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While I have written a tutorial on fight scenes, I felt that it would be prudent to write one regarding wars and battles.  After all a war or a battle is not just about how to fight.

When you are writing a war or battle first make sure you plan where it's going to take place.  Land can be tricky, and it changes during a battle.

Image two giant armies amassing on a huge field. Infantry and cavalry alike, all decked in battle gear and heavy armour.

The pound of thousands of feet, man and horses alike.  How do you think the ground will look? Grass torn and flattened, turned to mud especially if the weather turns and it begins to rain or sleet.  Are there hills or mountains?  Has one army taken a higher ground, dug a moat or added spikes of wood to protect their area?

Is there forests around them, have the trees been burned by one army to keep the other from using the wooded area as shelter?  Has an army begun to plunger the wood to make weapons large or small, carts or forts?

Different landscapes mean different methods of attack. If your armies are desert folk do you think large wagons with wheels could be used? No, the sands will make that difficult – even horses or oxen may not be wise, whereas camels could be the chose for cavalrymen and equipment brought on sand-sleds rather than carts.

What about on a tundra?  Armies on a polar land would have to be kitted out to deal with those environments, they would have to be very sure-footed as it wouldn't just be the enemy who are the risk, one slip of a foot and you could lose your life.  Think about large areas of water frozen, allowing crossing to occur until the weather changed and they thawed.

By thinking about the location first, you can get a feel for the "lay of the land" and decide how each army would have to deal with it.

Many who die in battles and wars are not killed outright.  You can die of your injuries, a broken rib can puncture a lung and you can slowly drown in blood.  Exsanguination (bleeding out) can occur, a wound that did not kill instantly can be hard to patch especially if an artery is hit  If it is not bound and treated quickly, you can bleed to death.

All injuries leave a character open to infections such as septicemia (blood poisoning), gangrene (where body tissue dies) etc.  How do these infections attack a body, can your character survive if treated? Are their medical people in your army to treat them? Are their natural remedies, for example plants that can purify blood and cleanse wounds?  Would your character survive if something more radical happened such as amputation?  But even this can be dangerous because amputation can put a person into shock if no sedation is used, even stop their heart from the pain and fear.

What about accidents?  An army of infantry moving forward, what if the cavalry panic, if they are attacked from the rear and push forward too fast.  Infantrymen could end up getting crushed, crush injuries can be devastating and again cannot always kill instantly.  Would members of the army be left dying slowly in the mud?

Could your characters be captured by the enemy? Would they be executed as a warning to others? Would they be tortured for information or treated as animals for cruel pleasure?

Any of these points would as normal need to be researched so you can understand the details.  Remember injuries are not just about physical issues, a person's emotional and mental stability / reactions can change when suffering an injury.

An army needs resources – the main ones you might think of are armour and weaponry but they will of course need food and water – for themselves and for any animals they use (horses / oxen etc) and medical supplies and equipment.  If your battles / wars are in more modern times and you have technology that moves, you would need to think of fuel – whether coal, wood, petrol or any other, you cannot expect an inexhaustable supply.  Even if your machines run on wood-burning, a forest is only so large and once all the wood is used – you would need to find new sources.

Not all food can just be picked, if your army is large they would need to bring food, maybe it would need to be rationed.  What about rats or other pests, would the food need to be guarded so it doesn't become tainted or encourage pests?  If food supplies ran low would people start to steal it, even kill for it?

Are farms and harvests commandeered? Livestock stolen by soldiers or maybe bartered for?  How would this affect the villages and towns that rely on this food normally?  Would it cause rebellions?  How would the army deal with this?  

If they bring their own, are they also bringing livestock.  Does this slow them down?  Is it risky, dealing with say a herd of cattle who could possibly panic and stampede?  

If your army has animals such as horses or camels etc then you need to bring resources for them too.  Grass is not just the only thing they can live on and clean water is also needed.  Not just for drinking but for cleaning wounds.

