Action Writing - Tumblr Posts
Helpful things for action writers to remember
Sticking a landing will royally fuck up your joints and possibly shatter your ankles, depending on how high you’re jumping/falling from. There’s a very good reason free-runners dive and roll.
Hand-to-hand fights usually only last a matter of seconds, sometimes a few minutes. It’s exhausting work and unless you have a lot of training and history with hand-to-hand combat, you’re going to tire out really fast.
Arrows are very effective and you can’t just yank them out without doing a lot of damage. Most of the time the head of the arrow will break off inside the body if you try pulling it out, and arrows are built to pierce deep. An arrow wound demands medical attention.
Throwing your opponent across the room is really not all that smart. You’re giving them the chance to get up and run away. Unless you’re trying to put distance between you so you can shoot them or something, don’t throw them.
Everyone has something called a “flinch response” when they fight. This is pretty much the brain’s way of telling you “get the fuck out of here or we’re gonna die.” Experienced fighters have trained to suppress this. Think about how long your character has been fighting. A character in a fist fight for the first time is going to take a few hits before their survival instinct kicks in and they start hitting back. A character in a fist fight for the eighth time that week is going to respond a little differently.
ADRENALINE WORKS AGAINST YOU WHEN YOU FIGHT. THIS IS IMPORTANT. A lot of times people think that adrenaline will kick in and give you some badass fighting skills, but it’s actually the opposite. Adrenaline is what tires you out in a battle and it also affects the fighter’s efficacy - meaning it makes them shaky and inaccurate, and overall they lose about 60% of their fighting skill because their brain is focusing on not dying. Adrenaline keeps you alive, it doesn’t give you the skill to pull off a perfect roundhouse kick to the opponent’s face.
Swords WILL bend or break if you hit something hard enough. They also dull easily and take a lot of maintenance. In reality, someone who fights with a sword would have to have to repair or replace it constantly.
Fights get messy. There’s blood and sweat everywhere, and that will make it hard to hold your weapon or get a good grip on someone.
A serious battle also smells horrible. There’s lots of sweat, but also the smell of urine and feces. After someone dies, their bowels and bladder empty. There might also be some questionable things on the ground which can be very psychologically traumatizing. Remember to think about all of the character’s senses when they’re in a fight. Everything WILL affect them in some way.
If your sword is sharpened down to a fine edge, the rest of the blade can’t go through the cut you make. You’ll just end up putting a tiny, shallow scratch in the surface of whatever you strike, and you could probably break your sword.
ARCHERS ARE STRONG TOO. Have you ever drawn a bow? It takes a lot of strength, especially when you’re shooting a bow with a higher draw weight. Draw weight basically means “the amount of force you have to use to pull this sucker back enough to fire it.” To give you an idea of how that works, here’s a helpful link to tell you about finding bow sizes and draw weights for your characters. (CLICK ME)
If an archer has to use a bow they’re not used to, it will probably throw them off a little until they’ve done a few practice shots with it and figured out its draw weight and stability.
People bleed. If they get punched in the face, they’ll probably get a bloody nose. If they get stabbed or cut somehow, they’ll bleed accordingly. And if they’ve been fighting for a while, they’ve got a LOT of blood rushing around to provide them with oxygen. They’re going to bleed a lot.
Here’s a link to a chart to show you how much blood a person can lose without dying. (CLICK ME)
If you want a more in-depth medical chart, try this one. (CLICK ME)
Hopefully this helps someone out there. If you reblog, feel free to add more tips for writers or correct anything I’ve gotten wrong here.
Writer's Guide: Hand to Hand Combat
Your character is unarmed and all they have left to fight with is their bare hands. If they hope for the enemy to catch their hands, you will have to write an effective scene. So how can we write a good hand to hand combat scene?
Most Common Moves
Now, I'm not going to list 30+ martial arts moves. Most of your characters will not be masters of kung fu or mixed martial arts. Most people who get into fights are novices.
Punch: a punch is probably to go to strike. Try not punch anybody in the face because one, they will expect it and two, it will hurt your hand. If you can aim for the soft parts of an opponent, kidneys or gut.
Kick: Kicking isn't pretty but it is effective. A good swift kick to the back of somebody's knee will fold them like a lawnchair.
Go for the groin: Man or woman getting kicked in the nether regions is no picnic. A good swift kick with your foot or your knee can incapacitate your opponent. Its not the most honourable of moves but it works.
An Elbow strike is effective: The elbow is your strongest point of attack. Drive it in to a windpipe or a gut and you can but yourself valuable time to retreat or stall your opponent from answering back.
Eyes: they are weak points. Jab somebody in the eyes with a thumb and they will stop in their tracks.
Throat: You can end any fight by going straight for the throat either grasping it in a headlock or jabbing it with a fist which can collapse the windpipe.
Bite: If you are unable to snack your opponent, use your teeth. The human bite is perhaps not as strong as a hyena's but it is strong enough to shorten your opponent by a finger or two.
