Mental Battlefields: Challenge #4

Start here before doing this challenge.

The wait is over when the first shot is fired. Whether it’s the first arrow that arcs over the battlefield, the first report of a gun, the first missile launched, or the first laser emitted, there’s always something that starts the deluge. That looses the dogs and starts the conflagration.

This is the action that kicks everything off. Is everyone ready to act? Are the forces in position? Has everyone woken from their rest and had their last bathroom break? Does everyone have their orders and understand what to do?

Focus on that first shot. Think about the person who fired it. Which side is he or she on? Were they reacting to a signal? An appointed time? Did they mean to fire it? Was it carefully calculated, perfectly aimed, and intended to precipitate this entire battle? Or was it the slip of a hand, careless sex on a control board, a badly-timed nap, or a malfunction that caused a misfire?

Was even the side the shot first came from ready for it? Did anyone try to stop it?

This time, focus on that shooter. Tell us how that first shot came to happen, and all of the things that it caused. Show us the impact on one of the front-line soldiers (assuming this particular battle has some). Feel free to pull in any and all of the previous characters you’ve written about, as you wish. The battle is starting, and you get to determine how it goes and for whom.

Challenge #4: Who Shot First

Next up: Challenge #5

Mental Battlefields: Challenge #3

Start here before doing this challenge.

We’ve considered those in charge of our warring armies. Now let’s take a look at those lower on the food chain: those closer to the front line.

With two forces lining up and tense about what’s about to happen, timing is going to be crucial. Both are racing to get ready, both are jostling for their best strategic position. No-one wants to miss something happening and risk being caught with their pants down, or asleep, or looking the wrong way. One side might be counting on a feint in order to make their real move. This all makes intelligence about each other’s movements of vital importance.

Both sides are attempting to spy on the other. They might have scouts out in the field, trying to sneak close enough to find out what’s really happening. They might have someone trying to hack into enemy communications and decode essential transmissions. They might have a probe skirting enemy territory, sending back videos of the encampment. This is going to depend on the era you’re writing about, their available technologies, and the nature of the battlefield between them. Your scout might be an actual person on the ground, creeping through undergrowth and eavesdropping on perimeter guards, or they might be an intelligence analyst, processing captured data back at base. It might be something in between. It might even be a mole in the enemy camp, trying to get a vital update out to their true masters before it’s too late.

Decide who your scout is. Decide which side they’re scouting for, and who they’re spying on. What led them into this position? The entire battle could pivot on this person and their skills: if the enemy gets the drop on them in this final battle, it could all be over as soon as it starts. How are they handling the pressure: with practised ease, or are they starting to crack? Somewhere in between?

Think about the tools at their disposal and what they’ll need to do to get the information they’re after. Are normal methods going to cut it this time around, or are they going to have to try some extraordinary measures? Be creative; have your scout think outside the box. Now is the time to pull out all of the stops, to go that extra figurative mile.

Now consider what it is the scout finds in this last push. What is it they’re after, and why is it so important? What they come across may be a feint, it may be real, or it might be a mix of the two: that’s up to you.

Tell us the story of this scout and that extra mile. Tell us what they find, and if it’s what they were looking for. Tell us about their efforts to get the information back to the leader who desperately needs it.

Do they make it? Does the information get to where it needs to be? Does the scout make it out alive? Tell us the fate of this scout and their mission.

Challenge #3: Intelligence Test

Next up: Challenge #4

Mental Battlefields: Challenge #2

Start here before doing this challenge.

Now we understand a little about one of the sides in this battle, let’s take a look at the other one.

The top dog has been doing well, particularly during this final stretch of the war. They may or may not be comfortable at this point, but things have definitely been going in their favour.

Think about how they’ve managed to get to this point. What was it that made the difference? The strength of individual men? Better arms or armaments? More resources or support? Was it pure luck that gave them some vital wins? A particularly skilled tactician in charge, or an unstoppable hero on the front line? Divine favour? A mixture of several of those?

Does everyone believe in the same reason for their success? What does the average soldier believe? Was this inevitable, because of the strength of their faith, or the number of their armies, or the weapons at their disposal, or the righteousness of their path?