A good general will plan the battle – will consider the location they are meeting on and will think about a water source.  Don't forget, it has to be fresh water.

Remember in times of war, armies have been known to taint or poison water supplies so their enemies can't use them.  Could this backfire and leave them without any if their own supply dries up?  What about civilians, are they suffering from this?  After the war is over, is the area or water still tainted?

Has the army salted the earth so the civilians of their enemy can no longer grow food and so they starve or cave in to the armies demands?

There are so many little things you need think about, everything interconnects and these extra are what help to make your writing stronger, to develop.

An army needs soldiers with skills, those with hand-held weapons, those skilled at using machinery such as cannons, catapults, trebuchets etc.  A good army will also have farriers (for tending the horses when they need shoeing), blacksmiths (for working the forges and fixing weaponry) and medics (for tending the injured), engineers for fixing machinery.  

The general or other leader will need tacticians to advise on strategy, messengers to communicate with their captains.

For large armies, they are usually made up of groups of soldiers each led by their own captain or major (whatever hierarchy system you wish to employ – again if you are thinking of using an existing one such as the military, learn the different rank levels so you get them right).

You may needs scouts who move alone, risking their lives by getting close to the enemy to plot movements. What about spies (intelligence officers) infiltrating the other army, reporting back?  Informants, local militia that an army can exploit, bargain or bribe for assistance.

In times of war an army will be built up from those who have already served and new recruits.  These can be men / women who are drafted or maybe tricked into joining.  Do they recruit or force those with little education to be frontline men who are no more than cannon fodder?

Another aspect that few think of is prostitution, yet our world's history is riddled with prostitution huts being set up for fighting men.  Would your army do this to stop the soldiers from attacking villagers?  Would these women have a say?  How would their life be, servicing so many men?  Would this increase the risk of illnesses such as pox?

A battlefield is not quiet.  Whether you have the explosion of cannons and guns, the clang of sword metal, the thwang of bow strings, thunder of hooves and the pounding of feet.  Shields can be crashed against each other, some armies have drummers, keeping the beat of their marching men.  

Catapults throw rocks and rubble, when they hit there are more noises – broken carts and machines, walls and buildings collapsing.  

People don't die quietly, they scream and cry and kick and spit and wail.  There will be the roar of anger or fear or encouragement.  

Even when the fighting stops, when each army (if they do) withdraw – as sometimes can happen during night.  You will hear the crackle of fires, the nervous murmurs of troops, the walking of patrols, creaking of wood.

Don't forget scavengers, dogs and birds who will skitter among the dead festering and fighting over the flesh.  The cries of the sick and dying in their medical tents.  

There are a hundred different sounds that can come from a battlefield, think about them to develop your scenes.

Learning history is good for battle scenes.  They rarely end quickly.  Months, years even centuries.  Learn from other countries – a famous one in England was the 100 years war.  Think about that, that war spanned two generations.  

How long will yours last, how does time length affect morale?  How does it affect the mentality of those fighting – maybe some soldiers did it for honour, for their country – after 10, 20, 30 years has this changed?  Are they less patriotic and more bitter, disheartened?  Would it cause mutiny in the ranks?  Are they more sure of their fight?  Have they seen both sides?

Would there be those who commit suicide as the only way out of the constant fighting?  What about desertion and if so – is there a punishment for this?

In a large and bloody battle, soldiers could be dying in the hundreds – does that mean generals would need to find more?  Would they release hardened criminals for jails to serve in the army?  How would these people do?  Would they relish their freedom, would they fight with honour, would they try to flee or even join the other side?  Would their own side turn on them for their past convictions?  Maybe these criminals would see the non-criminal soldiers behaving as criminals, raping and looting and killing innocent people – this would show a flip to what one would expect.  But then again, you cannot expect anything in war because it tests a person in ways never imagined.

Who is fighting in your war?  Where people drafted or did they choose to volunteer?  Are those skilled in weaponry or in labour forced to take up arms?  Are several tribes forced to group to fight an enemy?  Are all those above a certain age expected to fight?  