How to Escape from Grips and Holds
Pinned from behind with your arms pinned: You have to stop your opponent from getting to a headlock. Move your hips to one side and strike backwards toward the groin or gut. This should weaken the hold of your opponent. Once the grip is loosened, turn toward your opponent and snack them into the nose with the heel of your hand.
Held from behind: Bend forward as far as you can making it more difficult for your opponent to lift you. Jab with your elbows back into your opponent's chest or face. Turn toward your opponent once the grip loosens and strike at the face or the groin again to subdue your opponent.
Headlock: If your opponent has you in a headlock, DON'T STRUGGLE. You could break your own neck. Turn into your opponent's side as close as possible. With your hand that is furthest away, hit your opponent into the groin or gut.
Pinned down on the ground: Most likely your opponent is using their own hands and weight to keep you down. If you can move your knees, try to jab them in the side or the groin to unbalanced them.
Things to Remember
1. The whole 6-10 minute bout only happens in films or controlled sporting events. Fights are usually over within a few minutes. (when writing effective fights, keep the pace short.)
2. Girls are vicious. I've worked in nightclubs and broke up a fair few fights. Boys will knock the shit out of each other but girls will tear shreds out of each other. I have known grown men to break up fights between guys but nobody wants to break up a catfight.
3. One wants the fight to end quickly. If you keep slugging at each other, you'll get tired pretty fast. Have your character try end the fight as soon as possible.
4. Nobody emerges from fights unscathed. Even winners may come out with black eyes, broken noses or at very least a broken lip. If you punch someone, you will likely bruise your knuckles if not split them.
5. If your character is fighting to survive, they don't have to stick to etiquette. They will have to do anything to survive even if it means doing something unpleasant like fishhooking or hairpulling.
Fantasy Guide: Common battle wounds and how to fix them
Arrow wounds: Now if the lung, heart, kidney, other major organ is hit, there may be little to do. The kidney has a back up, so maybe a skilled surgeon could save him, not exactly sure however. If hit by an arrow and not hit dangerously in an organ or artery, we can help. Firstly, DO NOT REMOVE arrow by yanking. Arrow must be worked from the skin by skilled hands. Once arrow is out, wash would with clean water/alchohol/herbal remedies. To heal slow, sew up wound and wrap in bandages. To speed it up, cauterise the wound with fire. It will hurt and patient pay pass out but now the arrow wound can heal faster. This works for crossbow bolts as well. On the gross side, arrows may be smeared with dirt or shit, so sepsis is a danger. This is how the great Richard the Lionheart died. Sometimes the mighty lion is killed by a shit arrow. But hey, shit happens. Arrow wounds take a couple of weeks to heal.
Sword slashes: if shallow, wash and bind up. May require stitches. If deeper, repeat process with more stitches and more bandages. Even if shallow, the cut must be washed using alcohol or clean water. May take a few days to weeks to heal depending on wound depth and severity.
Stab wound: Again don’t remove knife or object. If already removed, wash would and sew it up. You may need to cauterise. If guts, organs, brain, is falling out, there is nothing to do. This may take a couple of weeks to months to heal depending on wound.
Broken Bones: A break must be splinted with a board of wood and bandages. Slings can support arms and wrists. If your character breaks a leg, it may be worse. Breaks don’t heal great without modern medicine. Your character may have a limp or leg pain. In you’re are living in a hot climate, you’re pretty much fucked because infection sets in fast. These may take months to heal.
For @maslovianwench
One Helluva Hunt Part 2
Raian Kure x GN Reader Raian Kure x Reader Raian Kure x female reader
Synopsis: You are now trapped in Raian's grasp as he took you with him without hesitation. Where is he taking you? Why did he take you? What y'all's destination....only the Devil himself knows.
Warning: ⚠️ blood, gore, Explicit, violence, angst, brutality, trash husband, Brutal Raian Kure, profanity, rough sex, rough kissing, unprotected sex, M and F oral, breeding, trigger warning
MDNI 18+ only
Side note: some of the stuff on the warnings won't come until later but I'm letting you know what the story will have. And I'm trying to make this one really long at least. It's Raian bro! He needs to shine!
Gif credit: @hoe4rairai and also clideo.com: if I got this wrong please let me know so I can fix.
Word count: l,202
Part 1 ⬇️
You were still being carried like a sack of rice and Raian cackled wickedly in amusement.
“Um….sir…..Mister….where are you taking me?” You say still confused as all you could see was a vast range of forest and dirt and his walking feet.
Raian says nothing as he handles you roughly. “Hey!” You say a bit annoyed as he continues to carry you like a sack of rice.
You notice his ass, firm, and very enticing. You begin to blush. “God he has a fina ass. I want to touch it…it's probably firm.” You think to yourself as you gulp down some saliva and look away from his ass.
“Can you at least tell me your name?” You say pretty irritated.
Suddenly Raian drops you on your bottom in which you land hard on the ground. “OW! HEY YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY TO TELL ME THAT YOU'RE PUTTING ME DOWN!” You Bellowed with rage as you rubbed your butt to soothe the pain away.
