WRITING FIGHT SCENES
by
RAYNE HALL
Copyright © 2011 Rayne Hall
All Rights Reserved
Cover design by Rayne Hall with images from Illustrart/Dreamstime.com and Penywise/MorgueFile
Scimitar Press
Smashwords Edition
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Introduction
1. Gritty or Entertaining?
The gritty fight scene and the entertaining fight scene. Blending entertainment and grit. Which style for which genre? How much violence does a fight scene need? Blunders to avoid.
2. Location
Use the setting to add entertainment, realism and suspense. Blunders to avoid.
3. Structure
A blueprint for your scene in six parts: Suspense, Start, Action, Surprise, Climax, Aftermath.
4. Swords
Three main types: thrusting, cleaving and slashing. Blunders to avoid.
5. Knives and Daggers
Dagger or knife? Concealment. Connotations. Fighting techniques. Blunders to avoid.
6 Staffs, Spears and Polearms
Thrusting and throwing spears. Poleaxes, billhooks, halberds. Blunders to avoid.
7. Clubs, Maces, Axes, Slings and Arrows
Historical clubbing and cleaving weapons. Archery. Blunders to avoid.
8. Firearms
Three main types: rifle, handgun, shotgun. Blunders to avoid.
9. Improvised Weapons
What a resourceful character may use at a pinch, and why readers love it.
10. Magical Weapons and Warfare
Inventing a plausible magical weapon. How to defeat a magician. Magical warfare. Blunders to avoid.
11. Unarmed Combat
Hand-to-hand fighting. Two types: grappling and striking martial arts. Who wins? Blunders to avoid.
12. Self-Defence
Why readers love self-defence scenes. Self-defence for the skilled martial artists. Self-defence ideas the inexperienced fighter. Blunders to avoid.
13. Strength, Skill and Strategy
How much strength, skill and strategy do fighters need, and where do they get them? Blunders to avoid.
14. Psychological Barriers
Reluctance to fight. Reality shock for martial artists. The 'freeze'.
15. Female Fighters
Reader expectations. Physical and psychological differences. Skills and backstory. Inexperienced female fighters. Different fighting styles. Female curves of arousal. Women and weapons. Female soldiers. Clothing and armour. Blunders to avoid.
16. Male Fighters
Characteristic male dialogue and body language. Skills. Men and their weapons. Male curves of arousal. Men against women. Blunders to avoid.
17. Animals and Weres
How animals fight. Writing from an animal's point of view. Were animals. Animals as weapons: dogs, horses, elephants. Blunders to avoid.
18. Make the reader care
Purpose and motivation. Raising the stakes. Emotion. Stacking the odds. Manipulate the reader's instincts. Blunders to avoid.
19. The Inside Experience
Deep point of view. Using the senses: which sense in which part of the fight? Blunders to avoid.
20. Armour
Historical and modern armour. Shields. Blunders to avoid.
21. Fight Situations
Brawl. Duel. Ambush. Assassination. Riot.
22. Group vs Group, One vs Many
Managing the point of view and reader sympathies. How to make a one-against-many fight plausible. Blunders to avoid.
23. Battles
Plotting and structuring a battle scene. Blunders to avoid.
24. Siege Warfare
Active and passive siege warfare. Blunders to avoid.
25. Nautical Fights
Tips for pirate fights and naval battles. Destroy, plunder or capture? Boat or Ship? Blunders to avoid.
26. Genres
Tips for romance, humour, fantasy, horror, thriller, mystery, historical literary, young adult and children's fiction.
27. Erotic Tension
Hand-to-hand fighting. The erotic connotations of daggers. Male fantasies of female fighters. Post-fight horniness.
28. The Final Showdown
The big fight between the hero and the villain at the end of the book. Blunders to avoid.
29. Pacing
Tricks for fast pace. Word choices and sentence structures. When and how to slow the pace. Blunders to avoid.
30. Euphonics
Subtle techniques for creating a mood of foreboding, fear, hard action, defeat or victory.
31. Sabre-Sharp Dialogue
How to make it sound real. Witty zingers. Catchphrases. Blunders to avoid.
32. Background Music
Tunes to put you in the mood.
33. Research
Where to find out more.
More
This book will help you to write a fight scene which is entertaining as well as realistic, and leaves the reader breathless with excitement.
I'll give you a six-part structure to use as blueprint for your scene, and reveal tricks how to combine fighting with dialogue, which senses to use when and how, and how to stir the reader's emotions. You'll decide how much violence your scene needs, what's the best location, how your heroine can get out of trouble with self-defence and how to adapt your writing style to the fast pace of the action. There will be sections on female fighters, male fighters, animals and weres, psychological obstacles, battles, duels, brawls, riots and final showdowns. For the requirements of your genre, there is even advice on how to build erotic tension in a fight scene, how magicians fight, how pirates capture ships and much more. You will learn about different types of weapons, how to use them in fiction, and how to avoid embarrassing blunders.
What this book can't give you: it won't turn you into a scholar of military history, and it won't teach you how to fight.
A few years ago, when I struggled with my fight scenes, I looked for guidance and found none. So I set about discovering for myself what makes a great fight scene. I studied famous fight scenes in classic literature and in modern thrillers, observed their structure and analysed their techniques. Armed with these insights, I wrote fight scenes which enthralled the readers. Before long, other writers asked me to help me improve their fights. From there, it was a small step to teaching online classes in Writing Fight Scenes. All the time, I continued studying the subject and adding to my knowledge.
When I look back on my early fight scene attempts, I cringe - the mistakes are so glaring, the structure so awkward, the style so embarrassing. Now I know how to make a fight scenes work, and I want to share these techniques with you.
My expertise lies in the craft of fight scene writing, not in fighting. I'm a writer, not a warrior. A real fighter could easily beat the crap out of me. I could write a really good scene about it afterwards.
Although I've trained in several martial arts forms (mostly kickboxing, some self-defence, a little karate and aikido, even a spot of professional wrestling), I haven't won any match trophies or earned any black belts. My real-life fighting experiences include defending myself against a lecher in a rowing boat by hitting an oar over his head, and chasing away the neighbourhood bully with a garden spade.
When it comes to weapons, I know quite a bit about ancient arms and armour. I collect ancient arrowheads, and have flint-knapped my own set of stone age weaponry. I've practised archery (with considerable success), spear-throwing (so-so), and stone-slinging (abject failure).
