Stuck near beginning part again...

In my sci-fi story, the hero and some of his friends join the military (for various reasons), while some don't (since they're pacifists). Both "sides" will play important roles depending on what they do when the war in my story starts.

I sort of skipped this part early on, because I wasn't sure how to do it, but now I figure I should take care of it, since people will inevitably ask me why I never wrote how the hero's went through military training, and now they're expertly trained killers (well, defenders mostly, cause their side rarely gets to go on the offensive, simply because the bad guys have more numbers).

Anyway, the problem I'm having is that two of the hero's friends have joined different branches of the military, while the hero joined a different one himself (this will all tie in later as to why they all didn't just sign up for one service).

So, how "deep" do I need to go in terms of writing while he goes through basic training (and pilot school, since he's going to be a fighter pilot pilot)? I know I will have to show some stuff, but how "in-depth" do I need to go (I don't want to bore readers with the training, since all the cool stuff happens when they go on active duty, but I suppose I need to show some stuff). And how should I go about through this period, since I'm going to have to jump a couple weeks at a time (or months, depending on how "boring" his training is going)? For instance, I guess I can show the part where he goes through some simulations, then when he first gets in a military jet, and finally when he begins to train on the fighter jets he will be flying in combat, but those will be at least a few months apart.

My first plan is to just mostly stick to the hero's POV during the training, but I have several areas where I "break" that "limited POV rule" and go full blown omniscient (because of major plot points that I believe require the reader to know about, otherwise they will probably get lost on the story). As for his other two friends, I figure since the hero isn't with them, they can tell him some of the crazy stuff they went through later when they meet up again.

The alternative I was thinking of was to have a short chapter dedicated to the hero during part of his training, then a short chapter on his first friend (who's training to basically be infantry), and his other friend (a mech pilot, think Mechwarrior, remember this is sci-fi :b ), and once that's done, go back to the hero, who's graduated and assigned to a squadron. Do you think if I did this it would be okay (I've seen books do things like this where chapters are dedicated to other characters besides the protagonist. Some of them work, others don't work as well).

So, can anyone help me out here? I do have quite an epic to tell, but I suppose I need to get the main characters' training over with first before I can start telling it hehe.

I'm also trying to make it so that the main protagonist, while important, isn't going through this alone. While I like the "Superman" type stories of one person kicking butt and taking names from time to time, I generally prefer stories where teamwork is what wins the day, and I want to try and show it through this story.

It depends where your story starts. I don't think people will ask you how your characters received your training, unless they're in high school and then suddenly jump to being military experts. But if the story starts when they're already experts, then it doesn't matter. Your readers will know that they've been trained if you integrate the backstory properly into the main story.

I do have quite an epic to tell, but I suppose I need to get the main characters' training over with first before I can start telling it hehe.

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There's your problem. Your epic story doesn't start until AFTER they had their training. So why not start there, AFTER they had their training. Why do you have to show how they got their training? I mean we don't get to see how James Bond was trained...

Glimpses of the back story (how the characters first met, how they became friends, what was the training like, etc.) could be told in the main story through dialogue and context-sensitive flashbacks.

write your story, and skip over everything else.

i have read books that consisted entirely of a person's training, and had essentially nothng of what they did with those skills.

if it's mainly an action story, start after the training.

if their lives before the military are important, write those.

then skim rapidly over the training. say that x months or years passed. maybe show 3 scenes: their induction, something important or life-changing from the training itself, and their graduation. or whatever.

i don't think people will mind you skipping the training, as long as they understand that the training took place.

p.s
even as the defenders in the war they are, presumeably, still killers.

I think a lot of beginning writers do not appreciate just how much they can leave unsaid. I remember I spent months mastering the art of transitions. How a character gets from here to there, whether it be in time or space. I really got good at it.

Then I suddenly learned the best transition is to announce an intention, then drop a few lines, or start a new chapter and pick up where the intention becomes manifest.

Example:

"We could always ask Aunt Martha," said Bill.


The door at Aunt Martha's was huge and imposing.


Possible solution to your problem.

..... Robert looked at his watch, "Time to go."
..... Joe, thin, pale, and unsure of himself asked, "Do you think we will like training, Robert?"


..... Robert had only been waiting fifteen minutes when Joe entered, muscles of brick, a flaq pole spine, and unwavering flint for eyes.
..... Joe took the drink from Robert's hand, "God but I'm glad training is over."
..... "Me too. What you going to do on your six weeks vacation?"


What happened during training? One look at Joe should tell you.

