Attack!

You face an opponent and hope that your training has prepared you enough for this moment. You look in their fierce eyes and wonder what they’re going to do? So many options, so many ways to… ATTACK!!! Who’ll make the first move?

Writing Prompts for Attacks

• What could attack from the dark? Shadows move in the twilight. Monsters lurk in the depths of a closet. Wet things crawl along the pitch black of cave walls. There is darkness everywhere, and you should bring something devious forth from the dark.
• Attacks can happen anywhere. Pick a mundane place and have someone fly-off-the-handle in an unsettling manner. Coffee shops, school hallways, and yoga studios would all be great places for a bout of misplaced narrative rage.
• When you can see your enemy, that’s one thing, but when the attack comes from an ally… well… that’s just a good dramatic twist. Who does your character have close to them that could be a backstabbing dirtbag?
• At first the crowd seemed a little restless, but as the protest continued, things became unruly. For too long a festering anger lurked and now it is about to cut loose. Is your character part of the crowd or the one they’re coming for?
• A preemptive strike could be just the thing you need. Better to strike first and ask questions later. What does your character see coming that they could act on before it acts on them?
• The sword hand is offered to you and you take it in good will, not knowing that the warrior you face is ambidextrous and had no intention of a truce. What agreement or truce could deceive your character? Or maybe they are the deceiver?
• When you meet an alien, you make some assumptions. Your mind conceives only of what you know and so when they do attack, you really didn’t see that coming. What dark and twisted alien features could you introduce in your story? Tentacles? Teeth in the palm of a hand? An acidic secretion? An unfathomable link to horrid ancient powers?
• The shortcut takes you through a dark wood. It’ll save you time, but that’s only if you make it to the other side. What shortcuts could harbour an atrocious attack to change the trajectory of your character’s life?
• Jealousy rages within your character and they vow revenge for being spurned. How will they satisfy their emotional turmoil?

Types of Attacks

Here’s a collection of attack words to generate various images for your narrative. Picking a precise word will help you focus the details around the key element of the attack in your scene.

The motivations of attacking characters vary. Where one character may seek to confuse and panic a victim, another may try a direct, intimidating approach. Pick the words that suit your character’s motivation.

Not all attacks seek to destroy an opponent. Some want to strike fear, others cajole, and still others defile or corrupt a victim’s innocence. In fact, sometimes death is the least satisfying outcome of an attack in a narrative.

• cut, chop, dice, abrade, scrape, slash,
• contuse, concuss, bruise,
• lambaste, pulverize, obliterate
• pierce, run through, gore, gut, stick
• spread, separate, slice, dissect, divide, split, cleave,
• daze, dizzy, dazzle
• hit, pound, batter, smack
• corrode, erode, wear , wear down, wear out, wear away
• scratch, gouge, break
• enter, gash, bore into, intrude
• fracture, crack
• tire, fatigue, exhaust
• beleaguer, lay siege to,
• shake, rattle, roll, rock
• can, sack
• gnaw, eat, bite
• bump, shove, carom, careen,
• swell, engorge, puff
• infect, disease, poison,
• defile, affect, taint, blight, corrupt, spoil, vitiate, impair, destroy, pollute, contaminate
• choke, asphyxiate, garrote
• touch, contact
• pick off, snipe, target,
• take, take out, take down, take off, take apart
• ooze gush slash
• pierce, impale, stab, shank, shiv,
• puncture, pop, penetrate, prick, needle, poke, slit, slice, incise
• plow, furrow, dig, turn cleave, split hook, snag, snare drill
• probe pass through perforate incise
• sting, ding, ting, ring, bing,
• thrash, smash, trash, crash, bash
• harm, hurt, halve, quarter, 
• carve, dismantle, irritate, open
• larrup, whip, thrash, whoop, swish, snap, crack,
• rough up, hassle, manhandle, abuse
• knock, knock around, knock about, knock out, knock down, knock cold,
• brain, clunk, clip, clock,
• slap, backhand, smack, spank,
• belt, box, beset, sock, punch, box,
• paste, plaster, zap, zing
• wham, whack, butt, wallop,
• drag, rasp, grate, grind, chisel, scrape,
• fry, cook, roast, fricassee, boil, sizzle, saute, BBQ, inflame, flame, flambe,
• annihilate, dominate, disintegrate, evaporate, eviscerate, obliterate,
• tap, rap, snap, slap, flapclip, rip, trip, zip
• clash, bash, smash, crash, dash
• zing, ding, ring, ting
• clout, bat, bang, bonk, slog, mug, cuff, thump, whomp, clobber
• impact, crush, squish, compact,
• buckle, force, whirl, twist
• pelt, pepper, scatter, bomb, blast, explode
• torpedo, trip, obliterate
• destroy, smite, sunder, shell
• tackle, trample, bash, smash
• riposte, sally, press, prise de fer,
• disarm, charge, rush, topple, tackle, bowl over
• fire, volley, riddle, barrage, loose, shoot, pierce, stick, poke, strafe, pepper, batter, propel, launch, 
• ram, rattle , bombard,
• grasp, grab, grapple, grip
• unseat, topple
• spit, gob, hork, squirt, spray, splatter, splash, 
• confuse, obfuscate, stupefy, stun, bewilder,
• light into, take advantage of, pounce upon, beat the crap out of, slap upside the head, set upon,
• give ’em the ol’ Shawinigan Handshake!