As a belly dancer, I had an act where I balanced five blunted swords on different parts of my body. Although the weight of the swords led to hellish pain in my joints, audiences loved the show.
I've choreographed sword and staff fights for stage performances. While stage fights are very different from real fights, they have a lot in common with fight scenes in fiction.
I'm using British English. If you're used to American English, some of the words and spellings may look odd, but I'm sure you'll understand me anyway.
When talking about characters, I'll use 'she' sometimes and 'he' at other times. With the exception of Chapters 15 and 16, almost everything I say applies regardless of gender.
Throughout the book, I'll suggest links to websites worth visiting for more information, including YouTube videos where you can watch weapons in action. I assume that their content is legal and correct, but I have no way of knowing, and accept no responsibility for them. Site owners change the content all the time, and web pages get deleted and sites close down in the blink of an eye. If you find an inappropriate or dead link, let me know. You'll find my e-mail address at the end of this book.
I hope you'll enjoy my book and will apply the tricks to create fight scenes which are so entertaining, so realistic, so exciting that they stay in the reader's mind.
Rayne Hall
CHAPTER 1: GRITTY OR ENTERTAINING?
There are two types of fight scenes in fiction: entertaining ones, and gritty ones. Before you draft your fight scenes, decide to which group they belong.
THE GRITTY FIGHT SCENE
This type shows violence as it is: Nasty, brutal and quick. The typical gritty fight scene could be written in three words:
>Slash. Gore. Dead.<
In this type of scene, the actual fight is over quickly. The build-up to the fight is slow and suspenseful, and the aftermath is prolonged. The fighters sustain terrible injuries, with spurting blood and welling gore. The aftermath is horrid, with mutilated corpses, guts spilling from slashed bellies, and people dying in their own excrement.
The gritty fight scene invites the reader to feel revulsion and horror. Its purpose is to shock. Critics say that these fight scenes desensitise people to violence.
Watch an example
This scene from Sanjuro is perhaps the most famous gritty sword fight in film history. Note how quickly the actual fighting action is over. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYbi7gKKvOo&NR=1
THE ENTERTAINING FIGHT SCENE
This scene is heroic, spectacular, exciting, acrobatic, entertaining, theatrical, fun. It allows the protagonist to show honourable behaviour and display impressive skills.
The fighting action is prolonged while the aftermath is often non-existent.
Entertaining fight scenes can be unrealistic: The hero finishes off five attackers without breaking a sweat. There's little blood and no gore, and wounds are mere scratches. If there's any blood, it blooms like a red rose on a white shirt. The hero may get a slash on his cheek which will heal into a fetching scar, while the loser limps off with a couple of bruises and lives to fight another day. Death is rare. Even if someone dies, they finish as decorative corpses.
The entertaining fight scene uses the location creatively: fighters leap across gorges, slide down banisters, jump onto tables, somersault across motorbikes, swing from rafters. The action involves jumping, spinning, whirling, twirling and acrobatic feats.
The entertaining fight scene invites the reader to feel admiration for the fighters' skill. Its purpose is to entertain. Critics say that these scenes fight scenes glorify violence.
Watch an example
This scene from Scaramouche is typical of the entertaining fight scene. Observe how long this goes on, how minor the injuries are, how the action incorporates the location (balconies and balustrades, curtains and lampstands), and how the fighters leap, swing and perform implausible acrobatic feats. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2r7hq5Wkrs
BLENDING ENTERTAINMENT AND GRIT
Many entertaining fight scenes contain a touch of gritty realism, and many gritty fight scenes contain heroic elements. You may model your fight scene on one of the two types, and temper it with elements from the other. For example, if you write romance, you may choose to make your fight scenes entertaining, with a healthy dose of realistic grit added. If you write a thriller, you may want to make your fight scenes gritty, but prolong them and give your hero the chance to show off his skill.
Watch an example
This scene from Kill Bill 1 is essentially an entertaining fight scene (one against many, prolonged action, skills display, acrobatic feats, creative use of the location, unrealistic outcome), while also containing strong gritty elements (brutality and a lot of spurting blood). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8UlKifnGZo
WHICH STYLE IS BETTER?
This depends on your personal taste. Think about the fight scenes you've read or watched, whether they were gritty or entertaining, and whether you enjoyed them. If the thought of brutal violence makes you sick, and if you can't stand the sight of blood, don't attempt to write a gritty scene.
It also depends on the genre. Some genres (e.g. horror, thriller) call for gritty fight scenes with or without entertaining elements. Others (e.g. children's novels) require entertaining fight scenes with or without grit. Fight scenes in romance novels are always more entertaining than gritty. Some sub-genres (e.g. paranormal romance) contain more gritty elements than others (e.g. Regency romance).
Read how other writers in your chosen genre and sub-genre have handled their fight scenes. If you're writing for a specific publisher or imprint, check how entertaining or gritty those fight scenes usually are, are model yours on them.
HOW MUCH VIOLENCE DOES YOUR FIGHT SCENE NEED?
If you're writing 'gritty': a lot. If you're writing 'entertaining': very little.
Do you want to create realism without violence? Insert a sentence about how the ground feels underfoot. This always adds a touch of realism to a fight scene.
Do you want to use realistic violence without grossing the reader out? Make the violence graphic, but keep it short. Most readers can stomach one or two sentences of graphic descriptions. The famous Greek epics 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey' by Homer used this technique 3,000 years ago, and it still works for modern authors.
Do you want to to shock the readers without disgusting them? Describe a couple of gory details - the sound of blood dripping from the ceiling, the eyeball hanging down someone's cheek - but not more. Leave the rest implied.
BLUNDERS TO AVOID
* Implausible acrobatic feats in an otherwise realistic novel
* Loads of disgusting gore in a genre whose readers want gentle escapism
Make your fight scene interesting by placing it in an unusual venue.
What's the weirdest place where your fight scene can happen? How about a sauna, a laundrette, a playground, a potter's workshop, a lady's boudoir, a cow shed, a minaret, a sculpture gallery, a stalactite cave, a theatre's prop storeroom, a sewage tunnel, a wine cellar or a morgue?
The location makes your fight scene memorable: an unusual setting lifts your fight scene above the common dark alleyways and barroom brawls. Select the quirkiest place that's still plausible.
ADD ENTERTAINMENT
The location can make your fight scene entertaining: What features are there that the fighters can jump on, leap across, climb up, swing from, duck under? What items can they topple or toss? The more creatively you use the space, the more entertaining the scene becomes.
