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Creative Writing is one of Spacebattles' more popular forums, and is the most popular in the creative forums. Aside from holding a number of more specific subforums, it serves as the primary repository of fanfiction threads on SB.

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• Zero Shock. Bioshock/ZNT crossover. Written by rogue_vector .

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Unleash Your Imagination: Creative Writing Spacebattles

My name is Debbie, and I am passionate about developing a love for the written word and planting a seed that will grow into a powerful voice that can inspire many.

Do you often find yourself lost in the depths of your imagination, concocting extraordinary stories or fantasizing about epic battles between cosmic forces? If so, we have the perfect outlet for your creative prowess. Welcome to the exhilarating world of Creative Writing Spacebattles, where your imagination knows no bounds. In this article, we will explore the thrilling realm of Spacebattles, providing you with insights into this innovative platform that enables writers from all walks of life to unleash their creativity and embark on imaginative literary adventures. So, fasten your seatbelts and get ready to explore uncharted galaxies of ideas, as we delve into the captivating universe of Creative Writing Spacebattles.

Why choose Spacebattles for your creative writing journey?

1. finding inspiration: fueling your creative fire, 2. building your universe: crafting engaging storylines, 3. fostering originality: developing unique characters, bring characters to life through authentic dialogue, 5. creating epic battles: writing action-packed scenes, 6. conquer the writer’s block: overcoming creative hurdles, 7. navigating feedback: embracing constructive criticism, 8. embracing collaboration: joining the spacebattles community, frequently asked questions, closing remarks.

Are you ready to embark on a thrilling journey through the depths of your imagination? Look no further than Spacebattles, the ultimate creative writing platform designed to unleash your storytelling potential. Whether you’re a seasoned wordsmith or a beginner in the world of writing, our community of like-minded individuals is the perfect place to hone your skills, explore new ideas, and bring your wildest tales to life.

With Spacebattles, the possibilities are endless. Connect with fellow writers from around the globe in our vibrant forums, where you can exchange feedback, collaborate on projects, or simply engage in lively discussions about your favorite genres or writing techniques. Our dedicated space for creative prompts and challenges will push the boundaries of your imagination, inspiring you to delve into unexplored territories and uncover hidden gems within your writing arsenal. From science fiction to fantasy, mystery to romance, your creativity knows no bounds here.

• Active and Supportive Community: Connect with a diverse community of passionate writers who are eager to share their insights and support your growth.
• Varied Writing Prompts: Break free from writer’s block with a constant stream of engaging prompts that challenge and inspire your creativity.
• Collaboration Opportunities: Find potential collaborators for joint projects, allowing you to combine your strengths and create something truly remarkable.
• Constructive Feedback: Receive valuable feedback on your writing through our constructive critique system that helps you improve and refine your skills.
• Expanded Skillset: Explore different writing styles, genres, and techniques, pushing the boundaries of your abilities and broadening your storytelling horizon.

At Spacebattles, we believe that everyone has a story to tell. Join our vibrant community today and let your imagination soar to new heights!

Everyone experiences creative blocks from time to time. Whether you’re an artist, writer, musician, or simply a lover of all things creative, the struggle to find inspiration can be challenging. But fear not, for there are countless ways to ignite that spark of creativity within you. Here are a few tried-and-true methods that can help fuel your creative fire:

• Explore Nature: Step outside and immerse yourself in the beauty of nature. Allow the colors, patterns, and textures to seep into your mind and soul. Take a walk in the woods, visit a local park, or just gaze at the evening sky. Nature has a way of awakening dormant imagination and opening doors to new ideas.
• Engage in Diverse Activities: Expand your horizons by trying activities outside your comfort zone. Take up a new hobby, learn a musical instrument, or enroll in a cooking class. By exposing yourself to different experiences, you’ll introduce new perspectives and inspirations into your creative process.
• Connect with Other Creatives: Surround yourself with like-minded individuals who share your passion for creativity. Attend workshops, join online communities , or participate in local art groups. Collaborating with others can not only inspire you but also provide valuable feedback and fresh ideas.

Remember, inspiration can strike from the most unexpected sources. Stay open-minded, keep exploring, and don’t be afraid to experiment. Embrace the journey of finding inspiration, and soon enough, your creative fire will be roaring.

Creating a compelling universe for your story is crucial to capturing the imagination of your readers or viewers. In order to craft engaging storylines, you need to establish a rich and believable world that keeps your audience hooked. Here are some tips to help you build an unforgettable universe:

• Define the rules: Set the boundaries and laws that govern your universe. Whether it’s supernatural abilities, futuristic technology, or magical creatures, make sure these elements align cohesively with your storyline.
• Create diverse characters: Your universe should be populated with characters that are relatable and unique. Add depth to each character by giving them personal histories, motives, and conflicts. This diversity will add layers to your storylines and keep readers invested.
• Evoke emotions: Weave emotional experiences into your storylines to connect with your audience on a deeper level. Whether it’s joy, fear, love, or sorrow, emotions make the story more engaging and memorable.
• Introduce conflict: Engaging storylines are driven by conflict. Introduce obstacles, challenges, and opposing forces that your characters must contend with. This will create tension and keep readers eagerly turning pages or watching your creations.

By carefully crafting your universe and storylines, you have the power to transport your audience to a whole new world. Use these tips to captivate their attention and create a narrative that resonates long after they have finished reading or watching.

