Hellooo, everybody!
I don't know about you, but I love a good fight scene. Emphasis on good.
Fight and action scenes are designed to excite the reader, they put you on the edge of your seat.
Unless they're shitty, and there's a whole lot of shit to go around. Which is what we're talking
about today. Sometimes, okay, a lot of time I read an action scene and I think “What the fuck
was this author thinking?” I know these tropes are popular. They're utilized all the time, which
is why writers think they can get away with them. You're not getting away with it. I see you and I'm
not happy. Today I am breaking down the ten worst fight and action scene tropes in fiction. The
repeat offenders that leave me staring into space contemplating the erosion of human intelligence.
Which of these tropes do you hate the most? Let me know in the comments below. The last one on this
list may shock you, unless you've been watching my channel for a while. The original cyborgs
know all about my cold black heart. Lets get into it.
(The sound of a pen scratching. LOGO)
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The Savior's Champion and The Savior’s Sister are available in ebook, paperback, hardback,
and audiobook. So if you'd like yourself some award winning dark fantasy romance, definitely
get in on this series. I got ‘em linked in the description below. Now I’m breaking down the ten
worst action and fight scene tropes in my humble and completely correct opinion. Number One (1):
Why didn't you just do that from the start? Aka the Power Ranger trope. You have the ability to
morph into a giant robot made of dinosaurs, but you're wasting your time getting your ass beat
as a tiny little regular human. Why would you do that? Other than for the sake of extending the
scene as long as possible. We all know this trope exists so that the writer can write ‘the almost’
which is a moment within the climax where the hero almost fails, only to come back stronger than ever
and do the damn thing. I am a huge fan of ‘the almost’ but it has to make sense. If the hero had
access to an insane weapon and doesn't choose to use it until the end. that's not an almost fail,
that's an absolute idiot. If you don't wanna turn your hero into a giant robot until the end of the
fight, at least make that weapon unavailable to them until that moment. Maybe it requires the
power of a magical amulet, and the bad guy hasn't until that point. I don't know, make something up,
it's your shitty book. But they can't have the clincher from the get go, and simply forget to
use it. Your readers aren't stupid. Well, some of them are stupid, but still. Number Two (2): ‘Tis
but a scratch. I'm gonna start off with a few exceptions. If your character is a cyborg, ogre,
or some other creature that's somewhat resistant to injury, then it's fine. If your character has
power or magic, like super strength or healing, then it's also fine. But in literally all other
situations where a human being is fighting other human being, for God's sake, injuries matter.
If you break a bone, you're fucked. If you get stabbed in the leg, you're fucked. You know that
lower abdomen wound that we see in every action scene. Where the hero is clutching their stomach,
but still carrying on? Their fucked. Do you know how many organs are in your lower abdomen?
Something has gotta be skewered. A deep wound or broken bone is going to make use of that body part
difficult, if not impossible. And let's not forget the pain. Yes, shock can numb the body,
but it can also make you lightheaded and pass out, which isn't exactly helpful in the middle
of a fight. Meanwhile, people are writing action scenes where the hero loses the fucking limb and
still continues fighting. Unless your character is Superman or Wonder Woman you're going to
have to address these wounds realistically. Number Three (3): The overpowered MC.
Aka, the male power fantasy. It's really easy to spot an overpowered MC because they breezed through the
fight with minimal effort. They're not breaking sweat, they're the baddest bitch there, and no one
can get in their way. Is this realistic? No. But that's not the issue for me. It's fucking boring.
The entire appeal of action is the risk of death. With an overpowered MC you've eliminated any risk,
which just turns the fight into a giant flex. “Wow, look at the guy go, pummeling
his opposition. Whoo.” It's not exciting. We all know he's gonna win, so what even is the point of
the scene? And Why would his enemies even bother fighting him if they know he's just gonna rip
them in half? It's just not entertaining. I wanna be worried about what's going to happen next. I
wanna end the chapter wondering “Oh my God, is he gonna make it?” Of course he's gonna make it ‘cuz
you're a shitty writer with a shitty character. Number Four (4): The bad guy soliloquy.
Look, I get it. You need the bad guy to reveal his plan so that the readers have their questions answered.
I completely understand the purpose of this trope and sometimes it's handled brilliantly, especially
when the writer subverts it and makes it self referential or a joke. But most of the time,
the bad guy soliloquy is so so bad. There is zero reason for this idiot to be spilling the beans to
the hero and they are clearly wasting precious time they need to enact their plan. Writers,
don't make your bad guy an idiot. It makes beating them way too easy. And there are so many ways to
avoid this. The most obvious one being, have the hero overhear the plan. The bad guy is discussing
the details with his constituents, the hero is in the vicinity, and boom, ya did it! This
makes a whole lot more sense than our big baddie whipping out a PowerPoint breaking down their
step-by-step formula for taking over the world.
Number Five (5): NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!...
You all know what I'm talking about. We're in the middle of an action scene.
Bullets are flying, people are dying. Suddenly someone important to the main character dies
and what do they do?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!...