What about their ‘camp’? Is it a similar setup to the underdog’s camp, or is it different? How is it different? Think about all the ways it differs or contrasts to the enemy’s camp. Is it about the equipment, the mood of the soldiers, the feeling in the air? Are the differences obvious? Or is it only the emblems on flags and equipment that mark the difference? Are they more alike than one might assume?

Somewhere in this camp, there is the person in charge. Think about this person’s attitude as they prepare for this final showdown. Are they complacent or nervous? Confident or grouchy that there’s so much fuss about what’s really just another battle? Do they have something to prove, or a perfect record to maintain?

A leader is nothing without a reliable and smart second-in-command. Someone to take their orders to where they need to be actioned, and to make sure it’s done. Someone to run interference and ensure everything is running smoothly. Someone to filter the distractions that are placed in front of the leader for consideration. They might even have more than one second, but for right now, let’s focus on one of them.

Consider what kind of person this second-in-command might be. What makes him or her a suitable second-in-command? Is it because they naturally complement their leader in some way, or because they’re able to fake it? Are they new at this position, or have they been in it for a while? Are they comfortable playing a support role, or are they, in fact, ill-suited to the position?

How does this person view their position? What kind of relationship does he or she have with the top dog leader? Is it an easy symbiosis, or a fractious duty? Is there trust and respect? Is this relationship still being built, or could it have been damaged at some point in the past? What is the second’s opinion of their leader and his or her tactics? What do they believe about their chances in the upcoming battle? What do they know about what’s going to happen? How busy are they as they await the battle?

Show us the top dog camp in the final few hours before the battle begins, through the eyes of the second-in-command. Again, don’t get to the end of the waiting period, not yet. This is all about the anticipation.

Challenge #2: Underdog’s Underbelly

Next up: Challenge #3

Mental Battlefields: Challenge #1

Start here before doing this challenge.

Let’s not jump right into the heart of the storm, not right away. Let’s explore our players first.

Somewhere near your battlefield, two forces are gathering: top dog and underdog. You should give them proper names. They’re moving into position and preparing for the fight to come.

Both sides are waiting. It might be for those last supplies or troops to arrive. It could be for orders from distant brass. It could be a signal to coordinate the attack. It might be an event outside of their control, like a break in the weather or the alignment of two certain stars. Whatever their reasons, both sides are currently in a state of suspension. Waiting. Preparing. Trying to second-guess what their enemy is doing or waiting for. Hoping that whatever they’re waiting for gets there before the enemy makes their move.

Go to the underdog camp. Think about the makeup of the camp: is it an actual camp, or a disparate gathering of forces, or a group of ships grouped loosely in the dark? Have they been dug in here a while, or just arrived? Are they still in transit to the battlefield?

What’s the tone of the camp? In the last hours of their wait, what’s the prevailing mood? Excitement, dread, determination? What are people doing? Are they ready, resting, or running about in a scramble to prepare for the battle of their lives?

Think about what the average soldier might be doing. Then move up the chain of command until you reach the person in charge of this group. He or she is probably not the ultimate leader of this side of the war – though they might be – but they are definitely the conduit to whomever is in control of the underdog side.

What’s it like in the commander’s presence? Is it the same as everywhere else in the camp, or is there a different prevailing mode? Is the difference subtle or stark?

Consider who this commander is. Give him or her a name and a title. How did he or she rise to this position? Is this what they always wanted, or a path that life has thrown them on? How competent are they as a commander? How are they viewed by their troops? Have they proven themselves in battle already or do they still have something to prove? Who have they been proving things to? Themselves, someone personal, their troops, their superiors?

What is the commander waiting for, and how optimistic are they feeling? How are they using these last few hours before the hammer drops?

Your first challenge is to write a moment in this commander’s last few hours before the battle. Not the end of the wait, but during. Tell us who this person is, tell us what they’re doing, and maybe, what they’re hoping to do. Show us a glimpse of an underdog girding itself for battle.

