Fight choreography is a tough skill to master. In addition to pacing and description, writers need a basic understanding of the effects of violence on the human body, from physical damage to the kind of energy required to maintain the adrenalin needed to keep fighting. Add in outside forces – such as magic – and your job gets a big more complicated.
In an article for Writer’s Digest, trained fighter and writer Carla Hoch explores the process of writing fight scenes with magic. According to Hoch, magical conflicts should be considered as part of the worldbuilding process, and that starts with establishing a baseline “normal” for your world. “You don’t have to explain the rules to your reader,” Hoch says. “You just have to establish them as fact and treat them as normal.”
Another key element is establishing the limits of magic or other forces in your normal world. “Characters with super abilities must succumb to the natural laws of their surroundings,” Hoch writes. “Your character may be able to punch like the Incredible Hulk. But if that character is in Zero-G, that punch will propel them and their target across the room or infinitely through space with the same force created by the punch.” This same logic applies to magical forces. There should be limits to their reach and the supply should be finite. Otherwise, your super-protagonist will be invincible…and boring.
But how do you show this in a fight so that the reader is drawn in? We can imagine what it’s like to fly or shoot energy from a magic wand, but we don’t really know what it’s like. Hoch suggests focusing on the physical or emotional sensation of utilizing the power. Does it create strain? A sense of well-being? Does it drain the user or alter them in some way? Tying the magical ability to a real-world feeling or emotion can bring your reader into your hero’s mind and deeper into your story.
That also applies to the characters on the receiving end. What damage does the magic ability inflict and how does it do it? Working this out will also help you identify the right defenses, so that your magic hero has a good fight on their hands.
Finally, Hoch says that power always comes with a cost. “A character’s super abilities must cost them physically, socially, or emotionally,” she writes. “Using the Force wears down a Jedi. Superman has to wear a disguise in public. And every criminal Batman brings to justice reminds him of the one who killed his parents.”
