How to Write a Fight Scene: The Hound vs Beric

one of the biggest misconceptions I had when starting out writing was the belief all scenes were created equally I thought that as long as you were a good writer you could write any type of scene with ease whether they be romantic psychological violent or joyful yeah I was really wrong all scenes are not created equally some scenes and actions are objectively more difficult to properly execute than others and I found this out the hard way when writing my first fight scenes I've seen a lot of questions on YouTube and reddit about how to write an effective fight scene so I thought this would be a good topic to cover with the video and of course I will be using George RR Martin's writing as an example of what a pro does partially because my crippling laziness has convinced me to recycle this exact topic I did for reddit for YouTube but also because George R Martin does a legitimately good job in crafting fight scenes the fight I will use is the Hound vs. Barrett if you're a show watcher this is from season 3 episode 5 kissed by fire if you're a book reader is from a Storm of Swords chapter 34 Arya 6 so one of the biggest mistakes that a writer novice or otherwise could make when writing a fight scene is misinterpreting the narrative purpose of the scene many people think that all a fight scene is supposed to be is showing two characters being violent with each other that has a really limiting way of thinking about something so complex a fight scene just like every other scene needs to tell a story now I know you may be thinking how do I shove a story into the middle of two guys bashing each other's heads in well my simple answer is you're overthinking it the story is the violence between the two dudes or gals I'm completely gender inclusive when it comes to my violence when you start thinking of a fight as a mini story with set up action calms rises and falls you have the fundamentals for a fantastic fight scene but enough of me trying to explain it let's see how George R Martin does it himself this cave is dark too said the Hound but I'm the chair here I hope your gods a sweet one dawn Darion you're going to meet him shortly unsmiling Lord beric laid the edge of his long sword against the palm of his left hand and drew it slowly down just like with any narrative Martin has set up our characters and their immediate relationship with each other even if you knew nothing else about the plot you the hound wants to make beric worm food and that barrack has his sword drawn ready to defend himself for what he suspects to be a serious fight this is our setup but something amazing happens when you read the next section of barracks lines blood ran dark from the gash he made and washed over the steel and then the sort of fire lit from below his face was a death mask his missing eye are red and angry wound the sword was a flame from point to cross guard but Dondarrion seemed not to feel the heat he stood so still he might have been carved of stone okay so I couldn't have been the only one that thought that was really cool right narratives are all about the delivery of information that either introduces new material to the plot alters current material of the plot or resolves existing material of the plot in this fight we get a huge new addition to the plot something that we hadn't seen before now this scene is so much bigger than a fight it has become relevant to the plot as a whole because we readers are wondering how and why Barret can do this it's also just plain really cool have you ever read a fight scene of two huge men savagely beating each other's heads and thought huh I'm kind of bored with this well that is because seeing a fight and reading a fight or two completely different things movies can get away with having basic punches and kicks because the action is received extremely fast with sound movement blood in broken objects coming all at once in a matter of seconds a written fight can only come one sentence at a time so they have to be different and this is where an economy of diversity comes in basically it means the best way for written fight scene to capture a reader is to vary what goes on in the scene reading about punching for two pages is boring reading about a full-on brawl with fists and kicks and swords and shields and environmental hazards and magic is exhilarating look at what Martin does with his economy of diversity but when the Hound charged him he moved fast enough the flaming sword lept to meet the cold one long streamers of fire trailing in its wake like the ribbons the Hound had spoken of steel rang on steel no sooner was his first slash blocked than Clegane made another but this time Lord beric shield got in the way and wood chips flew from the force of the blow hard and fast the cuts came from low and high from left in each one Dondarrion blocked the flames swirled about his sword and left red and yellow ghosts a mark its passage each move Lord beric made fandom and made them burn brighter until it seemed as though the lightning Lord stood within a cage of fire here we have a basic sword fight but with the pivotal element of having fire involved this paragraph begins focus is on and ends with fire framing the entire battle around this unique diverse experience that the reader is journeying through Clegane caught one blow high on a shield in a painted dog lost a head he counter cut and Dondarrion interposed his own shield and launched a fiery back slash along with a bit of the last section now we have shield actually involved and the detail that Clegane shield is breaking not only has Martin diversified the focus again he has demonstrated great storytelling within fight though really