The Importance of Character Injuries

Writing injuries well and realistically is essential to any story. Now, it’s pretty funny for me to be saying that, of all people. I’ve had *coughs* quite the history with my character’s injuries in the past. Such a history, that the term “injury magnet” is a widely known nickname between me and my friends for one of my beloved characters who became a wonderful source of comic relief (while he was on the way to the hospital again). 

But saying that, I also have to admit something. My injuries weren’t always accurate or well written. In fact, either they were over exaggerated or thrown off as a minor thing. Looking back at my old writing I can hardly find a single good injury written anywhere. I threw around unrealistic injuries such as getting knocked out without consequence or getting wounded on the arm then being able to use the arm just fine the next chapter. (After all, how many of us aren’t guilty of that happening at least once?) 

Reading unrealistic injuries like that just gets under my skin now. So, what changed? Wasn’t I the one writing unrealistic injuries a year ago, knocking out my characters right and left? 

Well, I began putting in the work and making my injuries realistic. Spending time researching things like broken bones and concussions. 

That may sound a little weird at first, but believe me, the work pays off. Because well-written injuries in fiction is soooooo important and are one of the things that makes a writer really good. 

Why are well-written injuries important, anyway? 

After all, plot and characters are bigger things to worry about than some injuries, right? 

Well, yes XD please worry about your plot and character first. But that doesn’t mean well-written injuries aren’t important. Because the pure facts are, if you write good injuries, it will add another layer of realism to your story. 

As a writer, you can spend a good chunk of time trying to make your characters real. And, if you are a fantasy writer, making your world realistic. 

Injuries are a part of that. If you don’t have well-written, realistic injuries, it’s taking away a layer of realism and relatability from your characters. You separate the reader from your “immortal” character who somehow didn’t break a single bone falling off that cliff. Or that character who somehow managed to swing their sword when their arm was bleeding terribly. 

Well-written injuries make your characters seem truly real. They make your characters normal mortals who need to rest and heal, who feel pain and get injured just as much as every other person in the world. 

I remember watching an action movie with my family a while back. The characters were thrown against glass several times. And every time they came out without a scratch. As someone who has been cut several times by shattered glass, that is not realistic at all. 

I could ignore it and keep going with the movie, but it put a separation between me and the characters. Because, trust me, if any real person did what those people did, they would be in the hospital for a very long time. XD

That’s why well-written injuries are so important. They make your story real. From the characters to the plot. 

So, that may mean you have to make your character be in pain the entirety of your book (sorry Elias) or you might have your character in a sling for six months (sorry Jason), but because you did that, your readers will be able to relate  and feel as though your characters were real. 

Okay, so injuries are important, but how do you write them realistically?

The first tip I would give you, would have to be to take from your own experiences. I know you might not have broken your leg and been left in prison for a week, but there are a few things you can take from your own personal experiences to make things a little more real. 

Everyone on this planet has been sore and stiff at some point, or stubbed their toes at least once. My point is, you’ve experienced pain, so go write it! Make your character sore in the cramped quarters they are in or make the small cut on their finger drive them crazy. 

Even the little injuries are really important. They add those details readers long to see in a story. 

Research 

This is the biggest tip I could give you. Researching things has helped me more than anything else. Just taking five minutes to go to Google and type something into the search bar is really helpful in checking your medical facts. 

I would also highly recommend taking a few minutes to go check out some articles on FightWrite.net. I could spend hours reading articles on that website. They are super helpful as a writer and have the perfect random facts writers need.  

So, before deciding your character will be fine after spraining their wrist, make sure to check your facts and do your research. There are a lot more ways to check your medical facts, but those are the simple ways I double-check my injuries all while learning about new injuries. XD

Read 

Okay, even more than research, I have learned a lot of medical facts from books themselves. Of course, doing this, you have to be really careful because you never know if the author got their research completely accurate, which is why it’s always a good idea to double check. 