Depending on how your soldiers are brought into the war, what do their families think?  Are women and children left behind?  Are women drafted leaving the children to be raised by the elderly?  Always think about dynamics, ways to build up characters, conflicts, tensions and ideals.

If a son volunteers to go to the army, maybe he sees it as following is father or maybe he sees it as an adventure.  Does he mother feel the same, is she worried or maybe she doesn't believe in the cause they are fighting for?

If a daughter is drafted, does her elderly father complain, does he try and stop them taking her and in doing so get beaten, arrested or maybe even killed?

Do people lie about their age to get in?  

Soldiers are not the only casualties in a war, there are other victims.  Innocent people are killed, whether an area is raided or bombed or just trampled through.  

People can be used as human shields, hostages or just get in the way – for example, a man refuses to give soldiers access to his livestock.  Rather than waste time, they beat or kill him to take his animals.  He refused because he has a family to feed – now his family has an injured or dead father, either way he may not be able to provide for them.

There are often raiding and looting.  If a town is seized by the other army, those innocent people living within it are "fair game", women and children raped and murdered or sold into slavery.  Men treated as entertainment and maybe forced to fight rabid war dogs at the laughter of the soldiers who see these people as nothing.

An army can cause many problems, water can become tainted or even dammed off for their own uses without thought to who else would need it.  Forests and fields razed to stop the enemy using them, again without thought or consideration to others who might live of these lands.

If a specific wild animal is hunted by an army (example – deer) what does this do to the other wildlife?  Do wolves who relied on the deer for their pack start to attack people?  Are they starved or do they move on, do they attack livestock?

Are there mass graves for the dead?  Are they piled and burned to prevent pest or infection from spreading?  Are they shipped home for their families to bury?  Are they treated with disrespect by their enemies by being hung or skinned?

(And drawing) depending on how you write it.  Decide on an ending to your conflict (if you want it to end), what would happen to your soldiers on both sides and indeed those in charge.  Are there generals or monarchs?  What would happen to them on the losing side?  

Would they be executed to disillusion the troops?  Would they be released or forced to kill themselves?  Would soldiers be given a chance to serve in the winning army, almost as slaves or would they all be butchered?

Even on the winning side, what about the people injured or mutilated?  Those captured and tortured, would they be freed or maybe just lost, never to be found?  Would a soldier who served for decades be able to adjust back to civilian life?  What about his/her partner or family, have they moved on, suffered at the hands of their enemy, died from something or are unable to cope with their partner's return.

Remember research is important, ask questions on how it will be and then work on the answers.


Did you enjoy this tutorial? Well you might like to visit my Writers Blog -The Eternal Scribbler, all new tutorials are now listed there. I update the blog every Friday at 18:30 BST (mostly).

So if you are a budding writer, check it out, you can follow the blog via email if you like and get a notification when the new tutorial pops up. :)

Happy Writing

Another writing tutorial, this is to compliment my Writing Fight Scenes.

All my writing tutorials are listed on this journal entry [here] along with pending tutorials.

Thank you to all who favourite my tutorials and I have truly appreciated all the positive feedback I receive from these. I have met many writers since I started these tutorials, I wish you all the best in your writing.
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Adam-Walker Featured By Owner May 5, 2015   Writer
A perfect guide. Bit on the ancient side but good all the same.
Charmed-Ravenclaw Featured By Owner Jan 29, 2015  Hobbyist General Artist
This was really insightful! Thank you for writing this. I was wondering, do you know of any books you could recommend in terms of war strategies?
DarkDelusion Featured By Owner May 7, 2015
Try The Prince by Machiavelli, it is good for how to seize or maintain power. It's a really good book. Might not be exactly what you are looking for but it's a good base.

