We’ve all seen the movie: a main character is injured, blood is pouring, and yet somehow the hero keeps fighting until he wins or until the moment his collapse has the most dramatic impact. Corny.
In a post on Writer’s Digest, writer and fight coach Carla Hoch examines the science and storytelling behind writing about blood loss and injuries. “Any wounded character living in a normal timeline is at the mercy of the era,” Hoch says. “The correct care for a wound isn’t as important as whether the people of that time period are aware of it.”
Hoch discusses what kind of injuries bleed out and where they occur; how much blood is contained in the human body; how blood smells; the various classes of hemorrhages; and basic care for bleeding.
Why is this important? Because you are creating an imaginary environment that must feel real for a reader. “A reader may not understand what it is to lose a large amount of blood and certainly they won’t know what it feels like to bleed out completely. But they can understand the heart racing, panic, the skin paling and lips bluing,” Hoch says. “They also can picture pushing down on a wound with a hand and seeing blood still seep out from between the fingers. A reader will also likely understand that a character who has passed out and still has good color to their skin is in a less dire situation than if their skin is pale and lips are blue.”
