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Do you have any resources for writing about war? Alternate history, oppressive government, dystopian society. MC is the leader of a rebel group that starts a revolution and expands into one of two sides fighting a war. Fighting is nationwide but MC and his small group fight at home. I have a ton of worldbuilding to do but I know I need help writing about war. Everything about it, from fighting to ranks/chain of command to staying realistic to its effects on people. Anything you have will help!!

@0asissss

Oh boy, did you come to the right place!

Personally, when it comes to writing, my favorite thing in the world to do is research. Good resources for the actually writing about war are few and far between, so I think your best bet would be to research some big wars and war heroes. Maybe pick up some historical fiction from authors like Tim O’Brien. If you’re really into history, check out some news articles from the World Wars from both sides, or the Vietnam War. When writing about a topic such as war, it is essential that you do your research.

Most of the resources I give you will be America-centric because that’s what I grew up learning about, and that’s also what I know best. These types of articles will be different for different countries.

I have bolded what I think is most helpful.

Writing About War

Write A War StoryHow to Write a War or Battle Scene in Your Novel

War Itself

What causes war?Rules of warfare [1]Types of combatModern technology in combatRevolution

Effects of War

Mental illnessHow it affects the folks at home [WWII][Vietnam]

War Protests

Vietnam war protests

War and the Media

PropagandaThe television and war

Rebel Groups

Sans Culottes[Fiction] Les Amis de L’ABCGuatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) 26th of July MovementIrish Republican Army (IRA)

Military

Ranking in the United StatesRanks vs. RatesFitness requirements [Army][Navy][Air Force][Marine Corps][SEAL]Army vs. Navy vs. Air Force

Doing research on the Guatemalan Civil War as a whole I think will really help you. It is fairly recent (ended in 1996), so you will be able to find a lot of online sources and articles.

TL;DR Research Tim O’Brien’s writing as well as the Guatemalan Civil War

xx Sarah

lavender-valentine

The official sites are great, but nothing beats actually talking to some vets or checking out the boards if you want to pick up the slang. Every service branch has its own way of saying something.

Also, please please please understand rank structure, even if the focus of your writing isn't military. I read something the other day and cringed - great story, but she had the guy joining straight out of high school and missing out on going to a service academy, so he didn't get his 'automatic commission'. Fine, but how did he wind up being a major in the next paragraph? Yes, there are other paths (officer candidacy school, green to gold, etc) but she made it sound like he was just promoted upward from enlisted. Um, no. If it's important enough to mention he wasn't commissioned one way, it's important enough to describe how he eventually did get the commission. Otherwise, who cares how he became an officer?

#writing reference #army veteran

Character Death

An editor once told me to make sure I had a damn good reason for a character death and not take the lazy way out. She felt that if the purpose of the death was to shape/mold the protagonist, the molding should come from the aftermath of the event rather than the event itself. She also encouraged me to create a chain of events other than a death to accomplish the same objective. I'm thinking of this right now as I prepare to begin an entire series with a death. And while it drives the following events, it was the man's life that shaped the protagonist. The death just set a chain of events in motion. I really can't think of a better way to set off the events than killing the dude. Sorry my friend. I tried, but sometimes you gotta bury them.

#writerly thoughts #Lav-speaks #not taking good advice

secularbakedgoods

I know I’ve talked about this before, but I’m really sick of seeing writers who should know better say things like, “Tragedy is more compelling than stories where characters have a nice day and nothing bad happens!” without understanding why.

Tragedy is an effective story element when it’s a deviation from the norm. A character’s peaceful existence is disrupted by a catastrophic event that throws everything into chaos. The character now has to either develop so they can cope with the new status quo, or find a way to put things back the way they were. There’s a good story in that.

But when a character’s life is an unrelenting cavalcade of misery, another heaping dose of shit isn’t all that interesting. At that point, a compelling deviation from the norm would be said character having a nice day where nothing bad happens. And modern fiction is chock-full of misery porn, so by this logic, it’s no wonder the coffee shop AU is such a popular fanfiction trope.

