What is a good balance for a story that contains fluffy but also focus on combat oriented interactions?

[FluffyGura]

If i were to provide an example it would be like, right after a fight would the main character then suddenly jump into another fight just cuz of a poor damsel in distress? or would the main character go to the town with her friends and hang out. LIke where should i place fluff chapter and where should i place the combat chapters for example the ratio 2:1 would be like 2 combat chapters before a fluff chapter?

 

[RepresentingWrath]

There is no ratio. Fights should happen for a reason.

 

[Sola-sama]

There is no ratio. Fights should happen for a reason.

+1

If you put too much on the ratio, you'll limit yourself, at least from my experience. If your plot demands a 10+ chapters in a fight against the last boss, then why not.

 

[LilRora]

If I had to say, it would be two or three chapters of fighting with one chapter of fluff, but that's not the thing you should be focusing on.

If you're going for a primarily fluffy story, then you should try to incorporate it into the fights. Mainly in the form of interactions between the mc and whoever's on their side.

Although, to make sure I avoid a misunderstanding, I don't mean you should make it a comedy where they're not taking a fight seriously. What I mean is to base their interactions on the fights, not just outside them, then make them affect their time after. An example of that is having a character who doesn't like fighting and needs to be bribed with sweets to stop sulking after she's dragged into one. My point is, the fluff and fighting should affect each other, instead of just being separate things that happen interchangably.

If you're going for a more serious story, then remember about tension. Prolonging your fights is going to make the eventual fluff time more rewarding, and two chapters is usually not enough to achieve the level of tension that will make readers relieved when it finally ends and the characters get their well-deserved rest that can last five chapters or even more.

 

[Syringe]

I don't recommend relying on a ratio. Your scenes will feel completely out of place/come from nowhere if you slot in fights just to fulfil said ratio.

Your story wouldn't feel dynamic at all. I recommend just letting things happen organically (i.e, write and see where it takes you). Otherwise, try planning it. A method you could use is make a timeline of all the fluff, and then add the fights in certain places between, or maybe use those fights as a device to move the plot forward, while the fluff can just be used to goof around, etc.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

If i were to provide an example it would be like, right after a fight would the main character then suddenly jump into another fight just cuz of a poor damsel in distress? or would the main character go to the town with her friends and hang out. LIke where should i place fluff chapter and where should i place the combat chapters for example the ratio 2:1 would be like 2 combat chapters before a fluff chapter?

@SailusGebel In addition to what he said, fluff scenes should also happen for a reason. They can be some much needed solace for your readers, allowing them to come down from the action. So have a victory celebration fluff, or maybe the characters themselves want to relax. Used correctly, fluff can be actually be not so useless.
However, in contrast to what he said, you are in charge of your story, so you decide what makes sense by way of crafting storylines.
If you want a specific audience from action, then you should craft your storylines so you get roughly 3-4 action chapters (unless your chapters are freakin' long, then just do 2) to 2-3 fluff chapters. If you want a specific audience from fluff, well, I haven't really written to that audience, so you'll need to figure out the ratio for you.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

However, in contrast to what he said, you are in charge of your story, so you decide what makes sense by way of crafting storylines.
If you want a specific audience from action, then you should craft your storylines so you get roughly 3-4 action chapters (unless your chapters are freakin' long, then just do 2) to 2-3 fluff chapters. If you want a specific audience from fluff, well, I haven't really written to that audience, so you'll need to figure out the ratio for you.

Bruh, that's what I said. Fights should happen for a reason. Author is in charge of creating reason. If you want to constantly make 3-4 action chapters to 2-3 fluff chapters, you have to think of a way to make it look not forced.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

Bruh, that's what I said. Fights should happen for a reason. Author is in charge of creating reason. If you want to constantly make 3-4 action chapters to 2-3 fluff chapters, you have to think of a way to make it look not forced.

Not quite. You eschewed any idea that there could or should be a ratio or guideline to follow. I was saying that for some audiences, you should have a ratio sometimes.

