Empire civil wars, fantasy war novels, ect

[Alex]

So I was wondering, I think we have all seen the stories that focus on realistic wars of today (or wars that could potentially happen) But what if one were to get away from the group of people travelling on some epic adventure (Tolkien style) and write about an empire plunged into a war, or civil war (perhaps that it is losing). Perhaps having the protagonist run special missions, unique such as would be done by a spy or some sort. (spy was merely the first example I could think of) It is just an idea, and I was curious as to if it could work for a novel.

 

[Telcontar]

Unhelpful answer: Anything can work if you write it well!

Trying-to-be-helpful-answer: Think about what in that war you want to portray.

The plight of the common soldier? Have a main antagonist who is a spear-carrying grunt. He gets ordered around by his superiors and has to suffer the worst the war has to dish out. Maybe he can get separated from the army at some point to gain a little bit of leeway for storytelling.

The intricacies of fighting a superior enemy? Give us the viewpoint of a captain or lieutenant. Someone with some authority, who leads men into battle. He has both superiors and subordinates, he is somewhat in the middle.

The sadness of an old, proud kingdom losing a war? Show us a General, or the monarch himself. The monarch especially, if he has a philosophical bent, could expound on all sorts of things concerning the nature of government and whether or not a kingdom lives on through its people, blah blah et cetera.

And of course, the spy can also work, or any number of other players/supporters/victims of the war. It all depends on what sides you most want to show the reader, which sides most impact the plot. Is the war won through intrigue? Through brilliant maneuvers? Through some battle hero? It's up to you.

So the real question is, what do YOU want to show the reader? War offers lots of opportunities for a story, but you have to pick a couple to focus on.

 

[Alex]

You just got the gears turning for the common soldier aspect. Thanks a lot! I've already got a rough idea of what I want to start it with.

As soon as I have the first few chapters down, I'll put it in the showcase. You see, I've been trying to write my first fantasy novel and it never came out quite right, even with editing. However the ideas I'm having now seem like they could certainly work for a story.

 

[quenchy]

You also could have different types of wars according to your setting - classical medieval fantasy or wide-spread low-magic setting like DnD's Eberron or something else? It could all be interesting if the reader comes accross one of these stories, but when you're writing a military plot in fantasy, you will have to compete with a great number of other books. So you'll have to figure out either unique element or just use the war as background without even emphasizing on it and tell a different story.

 

[hppavmx704]

To help you with the research portion of this, talk to soldiers. Get their aspect of what they did during the war. When talking to soldiers though try not to be pushy. Some don't like to talk about their experiences at all while others will only talk about certain ones. If you want feel free to PM me and I will give you my experiences.

 

[sashamerideth]

I knew a guy that was a navigator for one of the bombers operating in Afghanistan, as well as a soldier defending an oil pipeline that took a bullet to the chest, while wearing a vest. The navigator was probably responsible for more deaths, but the grunt was more messed up. Getting shot probably had something to do with it.

I think the stories of the foot soldiers can be very compelling, building the friendships that your life depends on, and watching those friends bleed and die, even gives you a chance to kill your protagonist and write about the aftermath.

 

[SeverinR]

I knew a guy that was a navigator for one of the bombers operating in Afghanistan, as well as a soldier defending an oil pipeline that took a bullet to the chest, while wearing a vest. The navigator was probably responsible for more deaths, but the grunt was more messed up. Getting shot probably had something to do with it.

I think the stories of the foot soldiers can be very compelling, building the friendships that your life depends on, and watching those friends bleed and die, even gives you a chance to kill your protagonist and write about the aftermath.

The mental stress is much worse when you wade through the carnage compared to flying over it. I have not been in war, but I would think getting shot at, be it on the field or in the air is still traumatic.

How the battles are fought has changed drasitcally, but living in the field hasn't changed much since the first battle was fought. When the soldier is not fighting the enemy, he fights the enviroment. Water logged, rain drenched, sunburned with little water, sitting in freezing cold unable to move very far, get shot at or give away your position.

Bugs: fleas, ants, bees, ticks, flies (after night manuvers, I woke up to critters crawling over me, I had made my digs on an ant hill.)

animals: mice, rats, snakes, and every other critter ignoring your call for the password. Armadillos in Texas, never knew the password, and never stopped when commanded to. Imagine not knowing if the sound you heard was a critter or an enemy moving up on you.

That doesn't even take into account the sights of the actual battles playing over in your mind while your trying to rest.