A Mean Write Hook—Crafting Character-Driven Fight Scenes

Published June 2, 2026

by Erica Balfour

Ah, fight scenes. They’re great, aren’t they? The adrenaline, the drama, the total display of your protagonist’s awesomeness. They can happen in any genre, too. Romcoms have adorable snowball fights. Middle-grade and YA might have goofy cafeteria food fights. Historical fiction and Regency romance thrive on duels at dawn and chases on horseback. Even literary fiction can get feisty when someone throws a punch at a family reunion.

Besides being cool, fight scenes do a lot for your story. A fight reveals your character’s true self better than almost anything else. After all, getting punched in the face is practically a religious experience – it strips away pretense fast.

Fight scenes can be tough to write, though, especially for those of us who have maybe never actually gotten punched in the face. When I first started writing fight scenes, I thought I had to describe every punch, every drop of blood. My fights were technically correct, but they had no soul.

I scoured the Internet for help, but most advice focused on blow-by-blow mechanics or cinematic gore. I wanted something to help me write fights with emotional weight, so I started experimenting.

Below, I’ll go through two key components I’ve incorporated into my own writing that have served me well: filtering the fight through your character’s personality and coloring the fight with your character’s voice. These may sound similar, but they’re different, I promise.

I’ll use abridged examples from two of my speculative stories that placed well in competitions so you can see these concepts in, ahem, action. Because monsters are cool. But even though my examples are speculative, these principles can apply to any genre.

The key to both? Remember: fights aren’t just about fists – they’re about character.

You ready?

Let’s rumble.

Character Filters the Fight

While tight choreography allows your reader to visualize the fight, your character is the reason your reader feels the fight.

This means everything that happens – everything you put on the page – must be filtered through your character’s point of view (POV).

What does he notice? How much fighting experience and/or training does he have? What scares, angers, or impacts him on an emotional level? Bring your character’s unique history out in the fight. A trained, confident fighter will notice different details than an untrained, scared civilian.

Now, I’m not talking about sensory immersion here (smells, tastes, etc.). We know to set our scenes using all five senses – that still applies to writing fight scenes. But to write an emotionally resonant fight scene – one that matters to the character and the reader – we need to dig deeper than just sights and smells.

Focus on what only your character would notice.

“Twenty demons scramble down the chossy, crumbling slope towards us, screeching as only hellspawn can. I fire at the thickest clump, then scan my guys. Gunter screams and drops in a spray of blood. More demons break through our line. I reload.”

My soldier-protagonist is a trained squad leader. This shapes what he prioritizes during the battle: the big picture (the number of demons, the defensive line breaking) and his men. His focus on Gunter’s death humanizes him – it’s a tiny glimpse into his emotions during heavy action. But he pulls that focus back to the fight at hand (he’s great at compartmentalizing).

Also shown in this example: alternating between macro descriptions (overarching details, stakes) and micro descriptions (intimate details, consequences), which keeps the pace exciting and emotionally grounded.

My protagonist starts with an overview of the battle, zooms in to Gunter’s death, then zooms back out. That movement keeps the scene dynamic and grounded in my protagonist’s perspective.

Now, not all of us have experience leading a squad of soldiers, going fifteen rounds with the heavyweight champion of the world, or fighting off an antagonist with a rolling pin. That’s fine! If you don’t have your protagonist’s training or experience, talk to someone who does. I ran the above scene by my best friend (an Army Ranger) more times than he probably wanted . . . but it made the fight so much better.

Voice Connects the Fight

It took me a long time to realize voice matters more to a fight than choreography.

Your protagonist’s personality shapes how she fights (or doesn’t, if she’s one of those scared civilians I mentioned earlier – no shade). Her choices, her internal commentary, and her instinctive reactions bring the fight to life. Let your readers see into your protagonist’s head – let them hear her narrate the fight, not you. Even if she isn’t fighting, her voice can still shape the entire scene.

“Jamael lunges forward, inhumanly fast. A twisted length of blackened metal appears in his hand – the wode blade. Its magic jeers at me even as the blade slices through a man’s shoulder. Black smoke rises from the wound and the man drops to his knees, yelling. Jamael and the other men are a whirl, a tornado of flashing blades. A man slams into a shelf, black smoke pouring from multiple wounds.”

My narrator isn’t part of a fight, but you can hear her voice the whole time. Her fear for Jamael, her hatred of the wode blade’s dark magic, even her overwhelm as the fight progresses. All of it is brought front and center so that you can experience the fight along with her.

Who your protagonist is makes your fight immersive for your readers. Give them more of your protagonist. Pull your readers in deep.

Tying It Together

Fight scenes are fun and they do a lot of heavy lifting for you: character development, world building, reader candy, stakes escalation . . . oh, and plot advancement.

If that sounds intimidating, just remember: you don’t have to get your fight scene right on the first try – none of us do. Unlike an actual fight, you get as many drafts as you need.

Every writer I know improves their stories draft by draft. Even their fight scenes. Don’t be afraid to write a terrible first draft. You can layer in everything else later.

When I write fight scenes, I focus first on basic choreography and pulling in my setting. These give me a bare-bones, mechanical draft. On additional passes I add more character voice and really zero in on how my POV experiences the fight. This strategy works well for me and I hope it’ll be helpful for you as well.

So try writing your fight scenes in layers. Get the basics down, then go back and round it out. Have you brought in your character’s unique experience? Have you filtered everything through their voice? Lean hard into how your character experiences the fight, and you’ll have a compelling, adrenaline-soaked scene on your hands, one your readers will love.

Happy writing, friends!

Erica Balfour writes fantasy and science fiction with warmth, humor, and sharp edges. A multi-time Writers of the Future Silver Honorable Mention award recipient, she infuses every story she tells with magic, monsters, heart, and wit. Explore her worlds at www.ericabalfour.com.