Derek Hale getting a dog and putting his life back together is way more interesting than Derek Hale’s life getting worse for the 26th consecutive episode. Creators like to hold up “everything is fine and nobody dies” as a sign that fanfic is bland and badly written, but if anything, it’s an indicator that mainstream fiction is bland and badly written.

#fanfic #writing

What I should be doing: planning scenes that will happen in this and next chapter.

What I am actually doing: planning scenes that will happen in 30 or 40 chapters hoping I will actually have the strenght to arrive to that point.

$109. I’m not proud.

i love just periodically finding this post at different points in my life. i found this on my blog tagged “$28” and another tag saying that at the beginning of the year i was at $7.50. i just added it all up and i am now at $85.50. dreams do come true.

lavender-valentine

I'm on the downhill slide to age 50 and my total just under $60.

So much catching up to do. So. Much.

#only as old as you act?

braftdead

I just realized the first cars movie and the first thor movie have the same exact plot

dancegavindance-deactivated2019

I want an explanation

dragongirltongue

A man on the road to greatness ends up lost in a small desert town with seemingly no hope of getting back to the life he knows, over time he falls in love with someone there and learns to be humble. With this character development complete he’s able to return to his life never forgetting the people in that desert town.

glenn-goldenrod

I’m gonna get burned at the stake for this but I feel Cars did it better.

#concur

spitandvinegar

New hobby idea: using phrases that sound like down-home folksy expressions you learned from your grandma but are actually just nonsense you just made up

- that man really salts my melon!

- you know what they say, it takes a bushel of corn to feed one chicken

- a louse will live on any head it lands on

- don’t put down a salt lick and say you ain’t got cows

- there’s a guy who eats half the berries and says the pie shell’s too big

- like digging a pond and hoping for ducks

faedex-blog

This was supposed to be a joke and all but as a southerner, these still make sense.

lavender-valentine

Pretty sure I've heard my FIL use at least two of these

#watch yo south

adulthoodisokay

EXCLUSIVE: Legendary Pictures has set Star Wars: The Force Awakens star John Boyega for the lead role for the second installment of its Pacific Rim franchise. Steven S. DeKnight is directing the fi…

This is it. This is the headline that killed me.

desert-neon

What's a squick?

First, thank you for asking. This is something I feel is important!

Second, to those who wonder where this question came from, a while back, I reblogged this, and added the comment about squicks not being the same as triggers.

So what, you ask, is a squick?

A squick is an old fandom term for something that makes you supremely uncomfortable and you absolutely do not want to read it. It can be a trope, a ship, a concept, or just an event that happens within a fic or in canon. For me, abused animals are a definite squick. I don’t like it, and will generally avoid reading any graphic descriptions of such. (That includes tumblr gif sets and such too, people! Tag that shit, will you? Even if it has a happy ending.) Another deep, deep squick of mine is infant age play. Don’t like it, don’t get it, don’t want to think about it.

Now, neither of these things are dangerous to my mental or emotional state. I have never experienced either in my life, and they do not bring about any sort of PTSD, dissociation, or spiral of depression, anxiety, etc. They are simply things I prefer not to think about in my daily life, or read about in my escapist hobbies. Therefore, they are not triggers. Triggers are very real, very bad things for some people, and to label things we choose not to read because we find it disturbing or gross or weird is to diminish the very real danger of actual triggers.

I love the term squick. It perfectly describes the concept without assigning any negativity to the thing you dislike, or to people who do like the thing you dislike. It is something you personally do not care for and wish to avoid, simple as that.

thebibliosphere

A squick is an old fandom term

*waves walking stick in the general direction of her lawn* This.

persian-slipper

Bring back “squick” 2k16

shinykari

Squick is wonderful for many reasons, especially because it is value neutral. Being squicked by something doesn’t mean it’s gross or wrong or ~problematic~, just that you, specifically do not enjoy it and that it makes you, specifically uncomfortable to read and/or write about it.