 

[LunaSoltaer]

Easy: You're in a VRMMORPG that forces a random encounter exactly X time units apart ^_^

(dont actually do this)

 

[Rhaps]

Flip a coin to see if the next interaction should be sitting down at a table to talk things through or go for each other's throat.

I seems to always land on the first option...

 

[Aaqil]

I seems to always land on the first option...

Pacifist coin,

 

[Sola-sama]

Pacifist coin,

Make a warmonger coin

 

[J_Chemist]

There is no ratio. Fights should happen for a reason.

This right here. Have your fights happen for a reason. However, I've found that if you want an action-oriented plot, you need to be able to inject the action with proper buildup, reasoning, and it's got to have plot-advancing details within the fight. If your character is just running around smacking enemies all day, say why- is it to level? Is it to train? Give a plot focused reason to the violence. Don't just bloodwash.

In my own story, I liked to follow the standard cycle; Train-Character Develop-Train-Fight/Fail-Recover-Train-Character Develop-Build Plot-Fight/Pass-Plot Proceed.

It's a very loose outline but with my story being action oriented, I try to put in fighting often but not so often that there's chapter after chapter of just violence. Thus far, every "boss fight" has taken only one chapter, as you want it to be fierce and impactful but never drag on. In between the violence, you want to develop your character, their relationships with friends/allies/enemies, and give time for their skills to develop. Then you want to give them challenges that will either humble them, break them, or give them experience to further develop them.

Figure out your own formula for your own novel that works for you, but hopefully that helps.

 

[melchi]

Sequential chapters of the same thing make the story seem like it is spiraling. Also, this is just a pet peeve of mine but having a chapter cut off mid fight is not being nice to your readers. If a combat takes place over a week RL it makes me want to drop the novel. I would suggest combat should never be the majority of a novel.

 

[georgelee5786]

Make sure every battle happens for a reason, and make sure you get moments of fluff for a reason. Don't just toss them because whoo, fun. The proper ratio is to simply make sure they balance out in terms of quality.

 

[Sebas_Guzman]

What I'm going to say has been mentioned by others.
I personally dont think it matters if you're doing a webserial, but it REALLY matters if you're writing a book on amazon. The reason there is a difference is because a good book has a beginning, middle, and an end. There's a natural structure that's expected if you're publishing a book, and you dont really want to go against structure in your debut, or first book in a series unless you're a genius. People are also buying your product, so you dont want to betray their expectations.

At that point however, you have to think about both your genre and your audience.
Are you writing a battle-heavy fantasy where there is strong emphasis on how powers interact and how battles unfold? Then, you're going to have a lot of battles, and then a break after the battles are over, because shit man, give them a break. Putting fluff chapters in between battles of the same arc isn't smart.

Are you writing slice of life with a dash of combat? You can probably have fewer battles between plentiful peaceful times. The audience isnt expecting a battle-heavy story and would be okay with it.


You could also follow narrative arcs and you'll see that their is a sequence of rising action and falling action. The idea of falling action is important, but there are a lot of ways of playing with narrative arcs.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Write the story you want to read.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

If you are going to use a ratio, then don't do it this way. Make the entire story a big ratio. If you do 2:1 fighting as the ratio of the story, then you don't have to do it in a sequence that will get monotonous (Sorry @TheMonotonePuppet). Have your puppets in the story fight where it makes sense, but still have a ratio that you will maintain if you want a ratio.

 

[Spactacular]

If i were to provide an example it would be like, right after a fight would the main character then suddenly jump into another fight just cuz of a poor damsel in distress? or would the main character go to the town with her friends and hang out. LIke where should i place fluff chapter and where should i place the combat chapters for example the ratio 2:1 would be like 2 combat chapters before a fluff chapter?

My advice (which may only work for me) is to follow the flow of the writing. If the chance for some fluff appears and it won't seem forced, go for it. I always have a reason behind why something may occur, for example, if the MC decides to go to town, it will be for weapon repair lets say, at which point the mc might make some fluff time since their schedule will allow for it. I would not follow such a fixed, 1:2 ration otherwise it might seem forced. let the novel flow naturally and I think it will come out better.

As I said, that's just me so find what works for you =D