In a long fight scene, the fight can move right across the terrain. This adds variety. Try to arrange it so the climax of the fight happens in the most dangerous place - at the edge of the cliff, at the top of the tower, on the narrow crumbling wall.
The most popular location for entertaining fight scenes are stairs. The fighters can stand on the steps, they can run or leap, they can stumble, fall or tumble, and maybe slide down the banister. They can also use the stairs to move from one location to another, which is useful in prolonged entertaining scenes. To make your fight scene stand out, make the stairs unusual in some way. Perhaps they've been freshly washed and are still slippery, or maybe they are so dilapidated that some boards are missing.
ADD REALISM
Location can also make your fight scene realistic. As soon as you mention what kind of ground the combatants are fighting on, the scene gains realistic flavour. What's the ground like: Persian rugs? Concrete? Lawn? Uneven planks of splintered wood? Hard, firm, soft, squishy, muddy, wet, slippery, wobbling, cluttered, sloping? I suggest mentioning the ground twice: once to show how it feels underfoot, and once to show how it affects the fight. Perhaps your heroine slips on the wet asphalt, or stumbles across the edge of a rug.
To keep your fight scene plausible, consider how large the space is. How much room do the combatants have to fight? How high is the ceiling? What obstacles restrict the space? For example: The hero is a warrior, used to swinging his sword in a high arc. Now he must fight indoors, where the ceiling is too low to raise the sword overhead. How will he cope? Spatial restrictions make the fight scene authentic, plausible and interesting.
Most staircases are too narrow for big sword swings, which can add interesting difficulties. In medieval castles, spiral staircases were almost always built so they favoured right-handed defenders. The person coming down had room to swing the sword-arm, while the person coming up had not. This makes an interesting challenge for the hero fighting his way up, or for a left-handed defender.
ADD SUSPENSE
How does a fighter become aware of the enemy's approach? You can use the setting to make this suspenseful.
Examples
* Although the point-of-view character sees nothing in the night-dark forest, he hears the cracking of breaking twigs.
* Fog shrouds the landscape, veiling the approach of the enemy army.
* While bathing at the edge of a clear lake, the heroine sees second figure reflected in the water's surface.
* The hero is having a drink in a pub and spots the villain's arrival in the mirror above the bar.
* The evening sun is in the hero's back and throws long shadows. He sees his attacker's shadow just in time to spin around and deflect the knife attack.
To create additional suspense immediately before the fight, describe some of the noises of the location: the croaking of a bird, the slamming of a door, the roar of a lorry on the nearby road.
SHOW THE LOCATION BEFORE THE FIGHT
During the fast action of the fight, there's no room for describing the setting. This can be confusing for the reader. To help the reader understand the location, show it in advance.
You can do this in the paragraphs preceding the fight, from the PoV's perspective. It's natural that someone who expects a fight checks out the location. The setting description before the fight can serve to create suspense.
You can also do it in a previous scene. Perhaps the protagonist visits the place for a different purpose. This can create a delicious contrast.
Examples
* In one scene, the heroine descends the grand staircase in her ballgown, oozing feminine charm. In another scene, she leaps down the same stairs, dagger in hand.
* In one scene, the downtrodden maid scrubs the stairs and polishes the marble banister. In another, she slides down that banister, holding the mop handle as a pike before her.
* In one scene, the hero repairs a roof gutter and drainpipe. In another, he climbs up that drainpipe and swings from the roof gutter.
* In one scene, the botanist measures and studies the lianas in the jungle. In another, he uses them to swing across the river.
If the plot doesn't permit showing the exact location before the fight begins, try to show a similar place. For example, if the fight scene takes place in a previously undiscovered ancient catacomb, show the protagonist in another catacomb earlier in the book.
Watch examples
Observe how the location and its features are used in these famous fight scenes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0JYNznbL0Q (First Strike)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2r7hq5Wkrs (Scaramouche)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxWA4GPtM6Q (Robin of Sherwood)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8UlKifnGZo (Kill Bill 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGzdusxI5XA (Snatch)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcdhdzfbR_o (Dynasty)
BLUNDERS TO AVOID
* Generic setting... as if the fight took place in 'white space'
* Actions for which there isn't enough room, e.g. swinging swords overhead in indoors scenes
CHAPTER 3 : STRUCTURING YOUR FIGHT SCENE
Now it's time to plot your fight. Here's a blueprint for a scene structured in six parts. Feel free to use it as is, or to adapt it to suit your vision.
1. SUSPENSE
This is before the actual fight starts. Your PoV lies in ambush, or waits for the officer's command to storm the fortress. He checks his equipment one last time, or counts the twenty paces for the duel. (Don't include how he gets up in the morning, eats breakfast, walks his dog and rides to the duelling site). The pace is slow, the suspense is high. In this section, you can provide the reader with information about terrain, numbers, equipment, weapons, weather. The Suspense section may also contain dialogue as the opponents taunt each other, hurl accusations, or make one final effort to avoid the slaughter. Use suspense techniques (e.g. describe background noises, or employ the 'ticking clock' effect).
2. START
The fighters get into fighting stance - whatever fighting stance is appropriate for the weapon. In unarmed combat, the typical stance looks like this: knees slightly bent, one leg further forward than the other, the body turned diagonally, the abdominal muscles tightened but not pulled in, the hands balled as fists near the face. In most kinds of armed fighting, the one who gets the first strike has the greatest advantage, so each will try to be the first. During this section, the fighters assess their opponents' skill. The moves in this section need to be specific and technically correct. In an entertaining fight scene, this section may contain dialogue.
3. ACTION
In a 'gritty' scene, this part is over quickly. In a 'entertaining' scene, this part is prolonged. Blow-by-blow accounts of every movement are unnecessary in this section. Instead, focus on the overall direction of the fight ( >Sheena parried the blows with all her strength, but the enemy drove her closer and closer to the abyss.<) Use the location creatively, especially if this is an entertaining fight scene (this is where the fighters duck, climb, jump, swing and leap). Mention the sounds of the weapons (>Steel clanked against steel<). There is probably no dialogue.
4. SURPRISE
Something happens that is outside the fighters' control and that affects the fighting. It may have to do with the setting, with the weapons, or with other people: A sudden downpour turns the ground into slippery mud. The staircase collapses. The building bursts into flames. The relief force arrives. An innocent bystander stumbles into the fight. The hero has his weapon knocked from his hand and has to continue the fight empty-handed. A bullet smashes the single lightbulb and the place goes dark. In professional wrestling, this is called 'outside interference'. The surprise event should change the way the fight scene goes, but it should never end the fight. The surprise event adds interest and excitement to the entertaining fight scene. Gritty scenes seldom have this section.
