Lawrence of Arabia, The Lord of the Rings, Gladiator. What do they have in common? They have epic battle scenes that will knock you off your seat. In any sub-genre of action films and novels, battle scenes involve many characters, both major and minor, coming together for a contest of arms. Personally, epic battles are among my favorite scenes in movies and novels.

One thing I noticed about effective battle scenes in novels and films is that they are often written from specific angles that help to build tension. Think of award-winning cinematographers and how they deliver scenes through the lens of their cameras. You will notice that the scenes are grouped into four angles: 1) panoramic; 2) crowd; 3) close-up; 4) inner angle

If you’re stuck on how to write your battle scene, consider this example:

Alexander the Great and his men are battling the Persian army.

Beginning with the panoramic lens, you focus on the area where the battle is taking place. The landscape of the battle establishes the mood. From here, you use your description of the flank of soldiers, archers, and banner-men to describe what they’re doing. You stay at this angle until you have established tension and excitement.

After the panoramic lens, you shift to the crowd lens, where you focus on characters with additional information. For example, you may focus on one of the leaders of the flank: What are his thoughts? What does he plan to do after the battle is over? Does he have a child and wife waiting for his return? Focus on characters that your readers have previously encountered. In Game of Thrones, battle scenes help establish character through this angle.

Then you shift to the close-up angle showing the leaders of the opposite camps. These are your hero and villain. Describe how they carry themselves in the presence of their men. How do they give orders? Do their facial expressions signify determination, reluctance, or bloodthirst? What’s going on inside their heads?

Consider this close-up angle: Alexander held his sword handle tightly, ready to draw and raise his blade from the hilt to signal his men’s attack. The Persians were advancing without any hesitation, confident in the power of their war elephants mounted by archers. Alexander stared at the behemoths and instructed his light infantry to march with him in a phalanx formation towards the center of the enemy line. As Alexander drew and raised his sword, he rode towards the Persian with his companion cavalry.

After the close-up angle, you can shift to the inner angle and focus on Alexander’s thoughts and feelings. You may alternately describe the thoughts and feelings of Alexander and Darius III.

“Darius!” he shouted, “Show yourself! Don’t run like a coward!”

Darius was unsteady as he commanded his chariots to advance toward the right-wing of the Macedonians to prevent Alexander from advancing any further.

Having established these different angles, you may shift to a different focus again to involve other characters and provide other details of the battle scenes. Read Tolstoy’s War and Peace to get a feel for the cinematic nature of his battle scenes.