The scream that lasts for eons, echoing into the night. You can tell because the writer included
approximately twenty o’s. Look, I have been in life or death situations and I can promise you,
I have never once screamed “no” for a long period of time, nor has anyone else around me done
that. It's a response popularized by 90s and 80s cinema. It's not realistic, but on the plus side
it's cheesy. I'm not gonna harp too hard on this because it's super easy to fall into this trap,
lord knows I used to write this in my early days. Just avoid this trope, If they gotta scream
something, scream the fallen character's name. That actually does happen. Number Six (6): The
strong female character who instantly needs saving. This is especially popular in young adult
fiction, particularly if the female in question is a warrior or an assassin. Assassin my assin.
We hear how badass she is, and then instantly she's kidnapped or maimed. Now the rugged but
cocky love interest gets to swoop in and save her. Writers do this because they want to come off as
feminist while still writing a damsel in distress. “Look she’s a strong woman. ‘Cuz I said so,
not because she's actually strong. I may or may not have no concept of strength.” Here's the deal.
Ain't nothing wrong with a woman who needs help. Everyone needs help at some point. I
love the rescue. It's entertaining and swoon worthy. But if you claim she's an assassin, let
her kill a few people, prove her title more than once. She can still get saved by the douchebag,
just let her get a few stabs in first. I'm not asking for much here. If the woman ain't shit,
stop saying she's the shit. And if she is the shit, show her being the shit. I said what I said.
Number Seven (7): One against one thousand. I love an underdog story. Whether it's an unexpected
hero versus a big strong baddie, or a small group versus an army. But you gotta make it make sense,
at least that teeny tiny bit. If your character is a magical ninja, then yes, I might be able to
buy them beaten off twenty guys, but not a massive hoard by themselves. And these disposable henchmen
always come in one at a time. Look, based on my research, there is logic to fighting one
or two at a time. But it's not gonna be a literal single file line of hundreds upon
hundreds of henchmen waiting for their turn to die. I'm not asking you to make it one on one.
I'm not even asking you to make it realistic. I'm just asking you to not treat your fight scenes
like a fucking assembly line. Remember, I Love Lucy with the chocolates? If you're gonna have
a ton of soldiers out numbering or characters, the scene needs to be just as chaotic as that. Number
Eight (8): Immortality. I'm actually a big fan of immortality, so long as there are limitations.
Vampires live forever, unless you stab them in the heart or they're out in the sun. I’ve read books
where gods live forever unless their power source is depleted or they're decapitated. And even with
characters that literally cannot die, I've seen them handled in situations where they could be
imprisoned indefinitely. These limitations need to exist or else any fight scene involving them
is pointless. There is no point in fighting someone who can't die or be captured. Why
are you even trying? Not only is it purposeless, but it's boring to read because there's only one
inevitable outcome, they live, shocking! Immortals need to have some type of weakness or else any
action involving them is going to be lame. Number Nine (9): For the love of God, call for help.
This is exclusive for fight and action scenes in contemporary fiction. You've got a character down,
there bleeding profusely, and gosh darn it, I don't think they're gonna make it. So what
does the hero do? They hover over them saying “Don't you quit on me.” over and over again. Just
sitting there useless, watching as the light drifts from their friends eyes. What if, and this
is just a thought, you call 911. We all have cell phones. I know what's in your pocket right now.
Why does no one call for a fucking ambulance? I'm not saying the character needs to live. It takes a
while for the paramedics to get there. But make the call, then have your to your tearful death
scene. Contemporary fiction is really good at ignoring the fact that cell phones exist.
And when it comes to action and fight scenes that's when it becomes the most glaringly obvious,
and not in a good way. And last but not least, Number Ten (10): Mercy. Call me a black hearted
bitch, it wouldn't be the first time, but why the fuck are there so many stories where the hero
grants the villain mercy. The villain has murdered people. They've subjugated and enslaved millions.
They’ve committed genocide. But the hero is gonna let them off with a warning because remember,
they're the good guy. Good guys don't kill people, right? Bitch, maybe they should.
Every single time this happens the villain takes advantage of the good guy’s kindness,
forcing the good guy to kill them in self-defense. Bro, you should have done that five pages ago.
Look, if this is a children's story, I get it. We're not trying to create bloodthirsty toddlers.
Actually, that'd be kind of funny, but I digress. Writers, let your heroes be a little gray. Let
them kill a baddie or two. I'm here for it. Those bastards don't deserve to be alive. Anyway,
trust me, your readers will love it. At least the sick and twisted ones will, and were the best.
So that's all I got for you today. Thanks again to Skillshare for sponsoring today's video. Like I
said I have three classes available on Skillshare right now. So if you are interested in improving
your creativity, or learning brand new skills, this is the place to go. You can take my classes
along with a whole bunch of other amazing classes. Plus the first 1,000 people to use the link in the
description below will get a one month free trial of Skillshare. So definitely get on it.
Click the link, you won't regret it. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I post new
videos on Wednesdays. And if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload, ring that bell. The Savior's Champion
and The Savior’s Sister are available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobooks.
So if you'd like some dark fantasy romance, that's got lots of action scenes that do not have any of
these tropes, check it out. It's linked below. And be sure to follow me on social media. I'm
on Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook and BookBub. And of course you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!
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