5. CLIMAX
This is the most exciting part of the scene, and the fighting is at its most intense. Both fighters are tired, perhaps wounded. Your PoV may be close to giving up, but then she remembers her purpose, and the passion revives her. The climax often moves to the location's weirdest, most dangerous spot: a narrow swinging rope-bridge, a trapeze high up in a circus tent, a roof-edge, a sinking ship.
Describe the final moves of the fight in technically correct detail, especially the decisive stroke.
6. AFTERMATH
The fight is over. The PoV takes stock, counts his bruises, feels the pain, bandages his wounds, discusses the result with other survivors, and comes to terms with the emotional effects such as his best buddy lying dead. Use the senses of sight and smell. The PoV may experience nausea, shaking or tearfulness, or he may get sexually horny; these are the after-effects of the adrenaline and hormones released into his bloodstream earlier. In an entertaining scene, this section may be short, but for the sake of realism, I recommend writing at least two sentences about the aftermath. In gritty scenes, this section is often the longest part, showing grisly details and harrowing emotions.
HOW LONG IS YOUR FIGHT SCENE?
Fight scenes can be any length between 25 and 2,500 words. If it's 25 words, it's probably not a proper scene, rather part of a bigger scene. If it's 2,500 words, it needs to be remarkably good to hold the reader's interest. If it's longer, it may be better to treat it as a series of several short scenes.
Fight scenes in historical, adventure and fantasy fiction are often around 700-1000 words long. In romance, they tend to be shorter. If you're new to fight scene writing, I recommend keeping the scene short-ish - say, 400-700 words. But don't be tempted to spend most of these words on the Suspense section, or the reader may feel you've cheated them of the action experience.
If a novel contains several fight scenes, then the last one (the climactic showdown between hero and villain) is probably the longest.
EXAMPLES FROM THE MOVIES
Here are some famous fight examples worth studying. When watching these, see if you can identify the six parts (not every scene has all six), and observe especially how the Suspense part is constructed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYbi7gKKvOo&NR=1 (Sanjuro)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf4IoxEUmHM&feature=related (Troy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-66KBi_NM0 (The Princess Bride)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEtPluUi0_U (Rob Roy)
BLUNDERS TO AVOID
* Starting the scene too early. (Hero gets out of bed, dresses, brushes his teeth, saddles his horse, rides to the site, dismounts...)
* Rushing the climax. (Not giving it as much space as it deserves)
* Technical blow-by-blow account of the whole fight
The sword is the most popular weapon in historical and fantasy fiction, where it lends itself to entertaining show-offs as well as to gritty butchery, and readers adore the mystique of the sword. However, if you don't understand swords, it's easy to commit blunders which make the scene ridiculous.
To bluff your way through a sword fight scene, simply pick one of these three sword types:
THE THRUSTING SWORD
Type of fight scene: entertaining, duels, non-lethal fights, non-gory deaths, swashbuckling adventure
Mostly used in: Europe, including Renaissance and Regency periods
Typical user: slim, male or female, good aerobic fitness
Main action: thrust, pierce, stab
Main motion: horizontal with the tip forward
Shape: straight, often thin, may be lightweight
Typical injury: seeping blood, blood stains spreading.
Strategy for lethal fight: target gaps in the armour, pierce a vital organ
Disadvantage: cannot slice through bone or armour
Examples: gladius, rapier, foil, epee
Watch in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VTyPWvyAF8, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nITldg2dOVk
THE CLEAVING SWORD
Type of fight scene: gritty, brutal, battles, cutting through armour
Typical user: tall brawny male with broad shoulders and bulging biceps
Mostly used in: Medieval Europe
Main action: cleave, hack, chop, cut, split
Main motion: downwards
Shape: broad, straight, heavy, solid, sometimes huge, sometimes needs to be held in both hands, both edges sharpened.
Typical injury: severed large limbs
Strategy for lethal fight: hack off a leg, then decapitate; or split the skull
Disadvantages: Too big to carry concealed, too heavy to carry in daily life, too slow to draw for spontaneous action
Examples: Medieval greatsword, Scottish claymore (the older type), machete, falchion
Watch in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hfLZozBVpM
THE SLASHING SWORD
Type of fight scene: gritty or entertaining, executions, cavalry charge, on board a ship
Mostly used in: Asia, Middle East
Typical user: male (female is plausible), any body shape, Arab, Asian, mounted warrior, cavalryman, sailor, pirate
Main action: slash, cut, slice
Main motion: fluid, continuous, curving, e.g. figure-eight
Shape: curved, often slender, extremely sharp on the outer edge
Typical injury: severed limbs, lots of spurting blood
Disadvantages: unable to cut through hard objects (e.g. metal armour)
Strategy for lethal fight: first disable opponent's sword hand (e.g. cut off hand or slice into tendons inside the elbow), then slash a vital artery (e.g. on thigh or neck)
Examples: scimitar, sabre, saif, shamshir, cutlass, katana
Watch in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qapwAIemccg, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-qpedUbxBc
MULTI-PURPOSE SWORDS AND MIXED-SWORD MATCHES
In reality, the lines are often blurred: Some stabbing swords can also slash, some slashing swords can cleave, and some cleaving swords can deliver a thrust. But if you're a novice to swords, play it safe and stick to one main function. That's the safest way to avoid laughable mistakes.
Most swords have a sharp tip which can deliver a final thrust to kill an enemy who's already down.
Opponents with different types of swords can make fight scenes exciting - but you need to be a swordcraft expert to pull this off. If you don't have that level of knowledge, keep it simple and stick to one type.
BLUNDERS TO AVOID
* Inventing a fancy weapon for the hero... as if a gimmicky-shaped sword stood a chance against a blade of tried-and-tested standard design
* Weapons from the wrong period ... as if an ancient Greek would use a medieval greatsword, or a Norman knight a 19th century cavalry sabre
* Generic sword which can hack, slash, cleave, stab, slice, pierce, thrust, cut through armour, split bricks and whirl through the air... as if a single sword could do everything
* Weapons performing tasks they can't do ... as if an epee sword could split skulls, or a scimitar could fly through the air and nail a body to a wall
* Protagonists fighting with swords for which they don't have the strength or build... as if a dainty girl could run across the battlefield swinging a two-handed greatsword
* The hero carrying his huge sword with him at all times, immediately ready to draw
* Drawing a big sword from a sheath on the back (a physical impossibility)
For historical fiction, a dagger is the ideal weapon: plausible in many scenarios, and loaded with emotional connotations. Yet, its under-used, because few writers grasp the dagger's fiction potential.