“SHUT UP!” Bellowed Raian back with a wicked sneer.
“MAKE ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!” You yell back, getting in his face.
The two of you growl at each other but Raian seems to be enjoying the interaction seeing as he kept laughing with an amused wide grin.
Suddenly your stomach growls and you back away feeling a little embarrassed. Raian laughs at you as he then gets up and walks away. You wonder what the hell he's doing.
He brings back some wood and starts a fire. “go hunt for your food I ain't no one's babysitter especially for a weakling like you!” replied Raian harshly.
“I'm not a weakling you bastard! And I know how to fucking hint and I don't fucking need a man to do shit for me! And why did you bring me with you anyway!” You retorted back at him loudly.
He continued to laugh in amusement as he got up and went deep into the woods to hunt for a boar. You just fumed and you went your own way to hunt for anything to eat, like a boar, a rabbit, a deer, and yes even a snake.
As you enter deep into the woods you see a boar. But what you didn't know is that it was the same boat that Raian was hunting. As soon as you lunge at the boar and so does Raian.
“I saw it first you jackass!” you growled as you pushed him out of the way. Raian just laughed and lunged forward towards the boar. You punched him in the face and kicked him hard on his side sending him flying through various trees knocking them down like Domino's and that still had no effect on him.
“You think that will stop me! You brat!” He growled as he lunged towards you and the boar. You quickly dodged his attacks and you decided to hide above the trees. Luckily you managed to gather some sticks and some rocks and what you could use as string.
“I’ll be damned if he gets that boar before me!” You grumble under your breath as you make a bow and arrow with what you could gather in the forest.
“Oh Angel cakes! Where are you?” Called out Raian in a chilling singsong tone.
“Tch! Fucking asshole.” You mutter under your breath annoyed. You look for the boar ignoring Raian and once you see the boar you take your aim and shoot the boar down.
You glide from tree to tree to claim your prize but Raian tackles you to the ground. “I found you! Angel cakes!” He growled with a menacing glare still with that vile sneer on his face.
“Oof! Hey you bastard! The boar is mine! I shot it down with my bow and arrow fair and square.” You spat with fury as you pushed him off of you. You hurried and took your prize. But he laughed as he showed you that he had caught many more boars and deers he had hunted down and claimed as prizes.
It was as if he was toying with you from the very beginning the hunt started. You glared at him and purposely bumped into him to move out of the way.
He devoured all of his prizes while you slowly ate yours. He finishes all of his hunts and then he puts out the fire and picks you up, throwing you over his shoulder once again like a sack of rice.
“Augh! Hey! You ass! Stop it! Let me go!” You yell as you try to get out of his grasp.
Raian continued to grin slyly as he smacked your ass with his right hand.
“Oh! HEY! WHAT THE FUCK! WHY DID YOU DO THAT! I BARELY KNOW YOU- AUGH!” You yell at him irritated by his personality. He then jerked her back a little on his shoulder making her grab onto the back of his black jacket tightly.
“What a noisy bunny you are.” He says laughing at you as he continues to walk through the woods with you over his shoulder. After a good while of him walking in the woods you start getting sleepy. Your eyelids are getting heavy and your whole body is going and limp.
You finally crash and your hands are swaying back and forth as they start patting Raian’s firm and hot ass.
Raian could hear you snoring so he pulled you backwards and carried you in his arms bridal style.
“Damn it! This stupid woman fell asleep ...how boring…..well at least she won't remember how to get back home since The Kure clan’s village is hidden near the mountains anyway. What a foolish woman she is.” Replied Raian with a heavy and irritated sigh.
The next morning you woke up in an unfamiliar place. There was no more forest. You looked around and saw that you were sleeping on a comfortable futon and a very cozy room with tatami flooring and a beautiful scenery of the veranda surrounded by the gardens and forest.
“W-we're am I?” You talk to yourself all puzzled.
“Oh good! You're awake!” Says a cherry voice. You turn to look and see a young woman with short black hair and the same Black eyes that Raian has. But she seemed much nicer than him. She had a tray of food in her hands.
“Um….hello there….good morning…um….where exactly am I and who are you?” You ask, still puzzled but smiling kindly at her.
“You're at the home of the Kure Clan. I'm Fusui Kure and your sister in law….it's so nice to finally meet my older brother's wife!” She bows respectfully to you.
“Huh…..*blinks rapidly.* Pardon me? Come again?.......” You are still confused.
“Welcome to the family! Sister in law!” She says with a bright smile.
You faint back on the futon as your soul leaves your body.
“OH NO! SISTER IN-LAW! SISTER IN-LAW! GRANDPA! RAIAN’S WIFE FAINTED! SOMEONE! HELP!” Fusui yelled as she quickly grabbed a hand fan and began blowing air to you.
“How….did I……end up in this situation again.” You think to yourself as you scream internally still unconscious.
To be continued: .......