Action/Adventure: May 29, 2013 Issue [#5702]
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Action/Adventure


 This week: Military Conflict
  Edited by: Leger~ Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

The purpose of this newsletter is to help the Writing.com author hone their craft and improve their skills. Along with that I would like to inform, advocate, and create new, fresh ideas for the author. Write to me if you have an idea you would like presented.

This week's Action / Adventure Editor
Leger~ Author Icon


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

Some of the best action / adventure stories I've read were about war. There is something about military conflict that raises the bar on emotion and actions. I believe it has something to do with military discipline and training. What comes out in the stories is how the characters have to, at times, curb all of their emotions and carry out missions without thought of consequence. Warriors have to unflinchingly obey their orders and not question purpose.

This becomes fodder for the moment a soldier begins to react and allow emotion to come into play. Many emotions are heightened in the course of these stories - fear, courage, even remorse. Outside characters can be painted with heroism by helping their 'side' or the enemy, or flattened with the emergence of survival instinct.

Not only do these stories show the brilliance of tactical positioning and destruction, but they dig deeper, into the psyche of the unit and the emotions of the individual warrior. So if you're planning to charge the hill with your group of characters, make sure you take the time to let your reader know who they are and what drives them to protect and serve.

Write on!

This month's question: What emotions do you think are most prevalent in military stories?


Editor's Picks

 The Great Katrian War Open in new Window. (13+)
Diplomacy between the city-states of Katria gives way to war.
#1872371 by Starmic Suebear Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: They had never warred before. The underlying reason for the new hostilities could be found in the increasingly differing worldviews of the two cities. The fascistic and war-centered state of Kel despised the liberal policies adopted by its neighbour Arla. It had elected a woman, Ama Gen, as its president, and the misogynistic Kellians were up in arms.

 
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Veterans Day Open in new Window. (E)
WW II friends plan to meet in The Netherlands (The Writer's Cramp entry)
#1494721 by Merry_Mikey Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: Pieter Baantjer checked his watch and chided himself to move more quickly. It was almost nine o'clock, and he still wasn't ready to leave for the cemetery. The Americans would be arriving soon - some stooped with age, but many still hale and hearty - all of them riding in chartered buses to visit the American Military Cemetery in Margraten, just southeast of his hometown of Maastricht. The old man carefully picked up the bunches of specially grown tulips from the table and backed through the front door, then gently laid the flowers on the back seat of his old Ford Escort. He closed the car door, locked up the house, got in his car, and drove off.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1908666 by Not Available.

Excerpt: Memphis was a fickle old girl, always; a patrician bluestocking and a red-hot mama, all in one, with Pink Palaces, Piggly-Wiggly’s and pulled-pork barbeque joints all jostling for suitors’ attentions. There was always a hum and a vibe, with watermen from the river, cotton farmers from The Delta, the sounds of Satellite Records, Elvis and Jerry Lee, bluesmen on Beale, and WDIA.

 
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A Quarter To Six Open in new Window. (13+)
Trouble south of the Border for a group of hard guys, and one pretty lady.
#1907067 by TomVee Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: The man talking was a guy we all knew as Onion, just Onion. He weighed about 140 pounds when he had a 60 pound ruck on his shoulder, but he could hump the bush for days with nothing more to eat and drink than a protein bar and sips of whatever liquid was at hand. His dome was as smooth as the proverbial baby’s butt, and his cadaverous cheeks and deeply cleft chin were stubbly with gray. It was a mystery to all as to how he kept his head shaved, and I was always worried that his head would reflect light like a heliograph at high noon and announce to all the world that these were the coordinates, sure enough. Just lay in all the artillery fire you got right here on that shiny spot.

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The Dedication Open in new Window. (E)
A story of what might have been ..
#489602 by deemac Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: He guessed from the bustle at the far end of the bookstore that she had arrived. Across the line of heads, his eye caught a sparkle, like some distant star. He stretched a little and peered; and there she stood, smiling warmly, waving gently from the dais towards the line of waiting people. Was this maybe something like his father’s first glimpse of her, all of those 40-something years ago?

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1668239 by Not Available.

Excerpt: This is not about the politics of war or police action, whichever people want to call it. I was never really at the Bird's Eye view of the war. Many of the offensives had a name, but often we weren't told because our higher ups didn't feel we had a need to know. We only knew that we faced the enemy in different spots on different days. Our view of the war was event by event as we found ourselves in them. Later, we would become aware of the names of battles from literature or from the medals we earned.

 Semper Fi: Always Faithful Open in new Window. (13+)
On the eve of his ship date, a recruit is reminded of whose footsteps he's following in.
#1414145 by DSC Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: It was late as I drove home. It was dark, raining, and the road ahead of me was just barely illuminated by my headlights. I had just left the Marine Recruiting office to get a final good-bye from Staff Sergeant Nixon, the man who had helped me take the steps to becoming a Marine. The next day, I would be shipping out for boot camp at the Recruit Training Depot in San Diego, California.

I had been looking forward to the day ever since I signed up for the Marines back in June of 2005, but I was still in doubt. Boot camp, especially the Marine version, was hard. I had been working out every chance I got since I signed up, but I was still uneasy.

'What if I can't do it? What if I'm not as good as I think I am?' I thought as I drove down the road, letting out a soft sigh. After several seconds of running this thought in my head, I growled and shook it, trying to shake away my nervousness.


 
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Ask & Answer

This month's question: What emotions do you think are most prevalent in military stories?

Last month's question: What type of suspense do you think adds to action and climaxes?


Quick-Quill Author Icon replied: In Movies as in books, when there is build up and anticipation to an action. In the movie Shooter a man is being set up to kill himself. All of the sudden his attackers are picked off and He assumes to be next. My favorite part. In Dan Brown's Deception Point; they are on a boat in the middle of a whirlpool with assassins and the only way out is a helicopter that blows up and one of them is stuck in a sub is going down. Did I build it up to make you want to read this fantastic story?

BIG BAD WOLF is Merry Author Icon answered: Depends on the situation; an encounter with an attractive woman might lead to fun in the bedroom, and a brawl with some zombies might force a Private to put down a respected Commanding Officer.

Mark Allen Mc Lemore Author Icon responded: Hm? Great question. What type of suspense do I think adds to action and climaxes? Well, I have one of the best answers you will ever read...



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