#truth #writing

Recently, we here at LitWorldInterviews.com conducted a survey, “Why do you put a book down?” and through the assistance of the writing community we had a very nice response. Now it’s time to share…

Reason 4,593 - I don't care for your main character, but you put them into 1st person POV and now my apathy has turned to outright hatred.

#looking at you Bella #writing

stormethecat

Mythical creatures: The most complicated diagram on fictional animals you’ll ever need!

chubcity11

TANK YOU

lavender-valentine

Unnecessarily complicated and I love this so much.

#can't stop looking #writing reference

maxkirin

So, let me guess— you just started a new book, right? And you’re stumped. You have no idea how much an AK47 goes for nowadays. I get ya, cousin. Tough world we live in. A writer’s gotta know, but them NSA hounds are after ya 24/7. I know, cousin, I know. If there was only a way to find out all of this rather edgy information without getting yourself in trouble…

You’re in luck, cousin. I have just the thing for ya.

It’s called Havocscope. It’s got information and prices for all sorts of edgy information. Ever wondered how much cocaine costs by the gram, or how much a kidney sells for, or (worst of all) how much it costs to hire an assassin?

I got your back, cousin. Just head over to Havocscope.

((PS: In case you’re wondering, Havocscope is a database full of information regarding the criminal underworld. The information you will find there has been taken from newspapers and police reports. It’s perfectly legal, no need to worry about the NSA hounds, cousin ;p))

Want more writerly content? Follow maxkirin.tumblr.com!

rifa

HELLO

#writing reference

eleanorrigby312

Ten questions to ask a friend who just read your novel

Here are ten questions to ask that will not put your friend in a tough spot, but will still give you some useful input on your novel:

1. At what point did you feel like “Ah, now the story has really begun!” 2. What were the points where you found yourself skimming? 3. Which setting in the book was clearest to you as you were reading it? Which do you remember the best? 4. Which character would you most like to meet and get to know? 5. What was the most suspenseful moment in the book? 6. If you had to pick one character to get rid of, who would you axe? 7. Was there a situation in the novel that reminded you of something in your own life? 8. Where did you stop reading, the first time you cracked open the manuscript? (Can show you where your first dull part is, and help you fix your pacing.) 9. What was the last book you read, before this? And what did you think of it? (This can put their comments in context in surprising ways, when you find out what their general interests are. It might surprise you.) 10. Finish this sentence: “I kept reading because…”

Your friend is probably still going to tell you, “It was good!” However, if you can ask any specific questions, and read between the lines, you can still get some helpful information out of even the most well-meaning reader.

Source: Examiner

letswritesomenovels

This is really useful advice, especially if the person you’ve shared your story with hasn’t had much/any experience critiquing.

It does a great job of asking for a balance of both positive and negative feedback in a way that’s comfortable for both the author and reader.

#writing reference

multishipperpirateking

Does anyone else ever think about how traditional fiction is categorised by plot/setting (romance, crime, thriller, fantasy) but fanfiction is categorised by the emotions it’s meant to give you (hurt/comfort, fluff, angst, smut)?

ladyjanelly

Never thought of it this way, but that’s fascinatingly true.

nobiliorpomis

#smut: the fifth emotion

#truth #writing

reikah-deactivated20190906

being a writer like:

→ time to write → energy to write → inspiration

… pick two

#and only two #truth #writing

photography-cnl

Photographer Captures Vast German Beauty of Nature & Its Fairytale Scenery

Nuremberg, Germany-based photographer Patrick Monatsberger captures the divine, gloomy beauty of the German rural landscape.The vast green and earthy rocky mountains, its fairy-tale architecture and storybook passages are portrayed in every image.

Each scene resembles a film and book set from a fantasy world.