Many authors write sword fight scenes where a dagger fight would be more plausible. Swords are large and heavy, cumbersome to carry, slow to draw, and almost impossible to conceal. In many situations, it's unlikely that a protagonist happens to carry a sword with him. By contrast, daggers are small, lightweight, quick to draw, and easy to conceal - perfect for quick responses, spontaneous action, brawls, suicide bids, self-defence and assassination.
While only people of wealth and rank can afford a sword, owning a dagger is feasible for all but the poorest. Wielding a dagger requires only moderate strength, which makes it plausible weapon for a lady. Even an injured person may be able to summon the strength for a final defence with a dagger.
For almost every scene, the dagger is a better choice than the sword (the exceptions are horseback fights and battle scenes).
Here is a series of clips demonstrating how to fight with different types of historical knives and daggers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys6zON34qGg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUoeZW4cwUE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryQST1FST_4&feature=related
DAGGER OR KNIFE?
There's no clear distinction between knives and daggers; sometimes both words are used for the same weapon. In general, the dagger is designed mostly for thrusting and the knife mostly for cutting (slashing). A knife usually has only one sharp edge, while most daggers have two.
CONCEALMENT
The concealment offers exciting fictional opportunities. Typically, a dagger is carried in a leather sheath on the belt, easily concealed under a cloak if required. For secrecy, it can also be hidden in a boot or in a bodice. Indeed, during the Renaissance, it was quite common for women to carry a dagger between their breasts (the sheath was sewn into the bodice). A dagger can also be concealed in the back of the bodice or in a hair ornament. The heroine, preparing to fight off a lecherous advance or to assassinate an enemy, can pretend to twist her necklace anxiously, or to fidget with her hair, and quickly draw the blade. Bodice daggers have hilts without cross guards.
Here's a picture of a bodice dagger: http://www.knifemaker.co.uk/Gallery/Gallery%20Images/Art%20Images/Bodice/bodice.html
CONNOTATIONS
Besides its many practical uses, the dagger carries a lot of emotional and erotic symbolism.
To stab someone with a dagger, the fighter has to get close, which makes it one of the most intimate weapons. When the dagger penetrates the flesh, the hand almost touches the victim. This is very different from a bullet or arrow, which can be shot from a great distance. The closeness creates an intensely personal connection between attacker and victim. Daggers (and knives of all kinds) are often used in fights where emotions are running high: gang warfare, hate crime, vengeance.
The shape of the weapon and the fact that it's typically worn on the belt make it a symbol of male virility. In many cultures and periods, men demonstrated their manhood by displaying ornate daggers at the front of their hips, the bigger, the better.
Sometimes the hilt rather than the blade was exaggerated: Many daggers from 1200 to 1800, especially in England and Scotland, had huge, stiff, upwards-pointing wooden hilts with balls on either side. They were unblushingly called a 'bollocks daggers' (or 'ballock daggers'). Here's a picture of a ballock dagger (be prepared to gasp):
http://www.castlerockmuseum.com/exhibits/daggers/DA03.1/index.php
FIGHTING TECHNIQUES
Daggers are stabbing weapons with sharp points, usually with long, thin blades. When describing a stab wound, show blood spreading or oozing. The aim in a fight is to stab a vital organ such as kidneys, liver, bowel, stomach, heart. Stabbing directly at the chest seldom works, because the blade may glance off the ribs.
If the fighter has dagger experience or anatomical knowledge, she will position the dagger below the ribcage and drive it upwards (through the diaphragm into the lungs). This is lethal and works from the front or from behind. If she knows her anatomy well (e.g. if she's a professional assassin), and if the dagger is long enough, she can aim for piercing the heart, which leads to a quicker death. Trained assassins know additional spots where a stab is lethal, e.g. under the armpit or under the chin.
If your heroine doesn't know anatomy, repeated thrusts at the abdomen will eventually pierce one of the vital organs.
Many daggers are designed for slashing as well as stabbing. These have one or two sharp edges.
When describing a slash wound, show a lot of blood, streaming or even spurting. The aim in a fight with this type of dagger is either to slash the opponent's throat, or to disable him by cutting tendons, muscles or ligaments (perhaps followed with a deadly stab). Cutting the muscles in the weapon-wielding arm is the most effective technique. Slashing the inside of the wrist or the back of the knee also ends the fight. Fights with slashing daggers are very bloody. The point-of-view character's hand may grow slick with blood, and her grip on the weapon may become less firm.
If you're aiming for a sanitised, gore-free version of a dagger fight, you may want to stick to pure stabbing daggers.
Assassination
For an assassination scene, give your assassin stealth and knowledge of human anatomy. An assassin will plan in advance how to kill the victim, and carry out the killing with calm efficiency. It will be with a single stroke, probably a determined thrust from below the ribs.
Self-defence
If your PoV uses a knife to defend herself, she needs to disable the attacker's hand which holds his weapon, for example, with a slash at the inside of the elbow or wrist. The back of the knee will also incapacitate him. If it's a stabbing dagger, she needs to thrust rapidly many times, wherever she can hit. She won't have time to choose a suitable target area, and her attacker won't hold still while she positions the dagger. If the blade is too short to inflict serious damage, she can make up for this by stabbing so fast and so many times that the pain and blood-loss disable the attacker.
Vengeance and hatred
An attacker who is motivated by intense feelings, such as rancour or outrage, will stab the victim repeatedly, and keep stabbing, perhaps even after the victim is already dead. If the motive is long-held hatred, the attacker may stab or slash the victim's face, disfiguring it.
Contemporary street fights and gang warfare often involve knives, and they get passionate and bloody.
Duels
If both fighters are armed with daggers, the fight may include wrestling-type moves as each tries to restrict the other's weapon hand.
They will also try to disable each other's weapon arm, for example by slashing the inside of the elbow. Such fights are often fuelled by emotions, intense, irrational, very bloody, and fatal.
You can watch a demonstration of dagger fighting with wrestling moves here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z143thJWRBQ
Sword and dagger in combination
If a fighter expects a fight, e.g. in a battle, he may use both sword and dagger. He fights with the sword in his right hand and the dagger in his left. This was common during the Renaissance. Many medieval knights also carried daggers in addition to their swords or maces.
