Large Scale Fantasy/Medieval Warfare

if you are writing in omniscient pov, then the unseen narrator tells/shows the story, from any angle he chooses...

But if you are writing in 1st person or 3rd person, then you can only show what they see, feel, hear, smell or think. For this reason, grand melee's are a little more focused and the larger picture is ignored until someone observes it...

PS, read some Bernard Cornwell Saxon Chronicles, or the Archer Tales to see how he handled large battle scenes in both 1st person and 3rd person. He writes historical fiction very well...

The sounds, the confusion, wounded screams, blood, dust, units moving in fore or background, messengers moving about, positions being captured/lost, etc.

Immerse the characters in the battle, and have them interact with or be affected by the ebb and flow.

How you write it depends on what kind of point of view you are using. If you've told the rest of the story in a close third, it will be jarring to the reader if you suddenly break into third person omniscient. Also, while I like a tense battle scene as much as the next person, I find they can get kind of boring if you spend pages and pages describing every tactical move of the battle. By doing so, you run the risk of distancing the reader from your characters.

You might try putting some breaks in the battle. After all, during any battle the fighters need some time to recuperate. In the end, though, you have to do what feels right for your book. When you reach 50 posts, you might want to consider posting one of your battle scenes in SYW. Then you can get some feedback on whether or not it works.

McBeanie said:

Any tips on avoiding pages and pages of battle?

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Just like any other scene - keep it focused on what needs to happen to advance the plot. The outcome of the battle might be important, but what are the smaller events that matter? Do the MCs achieve their mission? Who gets killed or injured? Are any officers cowards or traitors? Who discovers they love the trill of danger, or hate the sight of blood? Do enemies need to be introduced?

If those events or character developments need to happen during the battle, then that should be the extent of the battle scenes. Playing out the larger battle can be summed up after the fact: "Victory is ours!" or "We must withdraw to better positions!"

McBeanie said:

Any tips on avoiding pages and pages of battle?

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Focus on the important parts. Readers don't need to know everything that happens, just what helps to give the context (i.e. set the scene and draw us in, the sights, sounds, smells of the battle), move the plot forward, and develop the characters.

Although they aren't common, I thought George R.R. Martin did battles fairly well in A Song of Fire and Ice. Robert Jordan wrote some good ones as well, but do to my loathing of the man I can't recommend his Wheel of Time series. (Also, it would cost too much money and kill too many trees getting his books.)

Take it from one PoV at a time, tell their story and don't worry about the rest. If they cannot know it then the reader cannot know about it either. The important thing about a battle is not the grand scale of it (leave that to the director when they make the movie version...) but the small personal triumphs and woes that occur in the melee.

You can give hints about the overall battle in many subtle ways. For example:

- rumour and hearsay. Characters shouting things out that the PoV character can hear such as 'They've taken the bridge! All is lost!'
- Changes in the press as tides shift - armies charge or retreat.
- Changes in morale as things happen (think about the end of LOTR when Pippin shouts out 'The Eagles are coming' and the morale of the army suddenly changes.
- PoV characters in places of advantage. You want something to be showcased then go into the PoV of a character who can see that thing happening. Why bother with Bob who is hiding in a hole after fleeing the battle when you have Jack at the head of the calvary charge?
- Linked to the above - generals. Commanders of battles in most periods of history after about the 14th century (Richard III is acknowledged as the last king of England to die in battle, he did so because he led his army from the front...) led their people from a vantage point, usually a hill a short distance from the field. This was so they could see the battle in its entirity and send runners to the commanders to tell them to change tactics based on what they see. This is the place to have a PoV character if you want the readers to see the whole thing play out. It is also a place of relative impotence - they can see the battle but can do little to influence it, their friends my be dying and they cannot help them (except to maybe say something to the general who might decide to do something about it but it will still take time to get any order enacted...)