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Battle Writing Handbook
Writing Better Battles
By Catnip
| Contents Introduction Part 1: Before Battling Part 2: Basic Rules Part 3: Character Choice Part 4: Starting your battle Part 5: The Action Part 6: Grand Ending Final Word |
Introduction
One word before I start-there is no right way to write battles. This guide is to simply show you how the best are written, from my previous experience. I've sampled all over, and it's clear that some are better than others, I'm afraid. Use this guide only if you see fit, or, if you disagree, wing it on your own. I'm not telling you how to write your battles, I'm suggesting ideas, the same ideas that has brought Big Boy Battles to nearly 150 users.
Also, a word of note. If you already have a site with commentators, referees, etc., you should skip to Part 3. If you are starting a new character battle site, please start at Part 1.
Part 1: Before Battling
Battling is an art of writing that can't just be thrown onto paper. I may sound conceded, but battling should be fun for not only you, but mostly for the ones reading it. Before you fight, you need to decide commentators, stage, referee, and other elements that might directly only apply to you. Remember that you shouldn't copy others, meaning it might be better to have "Bob and Jim" as your commentators along with "Andrew" as your referee. Remember that the setting can affect the fight too. Is it just an inside arena? Or is it more like an SSB stage? Though the majority of Character Battle material that I have seen is simply inside a dome or field of some sort, you may want to be the odd man out and switch it up. It could change the decision of a 100 to 1 match. Also, you must think of a unique set of rules. Does the contestant have to be knocked unconscious, or just down for a matter of seconds? Are they out if they use innaproprite behavior, such as arguing with the ref. These are all for you to choose.
Part 2: Basic Rules
Not the rules for your fighters, I mean the rules of battle writing.
Catnip: It should be formatted somewhat like a play. *clears throat* Putting things in stars shows action.
Catnip turns off his cell phone.
Catnip: And so does just telling what things do. Remember, the longer the better, so the second type of action.
Catnip puts his cell phone into his pocket.
Catnip: Is the better way, arguably. It also makes for a better fight, rather than *turns cell phone back on* like that.
Also something to consider is your audience. Will they be saying WHOOO or will you point out select people. You can also do both! Always remember though, your number one priority is to impress the fans. Make sure that is has a mix of characters, action, and definitely use humor. A good type of humor is the fans making comments, and don't forget to incorporate yourself, too, because you can be part of the section as well.
Part 3: Character Choice
You've gotten your arena set up, your audience has their tickets, your commentators are ready to go, now to choose the fighters! You should have a decent fight, the more equally matched the better. Master Chief VS. Jigglypuff is an example of a horrible match. Mario VS. Link is a lot better. Remember, you can use characters from all over, unless you are a set site (example: a Mario fan site would only use Mario characters, most likely). Remember, when worlds collide (two characters from different series) things can get heated up and exciting!
If you're doing a match with 2-6 characters, anyone is good given the large gaming world, but when you're doing a lot of characters, such as for a celebration, you may need to use people who only played minor roles in one game, such as mini-bosses from the Paper Mario series. After finding your character, we move onto actually writing the battle.
Part 4: Starting Your Battle
Time to type it up. Regardless if this is your first battle, you need to start with an introduction. Now, I know it's exciting to get right in there, and I've seen people who have tried to slide by me by saying "We have to start the match quickly because we're behind schedule!" Nice try, but a quality battle takes time, patience, creativity, and humor. You need to have your commentator(s) announce the fighters into the arena before you can just take off with the fight. With this you can add theme music, a catch phrase, some trash talking, or anything you like! The first part of your battle can go 2 ways-a quick, large smash or a light start. The large smash approach will have both of them charge rapidly at each other. Only in big, rival matches or finals of tournaments should this happen. The second approach, more commonly used, is where the fighters fight hard, but are saving a reserve energy supply for the big middle of the battle where they finally crash together. Feel free to use either method, though I usually recommend the battles get gradually harsher throughout.
Part 5: The Action
Time to move onto the best part--THE BATTLE! After all of the announcements and introductions, plus your start method, the main battle should be made up of mostly action. Humor, though not required, is definitely a huge factor and definitely should be used. Remember, you can and should have a ferocious fight to the end. You can also have a short fight that eventually ends greatly in one's favor, but if this is overused, you will lose fan attention. A good idea to use occasionally is to have the underdog make a big comeback, whether or not he/she can really finish it. Another good idea is a drastic turn of events, therefore shifting the odds. Whatever you do, it should be nice and long. Spelling and grammar mechanics along with word choice and sentence variation are important too. Take pride in your work-you can't get away with a great battle with terrible writing mechanics or a blunt battle, though great writing.
Part 6: Grand Ending
So you've gone at least a page of pure action, humor, and suspense, time for the bets to be repayed and the fanboys to rejoice if their character wins. Your ending doesn't necesarilly have to drag out, but suspense is a good element to add to your battle. Don't make it too long, though. An abrupt ending sometimes is needed to kick in a little chaos to a long fight.
Final Word
There is no correct way to write battles; this is just my format template that I like to follow. I also suggest using this if you are going to write me a battle, because I obviously wrote this for my personal taste. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, you can message me, email me, or just comment on the page. Thank you for reading.
Catnip |
Latest page update: made by Catnip
, Oct 1 2008, 11:48 AM EDT
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| Catnip | Did this help anyone? | 2 | Jun 9 2008, 1:51 AM EDT by Mr_KP | ||
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Thread started: Jun 8 2008, 4:26 PM EDT
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