You can watch a sword&dagger demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nITldg2dOVk
BLUNDERS TO AVOID
* Stabbing straight at the chest and hitting the heart (the ribs will deflect the blade).
* Hero uses stabbing dagger to slice his bread.
* Normal dagger used as a throwing dagger..
CHAPTER 6: STAFFS, SPEARS AND POLEARMS
This type of weapon can add authenticity to historical fiction, and allow the hero to display great skill in an entertaining scene.
STAFFS
The staff was an important weapon in many periods and many cultures, because it is inexpensive and - in the hands of a skilled fighter - deadly. In fiction, it is particularly useful for entertaining fight scenes, or for spontaneous fights. A fighter who is skilled with a staff can grab a broomstick or a garden hoe and use it as a staff.
The staff is a useful weapon for the petite heroine: it's much lighter than a sword, and it's long enough to keep a bigger, stronger attacker at a distance, so he can't tackle or grapple.
Watch in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMe0tBBOgCs&feature=related (choreographed kung fu staff fight)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_tqLVNcIS8 (entertaining fight scene)
SPEARS
In most periods, spears were the most common weapon for warfare. Spears are cheaper than swords, which makes them suitable for equipping large armies, and affordable for commoners who had to provide their own arms. Spears can be tipped with metal (bronze or iron), with stone (knapped flint), with anything else at hand (bone, glass shards), or, at a pinch, simply have one end sharpened to a point. By equipping your common soldiers with spears, you can add realism to your battle scene.
There are two kinds of spears:
The throwing spear
At the start of the battle, the army throws lots of spears at the enemy to do as much damage as possible before closing in (example: the pilum used by the Roman army). Each soldier may carry several throwing spears. In many cultures, a device (the 'atlatl') is used for loading the spear on the shoulder and catapulting it forward, increasing its throwing power. The atlatl is a great equaliser, allowing women to hurl a spear with as much strength as a man. Once a spear is thrown, it cannot be used again - except by the enemy who might hurl it right back! Some spears are designed so their tips breaks on impact to prevent re-use. Throwing spears are fairly lightweight. The throwing spear is sometimes called 'javelin'.
The thrusting spear
This is often the main weapon of peasants pressed into military service, in which case it may be a converted farm implement. Among professional soldiers with military-issued equipment, the spears are often very long, and and form an impenetrable barrier. Sometimes a spear-armed army awaits the enemy in this formation: The first row of soldiers kneels with spears low in hand. The second row, close behind them, kneels with spears at hip height. The third row stands with spears at waist height. The fourth holds the spears at shoulder height, and the fifth holds them above. Thus, the attacking army faced a wall of several dense rows of spears! The ancient Macedonians and the Renaissance pikemen used this kind of formation with great success. The thrusting spear is sometimes called 'lance'. If it's very long, it's called a 'pike'.
Warriors carry a shield to protect themselves against spear throws and thrusts. They may carry a spear in the right and a shield in the left.
Watch spears in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW_ZjwGRR54 (battle scene from Troy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJH2NCIMsSU (medieval battle reenactment)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrWdGb6xtVs (throwing spears)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGiuKyHkwmw (spear throwing with atlatl)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kQwMbJpBTs (Macedonian pikes)
POLEARMS
Polearms are thrusting spears with cleverly designed, large heads which can stab, cut, hook, twist, cleave, push or pull. They can be used as lances or as staffs, as well as for their specialist function, which makes them versatile weapons in medieval warfare. Although they serve best at a distance (preventing a sword-armed fighter from getting close), by holding them differently the fighter can use them close-up as well. Some are even designed to pry open plate armour. Fiction writers rarely use them, but polearms can add authenticity to a medieval fight scene.
Here are three major types:
Poleaxe
This is a spear with a tip for thrusting combined with an axe-blade for cleaving.
Billhook
This was originally an agricultural tool, a hook-shaped blade for clearing brush. Adapted as a weapon, the billhook has a long handle, a long sharp spike as a tip, and a pronounced hook/blade which serves to pull and cut the enemy's legs and ankles.
Halberd
Originally, the halberd's head was a rectangular blade sharpened to a tip. Over the centuries, it was refined so it had an axe-like blade on one side and a hook on the other, and developed especially to repel horses and to stop swordsmen getting close. Later, it became a ceremonial weapon, sometimes worn by guardsmen on parade.
Watch polearms in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJuNgXUi-Bk (polearm technique)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmNTKy8LJiY (halberd fighting technique)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF0JpDiW33c&NR=1 (billhook demonstration at the end).
BLUNDERS TO AVOID
* Medieval battles in which every soldier has a sword and nobody fights with spears and polearms
* Soldiers carrying polearms and not using them
CHAPTER 7: CLUBS, MACES, AXES, SLINGS AND ARROWS
This chapter explores more weapons which can enrich historical novels.
CLUBS AND MACES
Wooden clubs were probably the earliest weapons, sometimes with spikes added to the head. Maces are refined versions of clubs, usually made from steel, and flanged or spiked. They are formidable weapons, perfect for smashing plate armour and for crushing skulls.
To use the club or mace, the fighter needs to get close to the opponent - not easy if that guy has a polearm or a long-handled battle axe. When using a mace on horseback, the rider uses a continuous swinging motion and leans to the side to which he his hitting. If the story is set in a period where horses were shorter than they are today, he doesn't have to lean far.
Type of fight scene: gritty, historical fiction, fantasy fiction, smashing armour
Typical user: brawny male with broad shoulders and bulging biceps
Mostly used in: historical fiction - Stone Age to Middle Ages
Main action: smash, crush, bludgeon, batter
Main motion: downwards
Typical injury: crushed bones, crushed skull
Strategy for lethal fight: crush skull
Disadvantages: heavy, need to get close to the opponent
Watch in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0qmPwEmehU&NR=1 (in the second half of the clip)
BATTLE AXES
A peasant or lumberjack can use a common axe as a weapon. Special battle axes are bigger and heavier, often with longer handles, and they are formidable weapons.
An axe delivers a huge amount of force to a small area of strong, very sharp metal. It is a weapon for attack rather than defence, and good at cleaving through armour. It can break enemy shields and kill a charging horse. Since they require intense training, the users are mostly highly skilled elite soldiers, often aristocrats, e.g. the Saxon huscarls.
