Fantasy: battle/war plot

sadron · Jun 19, 2007

How do you write those plots if story needs one or two?

I'm having difficulties with writing those. I have coming a one big battle end of my book. Any clues?

jchines · Jun 19, 2007

Lots of maps and sketches. At least, that's what I needed in order to figure mine out for the last book. You need to know where various groups and characters are, both in relation to each other and to the landscape.

A lot of writers will also research historical battles and transplant them into their novel.

sadron · Jun 19, 2007

Thanks! I have so many characters that I need a big plan.

*spots your signature* Aww.

I wish my book would be in the stores someday.

polleekin · Jun 19, 2007

Are you asking about how to write the battle scene itself, the political maneuvering that leads up to them, the reasons the battle takes place, or all of that and more?

If your plot arc is leading up to a battle, you should be including more and more information as you go, logically leading up to the battle as a conclusion-- large battles don't just start out of nowhere. Drop steady bits of information about whatever war-related technology your world has so that the reader won't be surprised to find out that both sides are fighting using magic dragons with lasers or something.

Knowing where everyone is, what their goals are, what the battlefield is like and all of that-- it's important, but largely depends on your world and the technology and magic they have.

I'm not big on maps and sketches myself, but then, I also don't generally attempt battle scenes on a large, grandiose scale. In that case, I would need a page or two of notes at the very least.

sadron · Jun 19, 2007

Thank you, polleekin. The war battle scene is based in front of a big elven city.
I read from one website that battles if hard to write, can be dropped off and in the end, writing that hero is severally wounded. I don't like that.
I tend to go deep with details.

jchines · Jun 19, 2007

A lot will also depend on your point of view character(s). As the author, you need to know the big picture, but your protagonist(s) may only be able to experience and narrate a small part of the overall action. A foot soldier on the ground will see a lot less than the archer looking down from the wall, for example.

sadron · Jun 19, 2007

Very true. My Protagonist have to organize full scale army defence. This will be challenge for me.

Thank you for help. I appreciate it alot!

JPSpideyCJ · Jun 19, 2007

In my first book, there's a giant battle, and I basically listed all the number and infantry of troops my enemy had and my good side and used the terrain. My battle is set in a forest. Also, the reason for the quest is finally done in the middle of my battle.

sadron · Jun 19, 2007

Thanks for help for all!

dclary · Jun 19, 2007

JPSpideyCJ said:
In my first book, there's a giant battle, and I basically listed all the number and infantry of troops my enemy had and my good side and used the terrain. My battle is set in a forest. Also, the reason for the quest is finally done in the middle of my battle.

What do the little people do while the giants are battling?

Ordinary_Guy · Jun 19, 2007

dclary said:
What do the little people do while the giants are battling?

They stab all the exposed ankles...

Death Wizard · Jun 19, 2007

You should read at least half-a-dozen nonfiction books about medieval warfare, if you haven't already.

dclary · Jun 19, 2007

Ordinary_Guy said:
They stab all the exposed ankles...

Reminds me of my gnome warrior in EQ, who always rushed into battle crying "I may be small, but I am worthy!"

mscelina · Jun 19, 2007

I write a lot of battle scenes. I agree that you should read books on medieval warfare. I tend to use classical battles as references when drawing up my plans and maps--just for a lay of the land. My personal favorite is Caesar's Commentaries on Gaul. I also watch a lot of shows on the History channel that deal with specific battles. As for one on one combat, I was combat trained when I was in the theatre and took up fencing as a result. There are several good websites on single combat that you can find if you google. Good luck.

zornhau · Jun 20, 2007

I saw a dead man win a fight...

sadron said:
How do you write those plots if story needs one or two?

I'm having difficulties with writing those. I have coming a one big battle end of my book. Any clues?

Remember that the battle itself will be conveyed to the reader in words, not nice History Channel diagrams and animations.

So I suggest giving it a story that the reader can old in their head... something that makes sense and sounds good in summary, e.g. "The bad guys attack. The defenders fight fiercely, but then abruptly fall back. The bad guys storm after them, but it's a trap - the good guys cut them down like dogs."

It also needs a twist. That is to say that the actual implications of the battle should follow from the action, but not be obvious at the start.

So at the start the obvious potential results are "win" or "lose" and we should know what's at stake. However if the hero wins, then perhaps the victory is costly, or perhaps half his allies good looting then melt away. If the hero loses, perhaps he manages to take out the bad guy hand-to-hand.

The Battle of Otterburn is a classic real life example. The losing general was captured, but the winner slain:

Last night I dreamed a dreary dream,
From beyond the Isle of Skye,
I saw a dead man win a fight,
And I think that man was I.

Vomaxx · Jun 20, 2007

You might consider including a diagram, if the battle is complicated and crucial. It is exceedingly difficult to describe a battle of any complexity without a map, in a way that the ordinary reader will understand. Just references to right and left flanks can be confusing, as many readers will be unaware that your "right" faces the enemy "left", for example (since the convention is to refer to the enemy from his point of view). Of course I am assuming that you are describing the battle from the viewpoint of a general or colonel. If it is from the POV of a common soldier, you might well want to make it as confusing and apparently formless as a private or corporal would probably find it (as Stendahl does in his great treatment of Waterloo in The Charterhouse of Parma).

sadron · Jun 20, 2007

Oh that help alot. Thank you.

Fantasy: battle/war plot

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jchines

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Tumhe na koci puujetha

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zornhau

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