The only thing I can tell you is, when I do write combat scenes. I plot them
out cinematically in my mind. See the action, and write and describe the
action in such a way that, if the text were a narration, it would match
flawlessly with the action 'on-screen.'

Aside from that, follow the same basic rules you'd follow for any writing-
especially replacing passive verbs with active verbs. Above all, a fight
scene is about movement and imagery, and sentences like 'Jon was tired' have
no place in that. 'Jon gasped for breath, fire burning through his chest and
limbs' maybe, but not 'Jon was tired.'

Exceedingly important. And remember, use the thesaurus, Luke!

A few other things, most of them obvious, but sometimes one forgets 
the obvious:

Be sure you're familiar with what the combatants can do, both in the 
matter of abilities, and planning. And keep everyone in character.

If you want the battle to have a chaotic and unpredictable feel to 
it, switch point-of-view in the middle once in a while, and only 
write about what the viewing person knows. This works nicely if one 
side or other has surprises to pull.

Be aware of the details of the battlefield. If you're doing any kind 
of close-in combat scene, watch a Jackie Chan movie beforehand. He's 
always good for inspiration on cool things to do with props and 
setting.

Describe the input characters receive from *all* of their senses, if 
it seems appropriate and you can do it without getting bogged down. 
Guns don't just fire. They make loud noise, they give off bright 
muzzle flashes, they fill the air with gunpowder smell, they kick in 
the grip, etc.

The "adrenal time dilation effect" -- time seeming to slow down at 
some crucial point -- can be cool, if you don't overdo it. 

That's all I can think of, for the moment. If a few people are 
interested, we could post some combat scenes (our own, or other 
folks') and critique them. I've got a couple I think aren't *half* 
bad, that I'll volunteer for disection, if necessary.


Hassheen!