Type of fight scene: gritty, brutal, battles, attack, historical fiction, fantasy fiction, cutting through armour
Typical user: tall brawny male with broad shoulders and bulging biceps, courageous, elite soldier, Viking, Saxon
Mostly used in: European Dark Ages to Middle Ages
Main action: cleave, hack, chop, cut, split
Main motion: downwards
Typical injury: severed large limbs, split skulls, cleaved torsos
Strategy for lethal fight: severe the arm which holds the sword or the shield, or cleave torso from top to bottom, or cut off a leg then split the skull
Disadvantages: big and heavy
Watch battle axes in action
Here are three connected videos about Viking and Saxon warriors with axes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhRCNLMzUMY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYrOI-3bDKY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaG_OO1RYE8&feature=related
BOWS AND ARROWS
Bows and arrows existed in almost all historical periods, although the technology and the shape of the bow varied.
They are weapons for mass use. At the beginning of a battle, hundreds of arrows are shot at the enemy to inflict as much damage as possible from a distance. In the middle of the battle and for close combat, they're useless. In the medieval period, archery frequently determined the outcome of the battle.
Arrows are also great for defence against a besieging force. Castles were designed for the use of bows and arrows, with very narrow windows called 'archer slits'. The top of the outer walls were designed so archers could shoot while remaining under cover.
Arrows are relatively cheap and quick to produce. The tips can be metal or sharpened stone (e.g. flint or obsidian), sharpened wood, bone, glass splinters etc. The wooden shaft needs to be straight. Pieces of feather at the end help the arrow fly better, but knowing which part of the feather to attach how and where is much-treasured knowledge.
Good bows, on the other hand, are difficult and time-consuming to produce, which makes them expensive, treasured possessions.
Learning the basics of archery is quick. In an emergency, your characters can learn in an afternoon how to shoot with reasonable accuracy. However, to be really good at it takes years of practice. The most important skill in a battle situation is being able to shoot many arrows in quick succession. Highly skilled archers were valued. Even when victorious besiegers put all inhabitants of a castle to death, they often spared the archers to add them to their own armies.
Some armies had mounted archers, skilled at shooting from horseback.
Many mythological heroes (Robin Hood, Wilhelm Tell, Karl Stuempner, Odysseus) performed archery feats.
When writing about archery, avoid the phrase 'to fire'. The correct term is 'to shoot'.
Watch bows and arrows in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HagCuGXJgUs (Demonstration of medieval longbow and crossbow)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTWb_4u7J74 (Demonstration of ancient Roman archery)
STONE SLINGS
Stone slings are the cheapest weapon to make. All it takes is a piece of leather and some string. Ammunition is simply pebbles lying around. It doesn't require great physical strength. However, it takes weeks of practice to achieve reasonable accuracy.
This makes it a suitable weapon for low-tech historical periods, and for people of all ages and body shapes (including children) who can't afford costly weapons but who have the time and opportunity to practice - for example, shepherd boys (like young David in the Bible).
Different cultures have different techniques for holding and releasing, none of which includes the continuous frantic whirling around and around beloved by movie-makers. This lessens the accuracy and increases the force only marginally. Many experts rotate the swing maybe once or twice, or not at all.
Here's one basic technique: The slinger hooks the end of the sling over her fingers, and holds the hand above the shoulder, so the sling's bag with the stone in it hangs down behind her shoulder. Then she flings it straight forward.
Watch stone slings in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4l0mBx6wVM (simple stone sling, simple technique)
BLUNDERS TO AVOID
* Presenting an axeman as an unskilled brute who chops blindly.
* Battles where the archers shoot when the sword fighters are already engaged in close fighting
* Swinging a stone sling wildly around and around before releasing the stone
Real gunfights are over within seconds. This makes firearms more suitable for gritty than entertaining fight scenes.
THREE TYPES OF GUNS
Choose between these three main types of firearms.
The rifle
This is accurate and powerful, but difficult to conceal and relatively slow to use. The rifle is plausible in scenes where the fighter is prepared and ready to shoot (e.g. on a hunting trip, or defending their home against approaching marauders, or a professional sniper).
The handgun
This is easy to conceal and fast to draw, but not as accurate as the rifle and may not have much power (the bullet may pass right through the flesh and the person may keep running). The handgun is plausible in spontaneous fights, for law enforcement officers (or bad guys) who are always ready to shoot, and for unexpected self-defence situations.
The shotgun
This fires several pellets at once. It is useful for hitting small, fast-moving targets. The shotgun's wide 'spread' is likely to endanger bystanders, and can be problematic in hostage situations. Shotguns have an 'unheroic' image, and many readers don't like it if the hero uses one.
WRITING REALISTIC GUNFIGHTS
Of course, this is a simplistic breakdown, and if you're writing gunfights, it's worth researching the gun type of your choice.
To avoid blunders, make sure the chosen type of gun was available in the chosen period. While it's plausible that a fighter uses a twenty-year old gun, it's not plausible that he uses a gun which gets invented twenty years later. Bear in mind that historical firearms were far less accurate than modern ones.
Don't assume that people in other countries carry guns. American writers often get this wrong when they write about a Scottish heroine pulling a gun from her handbag or an English beat police officer engaging in a fire-fight with a criminal. Of course, a crime lord can obtain gun anywhere in the world, but your law-abiding hero won't. The difference can be difficult to grasp for a writer who lives in a US state where licences to carry are available, but if you ignore this, your fight scene becomes implausible.
HITTING THE TARGET
Accuracy can only be achieved with practice. If your heroine fells the villain with a gun shot, this is only believable if she has had firearms training. Inexperienced shooters who pick up a gun for the first time and immediately hit their target are implausible. If the plot requires hitting the target, then it's best if you mention beforehand that the shooter is a member of a gun club or trains at a shooting range.
Most shooters achieve far less accuracy in a real fight than while practising at the shooting range. This is because the adrenaline rush in the blood stream makes a grip on the weapon slightly unsteady. It's possible that your hero, who hit the bullseye every time during the practice session, misses the target in a real fight, even if it's the same gun and the same distance.
Hitting a moving target is extremely difficult, and plausible only if the shooter is remarkably skilled.
For interesting plot complications, you can use 'ricochet': The bullet hits the wall instead of the opponent, bounces off, and hits someone else. Professionals know about the dangers of ricochet, and avoid shooting indoors or towards a wall - but in fiction, we can create situations where this cannot be avoided.