Attack Environments

Attacks can happen anywhere, but here are some great places and spaces for attacks to happen in your narrative. Check out our page of settings for more ideas.

• battlefield, battleground, front, no man’s land,
• theatre of war, area of operation, combat zone
• arena, coliseum, ring, pit,
• ambush, trap, crossfire, bottleneck,
• street-to-street, town, city, urban warfare,
• alley, snicket, alleyway, lane, path, back way, side street,
• entrance, door, passage, exit, egress,
• enclosure,
• cave, cavern, tunnel,
• ancient forest, dark wood,
• night club, bar, dance, tavern, pub,
• shallow water, narrows, riverside, swamp, bayou
• gorge, canyon, arroyo, ravine, ditch, gully, mountain pass,
• lone gas station, late night roadhouse, truck stop,
• abandoned hospital, asylum,
• around a corner,
• castle, fort, wall, barricade, fortification, tower, outpost,
• ironic places for attacks: playground, circus, birthday party, funeral,
• at home, at rest, on a break,

Characters Associated with Attacks

Anyone can be an attacker, but you can use some of these reliable characters to get in a scrap. Think of ironic attackers as well; after all, the evil clown is such a horror staple for just that reason.

• evil clown, zombie, monster, undead,
• beasts, animals, creatures,
• devils, demons,
• pirates, thugs, bandits,
• angsty musician, drunk poet,
• boxer, pugilist, gladiator, martial artist,
• knight, paladin, one whose honour has been impugned,
• customers in a checkout line,
• the Ex, old friend who took a different path, bitter break up, mothers-in-law,
• alien, extraterrestrial, Martian (not that farfetched anymore is it?),
• soldier, warrior, military,
• boss, coworker, disgruntled employee, apprentice, intern, assistant

Storylines built around Attacks

You can build an entire storyline around an “attack”. Check out some of these great ideas to spur the imagination. Each one uses an attack as a central element upon which you can build character, theme, tension, and plot.

These are all built around simple plot expressions. Your job as a writer or a roleplayer is to flesh out the details to spin a unique yarn.

• In the midst of a battle, the character must deliver a message.
• Character inadvertently starts a fight between friends with an ill-placed comment.
• Character attacks someone, only to find out later that it was the wrong person.
• Deemed useless, character is given a menial task, only to become instrumental in repelling a surprise attack.
• Character is attacked by supernatural forces while trying to maintain a “normal” life.
• Character given easy task, endures a random attack that goes badly
• During an attack, character inadvertently kills an ally with “friendly fire”.
• Character attacks a foe, regrets it, and seeks redemption.
• Character is attacked, faces death, and vows revenge.

Attack – Notes and Ideas

Here are some final thoughts on “attacks.” This is a really big topic and we sure hope you found a creative idea here. Please leave a comment and let us know what’s on your mind or leave an idea that someone else may find useful.

• Attacks can be physical, though the scope of emotional and mental attacks is rich with narrative possibility
• Attacks are fun when they are unbalanced: one hero against a horde of foes or a gang of rivals sets up the victory — or loss — against insurmountable odds.
• When you’re plotting a narrative around an attack, plan your attack first and then work backwards to obfuscate it. This kind of beginning with the end in mind is a great design principle that will allow you to build in foreshadowing and twists and turns.
• Check out one of the greatest movie villains in Tim Roth’s Archie Cunningham in the movie, Rob Roy. Great sword fights!