How to Write a Training Sequence in Your Novel

Training sequences are in many great works. Star Wars, Mulan, Karate Kid, Percy Jackson, and more. But do you know how to write said sequence while maintaining your reader's interest? That's what we're going to talk about today. (This post turned out a lot longer than I thought, but I hope it helps.)

The Training

Have a good training montage is easy in a movie. Take two minutes to show the hero progressing from bad to good and "boom" you're done. (It's technically more complicated than that, but we won't argue the matter for now.) But when you're writing a novel, how do you translate that same idea to the page? "Insert training montage here" doesn't really work.

Below I've outlined the method that I've seen used and will show you how you can make a great sequence for your novel. Not all novels need such an extended one, which is why I've included another section at the end on other ways you can show a hero learning his trade.

Stakes

The first thing you're going to need for your training is stakes. Without good stakes, your hero has nothing to fight for or drive them on when they get discouraged. They can throw in the towel any time and have no consequences on the plot. This can be as small as standing up to some bullies or as big as saving the galaxy.

Examples:

Mulan: Mulan signs up for the army to save her father. The stakes here are multiple. If she doesn't accomplish her training, she could be killed in battle, bring dishonor on her family, or even be discovered as a woman (also resulting in death).

The Karate Kid: In this movie, Daniel is attacked multiple times by a gang of bullies. He begins training under Mr. Miyagi in order to stop these attacks. The stakes for him are his personal safety and later on, winning the national championships.

Time Limit

This part is more optional, but I think it works well when done hand-in-hand with the stakes. If your hero also has a time limit on their training, it can help up those stakes and the tension. How much can they learn before the villain attacks, the day arrives, or whatever else they're waiting for? This also prevents training from dragging on forever.

Examples:

Mulan: Mulan is training with an army preparing for war. They all know that it's only a matter of time before they're called upon to fight. Thus, they only have so much time to become a competent group of soldiers.

The Karate Kid: Daniel is training to fight the Cobra Kai kids in the national championships. Again, a time limit has been applied to his training and how much he can learn.

"Impossible" Task

Something interesting I noticed was that most of these sequences include a task that the hero deems impossible, yet are required to accomplish. This gives them an excellent minor goal to work towards during their training and shows us that they have to reach a certain level of skill to do.

Examples:

Mulan: An arrow on top of a super tall pole, which one must climb with weights on both wrists to reach. Many of the soldiers try, including Mulan, but none originally succeed. It's a great example of the attainable but out of reach goal.

The Karate Kid: While some might say the fly with chopsticks is the impossible task, that's more for Miyagi than Daniel. His impossible task is the crane kick, a difficult move that there is no defense against (until movie two, but we won't talk about that).

Mentor

Most training scenes have several key characters besides the protagonist. The first of these is the mentor. This is the person who will train and guide the protagonist to their full potential. They have to be patient, knowledgeable, and most of the time older. Not all mentors are willing to do their job, however (aka Tony Stark).

Examples:

Mulan: Mulan is one of the few that doesn't truly have a mentor. The closest thing I can think of would be either Mushu or Shang, but neither of them actually teach her the way a mentor would.

The Karate Kid: Obviously, Mr. Miyagi is Daniel's mentor. He takes this angry, bullied kid and becomes like a father to him. Their relationship is probably one of my all time favorites. He's always patient and kind, even though his teaching methods aren't the most conventional.

Role Model

The next character you should probably include is a role model. Now, this person doesn't have to be a good guy or actual role model. I just call the this because they are an example of what the protagonist is working towards. They're skilled, powerful, and cool. The hero can look up to them or hate them, as long as they show you the potential of the protagonist's training.

Examples:

Mulan: Shang is Mulan's role model. He's talented and skilled at all he does. He shows you what all these soldiers are working towards, even if they seem a long way off at the beginning of the montage.

The Karate Kid: There are two major role models in this movie. Mr. Miyagi for one, as an example of what true karate is. But I also think the lead bully, Johnny, is also one. He's highly skilled at what he does too, even if he's been taught to use it wrong. He's more of an example of what Daniel doesn't want to be.