Thanks for the tips! Okay, here's a rough summary of what I have planned for the start of my story:

Some scientists discover an ancient temple hidden deep in the jungle. One of the assistant accidentally breaks a seal which has held evil forces for thousands of years (not really "sealed them away" so much as "closed the portal" to that world so said evil forces couldn't physically enter the world and wreak havoc). Anyway, the main evil god is introduced (right away no less hehe), and he kills all but the one who broke the seal, since he has plans and needs that one alive (for now, this probably won't get much more details beyond what I write here, but it will be explained later in the story why this is so important).

The story then "fast forwards" 50 years later, on another planet, and it follows the main heroes. Among them is the hero's sister, who is on leave from the military and is leaving the next day. Her friends take her on one last adventure before they go (great way to introduce the main characters hehe).

The story then "fast forwards" again a few months, and the race from the first planet appear with a massive fleet by an outer space base that the second planet along with their allies are stationed at. Without warning (well, the admiral of the bad guys will question the orders, but the good guys don't get to "see" it), they open fire on the base, killing everyone (think of Pearl Harbor, but imagine it in space), including the hero's sister, who was aboard the space station. Interestingly enough, the bad guys' leader bears a very strong resemblance to the guy that pulled out the sword in that temple...(if I just left it at that, do you think people would get it? I want to try and keep the "boss" from revealing any history. I want to have the bad guys' bloody history since that day told through the various soldiers who have to fight. Hopefully readers will understand when they see why the bad guys attacked the space station).

This incident drives the 2nd planet and her ally into a war with the 1st planet, even though the bad guys outnumber them roughly 3 to 1 even with their combined strength (so the enemy isn't exactly a pushover either). It's also the deciding factor that leads the hero to join the military, not only to avenge his sister, but to protect his planet and his girlfriend (who has some strange, relatively unexplained powers) from the bad guys. Some of his friends join with him, others don't, but they still all remain friends. (and hence where my main problem that I was asking about lies roughly here).



So I hope you can sort of see why I got stuck. I guess the epic technically starts even before the hero even thinks of joining the military. I didn't want to do a flashback, since I've heard its seen as amateurish and usually not done well. Plus the flashback would probably be like 80% of the story if I did it, since there's quite a bit that happened, and there's no way that the hero will know about the inciting incident in the temple on that planet (not until the 2nd book anyway, and yes, I have a reason for leaving it out until then).

Also, as I was writing it, I developed even more ideas for it regarding the history, so that this will all make sense when you consider the past and how it's affected the future (if anyone's read my sci-fi board postings, they'll know what I meant by this). I think I'll do this mostly via conversations between the hero and his "educated" friend (although I may just have the hero look at some history books too, which like some history books today, will only show "one side" of history, and will most likely have some important details omitted or forgotten about).

There is also a love story in the book (it's central to the overall plot actually, since I didn't just want a "love story" for the sake of having one) and a scene where the girl forces the hero to leave her on a planet that the bad guys are about to take over. He doesn't want to, but she asks him to trust her (would you leave your love behind in the lands when the enemy is about to attack?)

Keep replying! I want to take all opinions into consideration, since I myself like to look at issues from all sides, and see why things happened a certain way (for instance, we all know that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. To Americans, it seemed blatant and unprovoked. However, to the Japanese, they felt it was inevitable, and that a quick strike knocking out the US's Pacific Fleet there would ensure they got a few months of headstart to invade the Phillipines. I'm not condoning what the Japanese did, but I understand why they felt they had to do it).

When I know more about the multiple sides of an issue, I can begin to understand why certain things occur, and why people tend to act certain ways sometimes (and it makes for great story sources, since I can then emulate real life and flesh out my characters, both good and bad). I know it sounds a little ridiculous, but I really hate hearing only about one side, and how it's always bad (why is it always bad?), while the other side is all good and always right for some reason (what supports your saying of it being good all the time?).

Just out of sheer curiousity, how many of you are somewhat interested in the plot so far? Would you consider reading it if it were to come out today? Sorry for the long post (I like writing long posts for some reason, but only when I have something I really need to know about or say), but if you read through it, thanks.

Interestingly enough, the bad guys' leader bears a very strong resemblance to the guy that pulled out the sword in that temple...

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Are you describing both of these people to the reader and leaving it up to them to make the connection, or are you saying that this guy coincidentally looks like the other? Because nobody else would know (esp. being from another place entirely) what the first guy looked like.

I'm still so green, I probably shouldn't be handing out advice, but here's a personal account that might be helpful in the whole "back story" thing.

In my story, there is a covert organization that spies on ordinary citizens. To explain their existance, I spent about a month writing four enormous chapters of "conspiracy" type history that went all the way back to the 1400's. It was ridiculous how much effort I put into explaining where this organization came from.

In the end, I yanked those bloated chapters out of the book, because they were just too boring and had nothing much to do with the real story. BUT it wasn't a total loss.