Challenge #1: The Top Top Dog

Next up: Challenge #2

Writers’ Asylum: Mental Battlefields: Prologue

Welcome to 2016’s Writers’ Asylum. Leave your coat and sanity at the door, and prepare for a day of fictional lunacy like you’re never experienced before. Don’t worry if you hear the doors lock behind you; that’s the least of your worries now. Because we’re going to war with our own minds today.

Today, we’re going to explore a single scenario. You’re going to assemble all the pieces and lay them out on the board, and then we’ll see how the game plays out. First, however, let’s create the board.

The stage for today’s play is a battlefield. Imagine any battlefield you choose, from any genre or era. It might be a wide, open plain, or a valley, or a stretch of ocean. It might be a particular area in space, perhaps made interesting by a streak of asteroids, perhaps stunningly empty. It might be a stronghold ripe for breaching. It might be a border, or have some strategic significance, or have religious or cultural meaning. It might be chance that makes this place a battlefield.

Whatever its significance – or lack thereof – this place is going to host the last battle of a war. Think Waterloo, or Serenity Valley, or the siege of Helm’s Deep.

This war has raged for some time now. Neither side is willing to back down; both have thrown everything they feasibly could into it. Think about what they’re fighting over. Ideals. Territory. Resources. Religion. Safety and security. Riches. It might be one or all of these things. The combatants might be human, or machine, or something else entirely. It’s all up to you. So choose.

By the time these two sides reach our battlefield, things are reaching their stretching-point. Perhaps support back home is waning, or supplies are running low, or the fresh recruits just aren’t there any more. Perhaps everyone is just tired of it by now. The war is almost over; whatever else is being debated, everyone seems to agree on that point.

One side has been creeping ahead. There is a known favourite for this war, the ones that can’t seem to lose; we’ll call them the top dog. That makes the other side the underdog, and it’s dangerous to underestimate the underdog. This battle could be the top dog’s chance to put down any resistance to them once and for all, or it could be the underdog’s chance to turn the tide in their favour and break the back of a superior force.

There are lots of opinions about how this battle will shake out, and none of them seem to agree. The only things that anyone knows for sure is that there are two sides to this battle, and they are drawing up their forces around this one, last battlefield. They are assembled: in tents, or castles, or ships, or carriers. They are getting ready.

Are you ready? Do you know what your battlefield looks like, smells like, as this storm gathers?

Because it’s time to find out.

Warning: violence and war ahead. If that upsets you, these challenges are not for you!

Next up: Challenge #1

Colonising Minds: Challenge #5

Start here before doing this challenge.

The colony’s big challenge is over, one way or another. It made it through or it didn’t. The dust has settled. A year has passed since then, a whole cycle of the seasons, a turn of the sun, and a visitor is approaching the colony’s borders.

Why is this person coming to the colony? Is it a planned trip, or a chance visit because they happened to be passing this way? How did they come to be here, and by what means? Do they have a purpose in coming – news, or supplies, or the start of the next wave of colonists? Are they alone, or part of a group?

What is the first thing that this visitor sees? As he or she progresses into the colony, what do they find? Is it still very crude, or starting to look like an established town, or indistinguishable from a city that has been around for decades? What do the people look like, seem like? Do they welcome a stranger with open arms, distrust, relief, or hostility?

Is there anyone left to welcome this visitor at all?

Follow this person through the colony. Picture the places he or she sees, smells, breathes in. What impression does the visitor have, and is it borne out as they move on through, deeper into this place? Is there any sign of the hardships that the colony has been through? Does this person achieve what they set out to by coming here?

Show us this person’s visit to the colony, and give us a hint of what it might mean for the colony’s future.

Finish up: Epilogue

Colonising Minds: Challenge #4

Start here before doing this challenge.

No plan ever goes smoothly. No group of people will live together without trouble, not for long, even with a common purpose. Small issues can be dealt with in small ways, but eventually, something big is going to come along. It could be days, or weeks, or months, or even years after that first breaking of the ground. This thing will give your colony its first real test, and now, it’s make or break time.

Think about what that first big problem might be. It could be a failed harvest, or a supply train that never arrives. A spoiled or poisoned water supply. It could be a malfunction in the terraformer that stops it from converting the atmosphere, or a hole punctured in an essential dome. It could be a clash with a native race or species. It could be a sickness that no-one has a treatment for yet. Or it could be something more sinister, like large-scale sabotage or terrorism that undermines the establishment of the colony.

