[found on fantasy-faction.com]

“THE BUILD UP

Learn to master suspense, and you’ll have your readers literally squirming to turn the page.  This is particularly true with fight scenes.  The build up is the perfect place to lay down what is truly at stake for your characters, to make clear the price of failure.

Don’t underestimate the value of this phase.  A good build up will often last longer than the fight itself, and rightly so.  Take Gandalf’s confrontation with the Balrog in the mines of Moria, for example.  The actual fight didn’t last long.  It was the build up to that moment which made it great – the lore, the menace and the darkness, the chase through the mines, all of it culminating with the breaking of the bridge.

Sometimes there’s not even any action in this phase, because you don’t need it; everything is implied.  That nasty, serrated hatchet the goblin is shaking at your character speaks for itself.  You can just imagine the damage its rusty edge would do to unprotected flesh, and oh no, your heroine isn’t wearing any armor either.  Small details can help differentiate the impending conflict from a run-of-the-mill battle by increasing tension and upping the stakes.  It can also be a great opportunity for horror.”

To read all fight-scene tips from Fantasy-Faction.com, click the image, or click HERE.

 

[found on http://fantasy-faction.com/2011/writing-fight-scenes]