Paul, some tips about writing better fights and tournies:

1) Despite what others may say, long fights are not mandatory. In televised Robot Wars, fights would sometimes last a matter of seconds. However, detail is important in a good fight. Describe the dents, the gashes, how many times a robot bounces after being flipped. The dodging and wheeling around each other to get in a good attack leads to good tension.

2) Remember the people controlling the robot. If Killotine is being thrown around by Achilles, try mentioning Steve being worried, or Alex getting excited at the prospect of sending Killotine OOTA. Adding people adds a connection and makes it more real.

3) Research can add to your descriptive flare. Learn what types of weapon are likely to do what kind of damage. For example, toothpick axes will likely punch straight through thin poly, but a Terrorhurtz style one will either crack and chip it, or just shatter a whole panel, depending on the strength.

4) When it comes to tournies, dont just enter a load of robots you want to enter and expect people to get wildly enthusiastic. Ive read a couple of fights, but I havent been interest A) because the fight quality is lacking, and B) because I dont have any entries, and therefore no vested interest. If youre just trying io improve your writing, write random fights and ask for feedback.

5) Most importantly, dont write a robot to win a fight just because its seeded or because you like it. Case in point, MDU 4 in Crash & Burn (I believe). While normally a very sucesful and destructive design, it was drawn against a robot designed specifically to beat it, and lost at an early stage.