Otherwise, I would look to more history books regarding how wars/battles were fought by different countries and what their strategies were.
Charmed-Ravenclaw Featured By Owner May 9, 2015  Hobbyist General Artist
Awesome! I will put that on my books to read list!
DarkDelusion Featured By Owner May 11, 2015
No problem. Good luck! :)
Charmed-Ravenclaw Featured By Owner May 13, 2015  Hobbyist General Artist
Kallios Featured By Owner Dec 29, 2013

Okay, so I admit I am a cynic and I was fully expecting you to gloss over the more disgusting and/or "minor" details (scavengers, the looting of corpses, supply problems, treatment of prisoners). However, you didn't, and in fact brought to light some situations that I hadn't thought of. Here is my sincere apologies for doubting you, and also my sincere thanks for writing this. You've done a great job, and I am definitely going to check out your writing blog for more tutorials.

Quick Question: do you have a tutorial detailing the treatment of war-related injuries? I count myself lucky that I actually own a book relating to surgery during the Napoleonic Wars, but it can be damnably difficult to write about injuries and their treatment if you've never actually had them or don't have any experience with dealing with them.

DarkDelusion Featured By Owner Dec 29, 2013
lol thanks for the comment, I found it amusing that you apologised for "thinking" cynically. That made me smile.

I hope you enjoy my blog, please note that I have not yet transferred all my current tutorials over so it is a little more sparse however all tutorials that I put on my blog will be more detailed, even if they are ones from here. Not to mention, all new tutorials will be on the blog rather than being here as I want it to be a central place for my writing notes.

Regarding you question, no I don't have a tutorial on detailing treatment of war-related injuries but I could certain try to write one. Let me add it to my list (PS there is a Submit a Tutorial section on my blog for if you think of any others) and I will get to it when I can :)

Thanks again for the comment, I am always stoked when I here people like my tutorials. I never thought they would be this popular!
GoblinPrincess Featured By Owner May 16, 2011
Great :heart: As I was reading I thought of 'The Wheel of Time' - I learnt lots of things from there, but this is far more useful (with further personal research, logically :meow:). Thanks for sharing, your tutorials are awesome ^_^
DarkDelusion Featured By Owner May 17, 2011
Why thank you, I am glad you have found my tutorials useful. I am sorry I haven't been able to write more recently, time has been in short supply! :) As with all writers who venture here, if you think of anything I could write a writing tutorial on (that's not already on the list - see main page, under the favourites section) I will be happy to add it (provided I feel confident in writing about it as a tutorial).

Good luck with your writing.

Tell me, do you write wholly for hobby or do you hope to turn that hobby into a career as a published writer?
GoblinPrincess Featured By Owner May 19, 2011
Well, I used to dream about publishing, but as I grew older I learnt about how little "author rights" can mean in the real world, and about evil editorials, and now there's Internet and this new kind of piracy (I'm young, but my soul is very old-fashioned... I miss easier times, I guess) and now I think I don't even want to try.
But writing is not only a hobby, it is vital for me - although I'm too lazy and technically I have never written nothing but detailed scripts and some clips, I think about it all the time and I carry my notebooks almost everywhere, doodling plots and clothes designs :meow:
DarkDelusion Featured By Owner May 24, 2011
I can understand your thoughts about it, that world is complicated and not as glamorous as many think.

An author retains more rights if they go through an agent first, and if you are a popular author you usually have a lot of power behind your name because after all, you can always change publishers... it's just getting in the door and getting up to the level where you have that power.

I personally believe books need to remain, this whole e-book nonsense doesn't do it for me. As a writer, who has to read a lot of my chapters on screen I can't imagine anything worse than reading a novel on a screen instead of a book! Not to mention it's not exactly safe.

However I do think the book industry will survive (though maybe not the hard-back book industry). The internet is a pain because things can get on it. All my writing is done on a computer with no connection to the net and nothing will be sent via the net either. I'm very strict on that.

Even if you chose not to pursue a writing career, it's lovely to know there are still people that gain such a joy just from the art of writing :)

Thanks for sharing.
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