BLUNDERS TO AVOID
* Implausible feats of accuracy (especially with with moving targets)
* Inexperienced person picks up a gun for the first time and immediately hits the distant target ... as if accuracy didn't require practice
* Using a type of gun which was not invented yet in that period... as if a gunslinger in the Wild West could get hold of a Jericho 941 semi-automatic from Israel
* Weapons performing tasks they can't do ... as if a small-calibre pistol could stop a running target at a thousand feet
* Police officers and and law-abiding civilians carrying guns in countries where this is prohibited
Readers love resourceful characters, and improvised weapons show resourcefulness.
Since women, when threatened, reflexively grab something to use as a weapon (men seldom do), you can delight the reader with your heroine's resourcefulness, and at the same time keep the scene psychologically plausible.
If your heroine defends herself with a garden hose, a toilet brush or a curling iron, the readers will root for her and enjoy the fight. This works especially well in 'entertaining' fight scenes, although you can also adapt it for 'gritty' scenes.
What items are within reach? If the attack happens while she's sitting at a desk, she may grab a letter opener - perfect for stabbing - or a paperweight (which can lend force to her boxing punch, or can be slammed on his head or thrown at him).
If she gets attacked while walking out of doors, she may have something useful in her bag or in her pockets:
* A pen is useful for stabbing, especially if thrusts it repeatedly at vulnerable body parts such as throat and eyes.
* A pointed key can inflict damage if held so the sharp tip pokes out between the fingers of a balled fist.
* Cologne spray spritzed into the attacker's eyes can blind him for a moment.
* A jogger can squeeze her water bottle into his eyes to gain a precious second or two.
* A small heavy object such as a pretty stone she picked up on the beach can lend power to her punches
However, she won't have time to dig to the bottom of her bag in search of a useful item. It needs to be something she holds in her hand already, or can grab instantly.
The bag itself can be a useful tool, especially if it's heavy. Your heroine can grip it by the handle and swing it at the attacker, or slam it down on his head.
You can make the scene feel even more realistic by showing that your heroine is skilled at using this item in a non-fight situation. Consider the tools she uses in her job or her pastimes:
* The passionate knitter stabs her attacker with her knitting needles.
* The amateur gardener hits her assailant with the hose pipe, stabs him with secateurs, or hits a spade over his head.
* The cook slams the cast iron frying pan on his head.
* The hair stylist hits back with a wire brush, spritzes him with hair spray or a burns him with a hot curling iron
* The librarian hurls a heavy tome.
* The archaeologist applies her sharp pointed trowel.
* The cleaner hits with the mop, sloshes soapy water into his face, or sprays his eyes with antiseptic.
* The doctor whips him with her stethoscope or thrusts a scalpel into his flesh.
* The glamour model stabs him with a stiletto heel.
* The rower slams an oar over his head.
* The bellydancer clanks her finger cymbals at his ears so loudly that his eardrums burst.
* The jeweller stabs him with the pin of a brooch.
* The cashier throws a handful of coins into his face or bashes him under the ear with an unopened roll of pennies.
BLUNDERS TO AVOID
* The attacker stands still while the heroine rummages through her handbag in search of a weapon
* Before the attack, the heroine holds something in her hand, but during the attack, the item is forgotten
CHAPTER 10: MAGICAL WEAPONS AND WARFARE
When writing paranormal and fantasy fiction, we writers can invent fantastic weapons. However, these weapons need to be interesting so they enrich the story, and believable so the readers can suspend their disbelief.
A weapon which can kill anyone, any time, is implausible and boring.
Here are some ideas how to create a magic weapon, inspired by real magic traditions from different cultures. Your weapon probably includes some, but not all, of these ideas. Have fun!
MATERIAL, SIZE AND SHAPE
* The weapon is made from a solid, natural material: stone, wood, or bone. The bone could be from a ritually sacrificed animal, from a human ancestor, from a hero or saint, or from a slain enemy.
* It may contain a crystal, or a precious or semi-precious stone, because these are good at storing and intensifying magical energy.
* It has an elongated shape, like a wand or a staff. Indeed, it may be disguised as an everyday elongated object, such as a pen or a walking stick. The magician points it at the target, similar to aiming a gun.
* The weapon can be of any size, from a tiny jewellery pendant to a tree trunk. Small items have the advantage that the magicians can carry them on their body or hide them in their garments. Large items may be stationary and everyone knows of their existence and location.
* There is probably a religious connection. For example, the weapon may be sacred to a goddess, blessed in a temple, manufactured by monks, invented by a god, given to the hero by a goddess.
* It is probably old, perhaps inherited through generations.
* It can only be given - for example, in gratitude by the craftsman who made it, or granted by a priestess on her deathbed. It can't be bought with money.
* The manufacture of the weapon involved a ritual and a sacrifice. This may have been a human sacrifice. The weapon may have been dipped into the sacrificial victim's blood.
HOW IT WORKS
* Most magic works through the user's mind. To activate the weapon, the magician needs to concentrate, perhaps think a certain sequence of thoughts. The use of a magical weapon is never purely physical (such as pulling the trigger on a gun). It's the mental effort that counts. This can create interesting situations when the magician needs to concentrate to use the weapon, but can't concentrate in the heat of the battle.
* The damage inflicted by a magical weapon may be invisible. It may kill without leaving visible wounds, baffling the healers or coroners.
* Magical weapons may act slowly. A person may get hit by a magical weapon and not realise it until hours or days later, by which time it's too late to seek help.
* The weapon may affect the target's mind rather than the body. For example, it may rob that person of the will to live, or of the courage to fight.
* Many magical weapons work on one of the elements (earth, air, fire, water). For example, the weapon may kill by shaking the earth on which the target stands, or by heating the air the target breathes.
* The weapon can hit hidden targets. Its energy can move through or around obstacles.
* The user needs training to wield the weapon. This probably involves training in magic (power raising, mental focus, directing energy), as well as training in the use of the specific weapon. In the hands of an untrained person, the weapon may be ineffective, or may kill the user.
CHARGING AND CLEANSING
* Before use, the weapon needs to be magically fuelled (the usual term for this is 'charged'). This may be done in a certain place (at a spring, in a temple, at a crossroads) or by a certain person (a senior magician, a crone, a priestess). The charge involves a ritual, which may be simple or complex, and is often religious in nature. Sometimes, a weapon can be charged by leaving it lying in running water, or exposed to bright sunlight or to the light of the full moon. If the weapon contains a crystal, it's the crystal that gets charged.