So You Want To/Write a War Story: Difference between revisions

{{tropeHow-To Guide}}

Armed conflict between organized factions great and small occurs in a lot of fiction. Here's how to write a story about [[Warhammer 4000040,000|WAAAGH!]]

There are a lot of different ways to go about writing a war story. In historical eras, the main choice is going to be between the Army and [[Wooden Ships and Iron Men|the Navy]]. Nowadays, assuming you're writing about the [[Yanks With Tanks|United States]], you've got [[The Army]], the [[Semper Fi|Marines]], [[Top Gun|Air Force]], [[Flaunting Your Fleets|the Navy,]] and the [[Coast Guard]]. What do you choose? The Army is going to be the most prone, at least in fiction, to a fairly standard story without anything unusually badass or exciting happening. The Marines is more likely to have some pretty badass stuff going on, especially if they are [[Space Marines]], doubly so if they are based on the real life USMC. The Air Force is likely going to either be about [[World War 2|great strategic bombing campaigns, dueling aces]], or [[The Ace|slick jet pilots competing to be top dog.]] The Navy isn't likely to feature too much stuff directly going on, except in the days of [[Wooden Ships and Iron Men]]. In modern times, they're mostly there for artillery support or air support with occasional landings of Marines or their own elite badasses, the [[Badass Normal|S.E.A.L.'s]]. After that comes the question of officer or serviceman. Is the story about an enlisted grunt in the field going on patrols and living in foxholes, or is he [[An Officer and Aa Gentleman]]? Is there a [[Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough]] duo dynamic? Is the main character a [[Action Girl|woman]]? What if they aren't frontline combat personnel, or what if they're a medic? You can do [[Elites Are More Glamorous|special operations]], but be careful; a lot of stories don't do it well, or do the operators justice.

* [[Mary Tzu]]: Very few real life generals have ever gone undefeated throughout their whole careers. Just as [[General Failure]] will quickly frustrate the audience and set expectations for what will happen whenever anything is done that has his name on it, [[Mary Tzu]] will quickly exhaust the shock and awe of her spectacular brilliance, and the story will lose any sense of tension.

* [[Rare Guns]]: There are reasons why the [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|rare guns]] are so rare. Typically, rare guns are that way because they were impractical, too expensive, not so good as the competition, absolutely dreadful weapons, or because their production was halted by either something better coming along, or because the country producing them was invaded.

* [[Gun Porn]]. While it is a given those reading a war story will like accuracy in their weapons descriptions, try not to go overboard on it. Be accurate, but not gushing unless it is in-character of course, some soldiers do get a little more attached than is healthy (although unless it is a "war is hell" type of story this will be treated with suspicion by their senior officers). Few readers will thank you for page after page of minutiae on firearms when a story could be being told.

** [[Reds Withwith Rockets]], if combined with inherrently making them malevolent because they are Russian+/Communist.

* [[War for Fun Andand Profit]]. Real wars are extremely expensive and are getting more and more expensive all the time as more advanced technologies are implemented. A war for profit, typically of a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]], is very unlikely now to pay off. Most likely, he's going to end up ruined and convicted in international court. War for fun and profit only works wit very low cost low intensity conflicts such as gang wars, where controlling the sale of drugs more than compensates for the price paid in guns and members.

* [[Useful Notes/The Laws and Customs of War|The Laws and Customs of War]]. Be careful about this one. This is straying into the realm of politics and rants about the merits of organisations like the UN and the International Criminal Court. There will always be undercurrents of this, especially where military units are concerned, but it should only be the subject of an extensive exploration if you plan to include a political dimension. Otherwise, it can safely stay in the background until the [[Obligatory War Crime Scene]].

*** [[The Hero]]= squad leader, usually a [[Sergeant Rock|sergeant]] or a low ranking officer, if the officer is not a [[Naive Newcomer]] or [[The Neidermeyer]]. Usage and playing with the [[Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough]] and the [[An Officer and Aa Gentleman]] tropes is possible.

*** Characters could get intimate with the townsfolk, but only for a fling, or brief affair. Have a [[Hooker Withwith a Heart of Gold]] on hand for some [[Platonic Prostitution]], or to give the [[Fresh Meat]] [[Naive Newcomer]] his first taste of sex [[You Don't Want to Die Aa Virgin, Do You?|before he goes off to battle.]]

* [[Band of Brothers (TV series)|Band of Brothers]] is a very realistic [[World War Two]] story that has great [[Real Life Writes the Plot|writing, plot]], characterization, and music. If you want to know how to really pull of a great story, then this is the series to watch.

* [[Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (Anime)|Victory Gundam]] is in many ways like the Gundam version of [[Full Metal Jacket]].

* ''[[All Quiet On the Western Front (Literature)|All Quiet Onon the Western Front]]'' may be close to required reading. Warning: it is one hell of a [[Tear Jerker]].

* ''[[The Aeneid (Literature)|The Aeneid]]'' has a back half that tells of a pretty awesome war story. Such a shame with the [[What the Hell, Hero?]] [[Gainax Ending]].

* The [[Far Cry]] film, even appearing in Film Brain's [[Bad Movie Beatdown (Web Video)|Bad Movie Beatdown]]

[[Category:So You Want To{{TOPLEVELPAGE}}]]