the killing and chaos occurs during the rout when victory has long been decided.
Small time chaos might rear its head at the "front" where all the stabbing and blocking happens. Things happen fast there! The general melee depicted in movies is quite rare in all eras - no one would know who to stab or shoot, the friendly fire would be outrageous. In reality everyone finding themselves in that situation would be running to the safety of their own lines not just by instinct, but practical common sense - be they a French Knight or a ww2 infantryman. Only senseless death and accidental killing of friends can occur in a place where all formation has collapsed. It isn't prone to happening (usually just one side collapses or the other, not both) and if it did happen the participants would soon seek their banners and reform.
The one exception is Russel Crowe who obviously recognizes the face of 100% of all his legionaries, and they all hold their blows because no one wants to accidentally stab Russel Crowe, right?
I appreciate the clarity here, especially the emphasis on character choices driving combat. That’s where most fights earn their weight. I’d argue one thing your list hints at but never quite grabs is the cost of violence. Not just whether a character is wounded, but what shifts in them afterward. What guilt lingers. Who doesn’t speak.
Your “chaos” tip is strong, but I’d love to see more on how to use aftermath as narrative terrain. Too many writers chase choreography and skip the silence that follows. For anyone digging deeper: think of battle not as spectacle, but as ritual rupture. What breaks in the world? What never quite fits back?
Good primer. Would love to see a Part II on aftermath.
I really love this article! Writing battle scenes is different for everyone, but you hit so many great points here.
The only thing I have to add to the conversation is that for visual authors, sometimes thinking about building a scene in terms of movie frames can actually help streamline the action and cut excess content.
When I teach writing classes, I always tell people to experiment with writing a scene like a movie script and like a comic book to practice hitting the most important aspects in the shortest time and space possible. There's so much more freedom in a novel to explore different aspects of a battle, but it's always helped me most to think through a scene frame by frame and action by action. Different approaches work for different people!
Thank you so much for checking it out! For me, I've always struggled with trying to make my written battle scenes feel like a movie when they are two different mediums entirely, haha.
But yes, treating it like a movie or comic first can absolutely help narrow down the most important aspects, like you said. That's a very good tip!
Excellent article, brother. Really well done. And I dig your choice of music. I just discovered Vigundr and Eihwar. Rock on, man. Are we into the runes?
Listening to this as I write my battle scene 😈
Thank you so much for compiling this list! It is SO helpful!
I’m so happy to hear it’s helpful, Mina! I’m very excited to read this upcoming battle scene of yours as well! 😁
I loved this article.
I'd like to add my own - battles are places of extreme paradoxes. Love of comrades and hatred of enemies, the clash of horror and bravery, a duality of humanity's worst urges and greatest virtues, all these come into stark contrast in battle. An deep awareness of these dualities leads to great battle-writing.
There's one more of these paradoxes I'd like to append to the "battles are not organized" note - yes they are! But they also aren't! Medieval battles might be a great place to look at this phenomenon - these have long and protracted "organized" phases, and not just pre-battle, but at the climax of the actual fight. This is something movies regularly get wrong.
Formation was everything - your shield protected the man to your left, or your spear protected the man to your front! This reliance on organization is what made attacks on the flanks and the rear of a formation so devastating. It becomes extremely difficult to trade places with the man in front of you when there is no front! Yes, the front rotated every 5-15 attempted blows delivered/absorbed, enough to wind a very fit person wearing effective armor and wielding a proper weapon.
There might be considerable chaos in the minds of the participants, but an iron discipline throughout as well - otherwise their cause is hopeless. When a formation breaks, it's usually because that side is about to lose or already lost. Most of the killing and chaos occurs during the rout when victory has long been decided.
Small time chaos might rear its head at the "front" where all the stabbing and blocking happens. Things happen fast there! The general melee depicted in movies is quite rare in all eras - no one would know who to stab or shoot, the friendly fire would be outrageous. In reality everyone finding themselves in that situation would be running to the safety of their own lines not just by instinct, but practical common sense - be they a French Knight or a ww2 infantryman. Only senseless death and accidental killing of friends can occur in a place where all formation has collapsed. It isn't prone to happening (usually just one side collapses or the other, not both) and if it did happen the participants would soon seek their banners and reform.
The one exception is Russel Crowe who obviously recognizes the face of 100% of all his legionaries, and they all hold their blows because no one wants to accidentally stab Russel Crowe, right?
Thanks for this! I felt that my battle scenes were missing something. My edit should be much better thanks! Oh and the finale song...perfect!
Some good advice on battle scenes. Thanks for sharing.
"My Fellow Writers, We Ride at Dawn!" is the perfect way to end this. I hope you felt proud when you wrote that line.
Haha, I was quite proud of that last section. I’m really glad you noticed, and thank you so much for checking out the article as well! 😁
I appreciate the clarity here, especially the emphasis on character choices driving combat. That’s where most fights earn their weight. I’d argue one thing your list hints at but never quite grabs is the cost of violence. Not just whether a character is wounded, but what shifts in them afterward. What guilt lingers. Who doesn’t speak.
Your “chaos” tip is strong, but I’d love to see more on how to use aftermath as narrative terrain. Too many writers chase choreography and skip the silence that follows. For anyone digging deeper: think of battle not as spectacle, but as ritual rupture. What breaks in the world? What never quite fits back?
Good primer. Would love to see a Part II on aftermath.
Thanks for checking it out! You bring up some really good points about the aftermath. I'll have to think about doing a follow-up at some point!
I really love this article! Writing battle scenes is different for everyone, but you hit so many great points here.
The only thing I have to add to the conversation is that for visual authors, sometimes thinking about building a scene in terms of movie frames can actually help streamline the action and cut excess content.
When I teach writing classes, I always tell people to experiment with writing a scene like a movie script and like a comic book to practice hitting the most important aspects in the shortest time and space possible. There's so much more freedom in a novel to explore different aspects of a battle, but it's always helped me most to think through a scene frame by frame and action by action. Different approaches work for different people!
Thank you so much for checking it out! For me, I've always struggled with trying to make my written battle scenes feel like a movie when they are two different mediums entirely, haha.
But yes, treating it like a movie or comic first can absolutely help narrow down the most important aspects, like you said. That's a very good tip!
It really proves that everyone’s process is so different!
Excellent article, brother. Really well done. And I dig your choice of music. I just discovered Vigundr and Eihwar. Rock on, man. Are we into the runes?
Loving the synchronicity of this Bradley!
I'm just about to write the Grand Finale battle scene in a story.
Having a little break and see your post.
Also my main character is called Dawn😅🤣