Now that I knew the whole history if this fictional organization, it made it easy for me to drop in the essential hints through dialogue and actions, while keeping the organization nicely intriguing.

in a latter chapter, when the truth about them must come out to the reader, I took care of it by having an independant spy luck into stealing one of the covert agent's laptops after a gun-battle. The spy learns the truth, and sums it up in her super-secret journal.

Keep in mind that if your novel, especialy a series, is successful, you can later jazz up and sell these "copious notes" on history, back story, etc, and sell them as seperate books. Dedicated fans love this sort of thing.

What looks to be wasted effort now may turn into a mini gold mine later.

"Are you describing both of these people to the reader and leaving it up to them to make the connection, or are you saying that this guy coincidentally looks like the other? Because nobody else would know (esp. being from another place entirely) what the first guy looked like. "

Actually, those "two guys" is the same person, but I'll give a subtle clue so that readers can catch on to it. His eyes will glow red briefly when the monster sort of "takes over" his will (it doesn't possess him, although because of his "weak mind", he's very persuasive and easy to control when the demon offers him riches and power to serve it), and then it'll do it again when the Admiral is having a talk with him over the intercom system (However, the Admiral will just miss that as he's turned away from the screen to do something else right before his eyes glow again from the evil demon).

Since he's the only one under the demon's control (and he's the bad guys' Supreme Ruler, at this point in the story, remember the demons' "offer of power"? Hehe, he's delivered it), I think showing that will let readers link the bad guys new boss as the guy that opened that seal so many years ago. I thought this would be a clever way to show that he's "under the influence" of the demon god (and yes, other characters would be able to see the red glow if they were to look directly at him. I just purposely made it so that only readers will "see" the red glow to indicate he's under control by the demons).

And yes, it will be explained as to why this stuff is so important (because it's vital to the overall plot), but it'll most likely be expanded in the 2nd book (since the first book I just mostly want to introduce the characters and their universe before I start to delve too deeply on any major issues). The ideas I have outlined for it have amazed the friends I have told it too (since I was wowed by it, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one that liked those ideas), and if the first book does well, then the 2nd one will explain even more about the characters' universe.

have you considered dividing your book into two acts?

hmm...i had initially understood that they joined the military earlier than that.

i stand by my advice to skip over the training if it's boring.

about how long do you think the story before they enter the military will be?

often, a jump in time seems more natural if there's a "break" there. some authors divide their books in 2 or 3 parts or "books" within the book. if book one ends with them joining the military and "the second half of your book is called "book 2" or "part 2" or "act 2" than the jump is more anticipated.

if there's a LOT of material before they join, that could even be the end of the book.

and the sequel, if there was one, would begin with them already trained.

Re: have you considered dividing your book into two acts?

Now, go write your book. When you're done you'll have a better idea where it started. Then take the Mighty Red Pencil of Death and cut anything that isn't part of your story.

book

I do think it's best to just write the book. But I'd also say that the biggest single mistake new writers make is starting the story far too early. I can't tell you how many first novels I've seen that had two or three or four chapters before the real story actually starts.

Generally speaking, you want to start as late in the story as possible. It's called "in media res." This means "in or into the middle of a sequence of events."

Stephen King violates this in pretty much every novel, but not many writers can get away with it, and King couldn't either when he first started writing.

So you need to know where the real story begin, which usually means where does the action begin.

As for flashbacks, I don;t know how the rumor got started that flashbacks are bad. They aren't. The flashback is a perfect good and necessary tool, and I can't remember the last published novel I read that didn't use flashbacks to some extent.

Like anything else, the problem with flashbacks is that some writers don't know how to use oine effectively, how to blend one in seamlessly with the narrative around it. A well-written flashback with proper transitions isn't even noticeable to the average reader.

What you can't do is use a flashback as an info dump. Small, short flashbacks that relay a minimum of necessary information work well. They come and go so quickly and smoothly that they blend into narrative perfectly.

And remember, too, that what you leave out of a novel is just as important as what you put in. You don't have to describe everything, and you don't have to tell everything, and you don;t have to explain everything.

Get to the main story as quickly as possible. That's what readers, including editors and agents, want.

Re: book

Definitely cut the parts that the readers are going to skip anyway.

Here's one way to find where your story starts: Your story starts at the point where all of the preceeding action can no longer be summarized in a single sentence.

Here's another way: Your story starts at the point where the characters can't say "Screw this!" and order out for pizza.

Re: book

I always love Jim's "pizza" analogy. That has helped me tremendously to realize the book starts when my protagonist can say "no" anymore. The stakes are high enough.

Re: book

what kind of pizza?

whether i would give up and order pizza definitely depends on the pizza place.