subtly with barracks fires growing brighter in the hounds shield shattering Martin is displaying that the longer this conflict goes on the worse it is for the Hound the best part about it though is that he didn't have to explicitly state this we readers can just understand that from the circumstances of the fight the hound moved to the right but Dondarrion blocked him with the quick sidestep and drove him back the other way toward the sullen red blaze of the fire pit again gave ground until he felt the heat at his back a quick glance over his shoulder showed him what was behind and almost cost him his head when Lord beric attacked anew again Martin has diversified the events of the fight now the Hound not only has to worry about this murder-happy firebender there's a pit of flames behind him too this raises the stakes and keeps the reader interested for new things to come sandor clegane had fought his way back to his feet with a reckless counter-attack not until Lord beric retreated a pace did the hounds seem to realize that the fire that roared so near his face was his own shield burning with the shout of revulsion he hacked down savagely on the broken oak completing its destruction the shield's shattered one piece of it spinning away still a fire while the other clung stubbornly to his forearm his efforts to free himself only fanned the flames his sleeve caught and now his whole left arm was ablaze now Martin has diversified to a paragraph where the hounds own shield has become the enemy he tosses it down shatters it but still catches fire nonetheless and I can say with certainty that all this diversity was not an accident the job of a writer when constructing fight scenes is to do 90% of your heavy lifting beforehand meaning one needs to create a scenario and setting to best maximize the entertainment potential of their scene of conflict Martin put the Hound a top-five fighter on the continent and a hater of fire against barrack a renowned Knight and a fire user in order to create awesome tension he also did it to give an opportunity for plot relevant information to rise it is efficient quickly paced and most importantly really fun another massive mistake that I've seen demonstrated in fight scenes is that nothing comes of them people fight they get tired or pass out and then nothing of the plot really changes after fights need consequences but those consequences don't always have to be deaths the hounds cold steel plowed into Lord beric's flesh where his shoulder joined his neck and clove him cleaned down the breastbone the blood came rushing out in a hot black gush Lord beric's knees folded slowly as if for prayer when his mouth opened only blood came out The Hound sword was still in him as he toppled face forward the dirt drank his blood here is the initial consequence that Martin presents us the Hound wins Baird dies the end just seeing this it is plain to see why this couldn't have stood as the resolution the consequence does nothing to justify the fight because nothing in the narrative or the plot has effectively changed we end up in the same place we started when Arya and the Hound came to the Brotherhood without banners but then please sandor clegane rasped cradling his arm I'm burned help me someone helped me he was crying please aria looked at him in astonishment he's crying like a little baby she thought we see the Hound far more vulnerable than ever before almost pathetic Martin has changed and evoke kitten character details because of the fight details that may go on to ripple throughout the story and change the audience's perception going forward as was said before consequences of fight scenes don't need to be deaths heck they don't even need to affect the characters themselves the consequences need to be the addition furthering or subtraction of plot relevant information because those things are the goals of all scenes violent or otherwise but we still aren't finished you go to hell hound she screamed at Sandor Clegane and helpless and behind rage you just go to hell he has said a voice scare stronger than a whisper when aria turned Lord beric Dondarrion was standing behind her his bloody hand clutching Thoreau's by the shoulder at the very end of the chapter we get to see that Barrack is actually still alive somehow some way he survived getting quote-unquote clothed clean down the breastbone this is the narrative consequence of the fight however these followers of relora the reader now knows they can either stave off death or come back from the dead completely this information drastically changes our narrative expectation going forward especially for barrack and as men not all fight scene consequences need to be this dramatic as not all of Martin's are but the consequences need to be visible to the reader George our Martin does a great job of doing his work early setting the stage diversifying this scene in delivering on palpable changes to the narrative this fight scene between the Hound and Barrett tells a story it is diverse in its actions and it has real consequences for the plot this goes without saying but there are a ton of other fight scenes in the books and show that followed this style too I just couldn't fit them all in this video let me know down in the comments what is your favorite fight scene from the series and I will see you all again soon you

Channel: Savage Books

Views: 38,360

Keywords: GRRM, George RR Martin, The Hound, ASOIAF, a song of ice and fire, beric dondarrion, Sandor Clegane, How to, How to write a fight scene, fantasy, narrative, books, fight scenes, magic, breakdown, game of thrones, GOT

Id: C5GGandpnB8

Length: 10min 24sec (624 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 07 2018