Photo of two men fighting in a field.

Hi, friends! It’s been a while since I did a writing prompts post, so I thought I’d do one that could be useful to writers of thrillers, crime novels, fantasy novels, and even romance and science fiction novels with strong action elements.

Since this is a writing prompts post, I’m not going to go into detail about how to write a fight scene—even though I actually love writing them. I will say, though, that it’s similar to writing a love scene in that you don’t need to describe every single move in detail. You want to get the excitement across and convey how it feels for your main character.

Okay, let’s dig in!

 

50 Fight Scene Writing Prompts and Ideas #how to write a fight scene #action adventure writing prompts #fiction writing prompts for adults

 

1. Two people fight without waking or disturbing a third person.

2. Someone uses an object that isn’t usually considered to be dangerous as an effective weapon.

3. It’s impossible to tell the real opponents from the ones who are illusions or holograms.

4. People fight in zero gravity.

5. People fight underwater.

6. People fight in a building that’s on fire.

7. Two people fight, and an unlikely bystander saves our main character.

8. Two people fight, but when a third person attacks our main character, his other opponent saves him.

9. Fortunately, his blood is also a weapon.

10.  One of the fighters is drugged or drunk.

11. Someone’s trying not to hurt the person who’s attacking him.

12. Someone finds out that she’s fighting the person she meant to join forces with or save.

13. Someone fights while wearing something that makes them appear the opposite of tough or intimidating.

14. They fight naked.

15. They fight in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

16. A protester and counter protester fight.

17. Someone shoves his opponent into a body of water, and then rescues him when it’s apparent he’ll drown.

18. Someone gets help from an animal.

19. A friend, co-worker, or ally suddenly attacks someone.

20. One person dumps a gallon of something over the other person’s head.

21. One person chokes the other with a computer cord.

22. One person chokes the other with a string of Christmas lights.

23. Someone defends herself from an attacker while driving at top speed.

24. They fight in a hospital, which makes it easy for the main character to patch himself up afterward.

25. Bullying the bartender or server was a mistake.

26. She knocks out two men with one move.

27. They fight in a locked closet.

28. He celebrates his victory too early.

29. Someone leaps from a considerable height to land on an opponent.

30. Someone breaks the rules of the duel.

31. She accidentally wounds the person trying to stop the fight.

32. He accidentally wounds a bystander.

33. Someone was only pretending to be knocked out.

34. Her weapon gets stuck.

35. Priceless objects or valuable property gets damaged in the brawl.

36. Someone uses a bed sheet in the struggle.

37. The fight is a ruse to distract people from what’s really going on.

38. Someone repeatedly tries to avoid the fight to no avail.

39. Someone takes refuge in a disgusting place.

40. He finds himself battling a creature he didn’t believe existed.

41. They fight on slick ice.

42. He fights three challengers in succession.

43. Her glasses get destroyed and she can barely see.

44. He steals his opponent’s car, not realizing his allies rigged it with an explosive.

45. Someone’s ridiculous move or antic catches an opponent off guard.

46. Someone loses an opponent in the crowd and then finds her again.

47. A garden tool becomes a deadly weapon.

48. Someone hurls a shopping cart through the air.

49. Someone gets bashed with a crown or tiara.

50. He accidentally kills his opponent.

 

Photo of a professional boxer with one fist extended.

 

I hope you enjoyed these! And if you want even more inspiration for your writing, check out my book 5,000 Writing Prompts: A Master List of Plot Ideas, Creative Exercises, and More.

5,000 Writing Prompts Bryn Donovan #master plots #ideas for novels

[spacer height=”20px”]If you have thoughts about writing fight scenes, please share them in the comments! Thanks for reading, and happy writing!

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