Writing SciFi Military (or Any Military) Stories
One of my SF short stories is a space opera story that involves a starship full of military combatants on leave. Getting the military terms right is an important part of the story.
In my Texas Ranch Wolf Pack series, several of my characters have an elite military background.
Personally, I do not have a military background. (Thank you to those who do! You're all heroes!) The closest I come to it is a brother who proudly served in the U.S. Air Force. I won’t name him, since any mistakes I make in writing about the military are outside of his control.
When writing military scenes or fight scenes in my books, I spend more time researching than I do writing. The need for this became obvious when I wrote a scene where the main character released the safety on a Glock.
If you know weapons, you know a Glock doesn’t have a safety. I didn’t know that at the time, but my granddaughter saved me. She read the scene and rushed to my office to show me her Glock and explain my error to me. (Thank you , Nomi!)
Since then, I’ve been much more careful to research my facts before publishing.
Then I found Writing Military Science Fiction: Infantry by William S. Frisbee, Jr.
This book was a sponsor for a show on the Keystroke Medium YouTube Channel. I highly recommend Keystroke Medium to authors. When the ad came up, I went straight to Amazon and put it on my list to purchase the next time I made an order. A few weeks later, I ordered the 8.5x11 inch paperback. It's a reference perfect for any writer who writes any story that includes military terms, actions, weapons, logistics, tactics, and more.
I’ve gone from hours of research online to picking up the book to find the knowledge I need in minutes. This helps to keep my books from being thrown at the wall amidst screams of, “That's wrong!”
Nothing destroys the willingness of a reader to suspend disbelief quicker than getting basic facts wrong.
If you write any type of military fiction, whether it be military action, military science fiction, military romance, space military, or any story that has main characters who are in the military or any character dealing with modern weapons, this book will save you time and help you get your facts straight.
While I decided to purchase the paperback, the book also comes in Kindle ebook and (at time of writing) is enrolled in Kindle Unlimited (KU), meaning you can borrow it and read it without extra cost if you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Want to try KU free for two months? Click the link at the bottom of this article!
What's in the book?
The list below barely scratches the surface of the contents:
- Evolution, nature, and levels of war
- Strategies and types of war
- Military organization
- Tactics
- Space assault
- Military etiquette
- Weapons and technology
- Types of terrain
- Much, much more...
This book is a go-to reference for any writer who wants to get military or weapon facts right.
Take care and stay safe.
Later,
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| Texas Ranch Wolf Pack Series |