But books can be a really good way to research, especially if the information in several books is the same (still double check, but it tends to be more accurate that way). 

You can also find some pretty good ideas for character injuries in books. XDXD I’ve done that before as well. 

Books can also be a great way to find good ways to write injuries well. 

It may sound odd and even a little gross, but looking at book descriptions of pain and injuries is a good way to help you write your own more accurate ones. So, just to get you started, I went and pulled books from my shelf and found a few good injury scenes that were accurate and well-written in a ways that weren’t too gruesome. (By the way, if you haven’t read any of these books, stop what you are doing and go read them now; they are amazing) (I also tried to keep spoilers out, so hopefully I don’t let anything slip XD) 

The web of lies I spun for myself is burning, prying the skin from my flesh. I’ve had close calls before—nicked by a cannonball, an arrow in the shoulder, nearly drowned by some angry sirens—but I’ve never felt anything like this. 

I curl up on the deck, forcing air into my burning lungs, trying to salvage any remaining strength I have. My body is being torn apart, my skin peeling away. I’m evaporating into a choking, shriveled husk. It’s not just the welts bubbling my skin. The shadowed flakes seep deeper, bleeding despair and destruction. 

—Dust, Kara Swanson

What I love here, is just the way the thoughts are being woven into everything. It’s not just a simple “I feel as though I am burning”, but instead it weaves the thoughts into the paragraph wonderfully, creating a description that puts you into the character’s shoes. 

It also proves how over-dramatic characters can be. XD Because in real life, we all can be a bit over-dramatic when it comes to pain. Which means characters are too. The way Kara showed that was amazing here. 

His fist should have impacted the window. It should have smashed right through, letting him jump to freedom. 

Instead, his fist hit the concrete floor as he convulsed, ribbons of tension ripping through his body. It was like a static shock, only a hundred times worse. His voice, silent since the trial, rose up in a strangled cry as his muscles tensed and relaxed in rapid succession, the strength he had been preparing now fighting his own body. 

—The Extension Squad, Volume 1, R.M. Scheller

Okay, two things that make this stand out from a lot of well-written injury scenes are the use of the simile thrown in there (the comparaison is just wonderful) and all the adjectives put in there. It adds those small descriptive words that make the scene come alive. 

Also, if you haven’t read the Extension Squad books yet, seriously do. When it comes to injuries, they are the best with accurate representation. And that aside, they are just amazing books that I love so much.

And for the final example, I’m gonna quote myself here with some of my writing. XD 

Elias felt as though fire had ripped through his body. Pain filled his mind as it ran through him in waves. His ears rang so much he couldn’t hear a thing. 

Then with a start, he realized he wasn’t breathing. He took a long gasping breath, then recoiled as a new wave of pain ran from his chest into his limbs. He writhed, trying desperately to lay still enough so that the pain would stop, but it never did. All he felt was the pain and the hot sun beating upon his face. 

He was just beginning to wonder what had happened to himself, when he became conscious of the world again.

“ELIAS!” A screech came from somewhere above him. 

He slowly blinked until his blurry vision finally cleared. He took more gasping breaths. 

Now, what I like to do is put thoughts in between action or, in this case, pain. (Which made finding a long enough injury paragraph hard where it was just a description of the injury and not a bunch of internal dialogue too) 

But what I did here was try and put the scattered thoughts tied in along with the pain. It’s not my best work, but I love how he recognizes the pain. First he feels the initial jolt, then he needs to breathe, then has to clear his vision. It makes it seem a little more real. 

That’s why injuries are so important to get accurate. 

They are a connection between the reader and the character, adding a sense of realism to your story that will cause it to stand out from so many others. (Plus, it just makes you sound smart when you can talk about what happens when a broken bone isn’t treated correctly.) 

So, go out and do your research. Then dive into writing, creating injury magnets and well-written pain scenes. XD 

Until next time, 

A.J. Syngraféas