Queen, you write violence and brutality with a skill I’ve never seen before. The magnitude of this epic battle is unreal. I don’t know how you keep up with it. Typically I skim over action or battle stuff because it feels dull. This? I could taste it. You gave me a visceral reaction. It reminded me of the Battle of the Bastards when Jon Snow nearly got crushed in GOT. I had to pause that and remind myself I wasn’t being crushed. I had to pause reading your story and remind myself I wasn’t breathing in smoke and running for my life. Thank you for not glorifying war but calling it what it is: ugly.
Any advice for someone like me who sucks at any kind of action writing?
Oh jeez. Thank you and I honestly think I’m turning a bit red lol. I’m so glad that the whole battle came through as clearly to you as it was for me while writing it. It was a bitch to write but I’m pretty happy with the final product.
One thing... I.... have never watched Game of Thrones?? Oops. Should I watch it? A friend said I shouldn’t because I’m a tad sensitive to non-con content and she said it has a fair amount of triggering stuff. I dunno. So many people loved it though.
War is horrible. It’s the most awful thing and I think it’s important that people are reminded of that—it makes it feel more real.
As for advice? Okay... here’s what I do:
- I watch war movies. No joke, during the two weeks of work on this chapter, I would watch war movies when I could to try and immerse myself in it. I picked them apart, looked at characters reactions to things, tried to think of how to describe the suddenness of an explosion, the sounds, etc.
- I try to focus on the emotions and senses (sight, smell, sounds, taste, etc) of one character instead of describing the hugeness of it all. The world is burning for that one character, try to crawl inside their skin and imagine it like you’re there. Let yourself feel the panic or the anger.
- Shorter, sharper sentences. Cut off a describing sentence, even a very good one you’d like to finish, mid thought for a suddenly or a change. Use verbs that are harsher: slammed, burst, gushed, splintered, detonated. It’ll make a difference, trust me.
- There’s a quote, and now I can’t find it so I’m going to absolutely butcher it, that says something along the lines of “Don’t focus on the bombs or explosions, focus on the child’s burned sock left behind.” Details. Aftermath. It’ll hit with a much harder punch if you narrow it down to a few haunting details that say so much more without you having to go into depth.
I hope that helps!