Opposition

The last major character you may want to include is the opposition. Remember the phrase "Iron sharpens iron"? That's what they're there for. While they may not directly oppose the protagonist, they can work against them simply by being competition. Your dynamics and stakes will be so much better if you include one of those.

Examples:

Mulan: Mulan has three main opposition characters- Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po. While these characters eventually become her friends and allies, they start off on the wrong foot and do their best to make sure Mulan fails.

The Karate Kid: Johnny and his gang of thugs are Daniel's opposition. They never train together, but they are working to make sure he fails and is horribly beaten at the competition.

Failure

One of the most important parts of a training scene is showing the protagonist failing. We need to be reminded that they're human. No one just picks up a sword and learns to wield it after two hours. It takes years of dedication (or at least as much time as the movie can spare). Showing them failing also reminds us of how far they have to go to win.

Examples:

Mulan: Mulan's training scene starts off with a great sequence of her failing at various exercises. She can't fight, she has no endurance, and no skill. As Shang sings "How can I make a man out of you?". (You knew I had to include it.)

The Karate Kid: Daniel has less instances of failure in his training. There are plenty of examples throughout the film, from being unable to stand up to the bullies to getting badly injured during the tournament. But in his actual training, he mostly faces frustrations over Mr. Miyagi's training techniques than actual failure.

Attitude Change

This is the most pivotal moment in your training sequence. The hero is down and feeling discouraged. They've been beaten and failed multiple times. But then something shifts. They decide to give it one last go, giving it everything they've got. Sometimes this ties in with their character arc, or sometimes it's influences by other characters or the plot.

Examples:

Mulan: Mulan has been failing at one thing after another. Shang has told her she'll never be a soldier and she should just go home. But then she sees the pole and the arrow and something gives her the courage for one more try.

The Karate Kid: Daniel has a lot of attitude change throughout the movie. But one of the most important moments is when, after three days of what appears to be only manual labor for Mr. Miyagi, he confronts him. He's then shown that what he thought to be nothing but chores was building muscle memory for karate movies.

Accomplishment

The climax of your training montage will be the protagonist accomplishing the impossible task and that giving them the inspiration to succeed in their training. It's a triumphal moment, normally accompanied by great music and maybe some slow-mo (unfortunately not currently available in book format).

Examples:

Mulan: With new determination to prove herself, Mulan takes the weights and tries to find a way to climb the pole. As dawn arrives, she figures it out and starts the climb. As the sun rises and the others rise, she reaches the top and throws the arrow down to Shang. Impossible task, accomplished.

The Karate Kid: Daniel's training doesn't conclude with the accomplishment of the impossible task, instead it's used for the climax of the movie. Daniel is injured and facing off the foe who started the conflict. They each have two points and whoever gets the next one wins. Daniel prepares himself and crane kicks Johnny into next year.

Later. . .

You can end your training with the accomplishment, but most of the time you'll include a scene (or the rest of the book) that shows how the protagonist has grown and improved their skills. People always enjoy seeing growth.

Examples:

Mulan: You get to see many of the skills Mulan has learned throughout the second half of the movie. You watch her fight Huns, save the Emperor, and kill Shan Yu. It's a great transformation.

The Karate Kid: You don't get to see so much of Daniel's growth in the first movie. You do get to see how he's improved at the karate championship, but you see it more in the second and third movies.

Other Options

• Skip it. If the training isn't important to your novel, you can always feel free to skip it entirely. It saves you a lot of trouble, and can be more interesting.

• A few vignettes. Another option can be to show a few snippets of their training, highlighting important skills that they learn or interesting parts.

• Beginning and end. Lastly, you can do a very condensed version, showing a bit at the beginning, then going to the end with some sort of final test where they show how much they've grown.

Do you have any tips for writing a training sequence? What's your favorite movie training montage? Tell me in the comments.

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