Whatever it is, it poses a real threat to the continued existence of the colony. Choose your problem and consider what its repercussions mean. It’s sink or swim time, but what does sinking mean for these people? Going back home again, or something more fatal?

Consider how the colony reacts. What does the general populace think about it? Are they aware, or has it been hidden from public view? What about those in charge: what is the first thing they do? Do they have the capability to deal with this issue themselves? Were they at all prepared for this type of emergency? Are they forced to ask for help, or make sacrifices, and are they willing to do it? Does everyone agree with what must be done?

Tell us about the colony’s first big challenge and how it makes it through – or doesn’t. The colony’s fate is entirely in your hands.

Next up: Challenge #5

Colonising Minds: Challenge #3

Start here before doing this challenge.

The long journey is over. Your colonists have finally arrived at their destination. It might be the planned location, or a chance happenstance of the right conditions, or just the place where they finally had to stop. They are here, and now it’s time to break ground on this new home of theirs.

What kind of ground is it? What is it like here? How much work do the colonists have ahead of them to get themselves established?

How does it compare to the place they set out from? Is the contrast stark? Is it comfortingly or disturbingly familiar? Is it what they thought it would be? Are there any surprises waiting there for them, and if there are, are they good or bad surprises? What is the general mood of the colonists as they stop moving and start settling?

Consider the characters you focussed on in at the start of the journey. Did they all make it? For those who did, how do they react when they finally see their new home? Are they relieved, disappointed, elated, excited, scared of what lies ahead, or regretting their decision to come here?

Tell us the story of the laying of the foundations of their new home.

Next up: Challenge #4

Colonising Minds: Challenge #2

Start here before doing this challenge.

It has arrived: the day when the first colonists set forth on their journey. There is a long road ahead of them, but how will they travel it? Do they have ships loaded with supplies and equipment? Are these land, sea, or space ships? Burros and donkeys? Or are they restricted to only what they can carry or drag themselves?

What is the nature of this departure? Is there a fanfare and a marching band to lead them out of the gates? The hiss of separating spaceships? Champagne and shattered bottles? The quiet slipping away into the night to escape from where they have come from? Might they be chased out onto the road? Or are they just another group setting out on another journey, unremarkable in the scheme of things?

Focus on one or two people in the caravan about to set out. Who are they? How are they feeling as they gather their everything and get ready to leave? Are they daunted by the road ahead, or elated to finally set out, or frightened by what might await them? Are they sure they’re doing the right thing? Are they sad about what they’re leaving behind, or hopeful about where they’re headed?

Tell us the story of their first step on the long road to a new home.

Next up: Challenge #3

Colonising Minds: Challenge #1

You’ve read the setup and got your colony in mind.

Let’s go back to the colony’s first beginnings. Not the first foot on the soil or landing, but before that: let’s go back to the thing that drove it into being. There was, at the start of it all, a reason. Ask why: why would a group of people choose to leave on a long road leading to the longer job of setting up a new colony? Why would someone pay for such an endeavour?

It’s also worth asking whether these colonists are moving to or away from something, or both. Are they fleeing oppression or discrimination, seeking a newer, freer life? Are they moving from an overcrowded world into uncharted – or at least un-congested – lands? Are they looking for new resources, or exploring new frontiers?

Consider the effort to bring this project to bear. How public was it? Did it have to be conducted in secret? Was it crowdfunded? Was there a single benefactor, or a heap of government funding?

How were the colonists recruited? Was everyone welcome, or did they have to apply? Was there a lottery? Did they have to be invited explicitly? What about families?

Behind it all, who was driving it? Think about this person – or, if it was a group, think about a single person in that group. Why are they not only a part of this project, but also a leader of it? What is driving this specific person to push this colony into being?

Follow that person home. Think about where they live and how they conduct their time. Now tell us the story of that person, of how they came to be a leader of colonists in this brave new endeavour, and how this project came to be.

Tell us about the genesis of it all.

Next up: Challenge #2