Action scenes should be the exciting bits. So why are they so often boring on the page?
The problem is, and it's one I learned the hard way, that what works visually doesn't work in prose. You can't just transcribe a fight scene from your head to paper. The medium is different, and it needs different techniques.
Keep it short and sharp
The biggest mistake: action scenes that go on too long.
In a film, a five-minute fight is exhilarating. On the page, five pages of blow-by-blow combat is exhausting. The reader's brain can't sustain that level of intensity without fatigue setting in.
Shorter sentences. Shorter paragraphs. Shorter scenes overall. Get in, make an impact, get out.
Don't choreograph everything
You're not writing a fight manual. Readers don't need to know exactly where everyone's left foot is at every moment.
"He ducked the first swing, blocked the second, felt his arm go numb from the impact, and drove his shoulder into the man's chest."
That's enough. We get it. We're in the fight. We don't need a frame-by-frame breakdown.
Give us the key beats. Let readers' imaginations fill in the gaps. They will — and what they imagine will be more vivid than anything you could describe.
Ground it in the body
Action scenes work when we feel them physically.
Not "the sword cut his arm" but "fire raced from elbow to wrist." Not "he hit the wall" but "the impact drove the air from his lungs."
The protagonist's body is our connection to the scene. What do they feel? Pain, exhaustion, adrenaline, fear? That's what makes us feel present.
Stakes over spectacle
A technically impressive fight is nothing without stakes. Why does this fight matter? What happens if the protagonist loses?
The best action scenes are dramatic scenes that happen to involve violence. The fight is an extension of character conflict, not a substitute for it.
Before writing an action scene, ask: what's at stake? If the answer is nothing much, the scene will be lifeless no matter how well you choreograph it.
Clarity over confusion
Chaos can work briefly. But if readers lose track of who's where and what's happening, they'll disengage.
In complex action — multiple combatants, changing locations — use clear beats to reorient us. "She rolled behind the crate." "Across the room, Marcus was still grappling with the larger man."
Don't sacrifice clarity for kinetic energy. Readers can't be excited about something they can't follow.
Emotional throughline
The external action should reflect internal experience.
Is this fight desperate or controlled? Is your protagonist terrified or coldly focused? Triumphant or losing ground? Their emotional state should colour every sentence.
As the fight progresses, the emotional state can shift. Confidence gives way to panic. Desperation transforms into resolve. These shifts are the real drama.
Use the environment
Fights that take place in blank rooms are forgettable. The environment makes them specific.
What can be used as a weapon? What's in the way? What creates opportunity or danger?
A fight in a kitchen is different from a fight in a forest is different from a fight on a moving train. Use that.
What to cut
- Blow-by-blow choreography
- Overly technical descriptions of technique
- Passages that repeat information we already have
- Action that doesn't escalate or change the situation
- Anything that slows down what should be fast
The best action scenes feel shorter than they are. Readers look up, surprised at how quickly they turned the pages. That's the goal.
What action scenes have stayed with you? Which books (not films!) got it right?