Creating unique and compelling characters is a crucial component of any successful story. To capture the reader’s imagination and make your narrative truly memorable, it’s essential to cultivate originality in every aspect of your characters. Here are some tips to help you develop distinctive and unforgettable personas:

• Embrace diversity: Break away from stereotypes and embrace diversity in your characterization. Explore different cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives to breathe life into your characters. Let them reflect the rich tapestry of humanity.
• Mix and match traits: Combine unexpected personality traits, interests, and quirks in your characters to forge intriguing personalities. By blending different characteristics, you’ll create a multi-dimensional persona that readers can connect with.
• Create backstories: Give your characters depth by crafting unique backstories that shape who they are. Explore their past experiences, traumas, or triumphs, and how these events have influenced their present actions.
• Unique appearances: Think beyond physical appearance and consider various aspects of your characters’ visual design that can set them apart. From fashion choices and hairstyles to tattoos or scars, attention to detail can enhance your character’s originality.

By fostering originality in your characters, you’ll set the stage for a captivating narrative that will leave your readers enthralled. Infusing each character with depth, complexity, and unique traits will make them stand out against the backdrop of your story, ensuring a truly remarkable reading experience.

4. Mastering the Art of Dialogue: Breathing Life into Your Writing

Dialogue plays a vital role in storytelling, serving as a powerful tool for character development and advancing plotlines. To truly master the art of dialogue, it is important to infuse your writing with authentic conversations that mimic real-life interactions. By doing so, you can breathe life into your characters and create engaging narratives that resonate with readers.

One key aspect of crafting realistic dialogue is to ensure that each character has a unique voice. Consider their background, personality, and motivations when determining their speech patterns. This will not only make your characters sound distinctive, but it will also add depth and credibility to their portrayal. Utilize unnumbered lists, bold, and italics to emphasize certain words or phrases and inject emotion into the dialogue. Remember that in real life, conversations are rarely smooth and uninterrupted, so incorporating pauses, interruptions, and hesitations can further enhance the authenticity of your dialogue.

• Use contractions: People often speak using contractions like “don’t,” “can’t,” or “didn’t.” Including contractions in your characters’ speech will make it sound more natural.
• Vary sentence length: Experiment with different sentence lengths to mimic the ebb and flow of conversation. Short, punchy sentences can heighten tension, while longer sentences can convey complex thoughts.
• Show, don’t tell: Rather than explicitly stating a character’s emotions or intentions, let the dialogue reveal it through subtext and subtle cues. This will make your writing more engaging and allow the reader to interpret the characters’ motivations.

Mastering the art of dialogue is an ongoing process that requires practice and attention to detail. Through well-crafted conversations, you have the power to immerse readers into your story, making them feel connected to your characters. By implementing these techniques and continually refining your skills, you can breathe life into your writing and captivate your audience with compelling and authentic dialogue.

When it comes to writing action-packed scenes in your story, it’s essential to captivate your readers and leave them on the edge of their seats. Here are some valuable tips to help you create epic battles that will grip your audience:

1. Set the stage: Before diving into the action, establish the setting of your battle scene. Describe the location vividly, paying attention to details like the weather, time of day, and any significant landmarks that will add depth to your scene.

2. Build tension: Engage your readers by gradually intensifying the suspense. Start with smaller skirmishes or conflicts, slowly escalating the stakes for your characters. Use short, impactful sentences and descriptive language to evoke a sense of urgency, drawing the readers deeper into the battle.

Creative hurdles are a common challenge for writers, and overcoming writer’s block is essential for unleashing your full creative potential . Here are some practical tips to conquer the writer’s block and jumpstart your writing process:

• Take a break and recharge: Sometimes, stepping away from your writing and taking a breather can do wonders. Engage in activities that inspire you or simply relax. A fresh mind is more likely to overcome writer’s block.
• Freewrite without judgment: Set aside a specific time to write without any constraints or expectations. Allow your thoughts to flow freely and jot them down without worrying about grammar or structure. This exercise can help you break through mental barriers and spark creativity.
• Embrace change of scenery: If you usually write in a specific spot, try switching up your environment. Visit a local café, library, or park to stimulate your senses and inspire fresh ideas. Novel surroundings can often revitalize your creativity.
• Connect with fellow writers: Engage in writing communities or join workshops where writers share their experiences and provide support. Collaborating and discussing ideas with others can help you break free from creative blocks and gain fresh perspectives.

In addition to these tips, establishing a consistent writing routine and setting specific goals can greatly assist in overcoming writer’s block. By incorporating regular writing practices into your daily life, you cultivate discipline and reduce the chances of creative slowdowns. Remember, every writer faces hurdles from time to time, but with persistence and these strategies at your disposal, conquering writer’s block is well within your grasp!

Feedback is an invaluable tool for personal and professional growth, yet it can sometimes feel daunting. Rather than shying away from constructive criticism , it’s crucial to embrace it as a means of improving and evolving. Here are some helpful tips to navigate feedback effectively:

• Listen attentively: When receiving feedback, it’s important to actively listen to the person providing it. Give them your full attention, maintain eye contact, and avoid interrupting. This shows respect and allows you to truly understand their perspective.
• Keep an open mind: Instead of getting defensive or dismissing criticism, approach it with an open mind. Recognize that constructive feedback is an opportunity to learn and grow, regardless of how it may initially make you feel.
• Seek clarification: If the feedback seems vague or unclear, don’t hesitate to ask for more specifics. Requesting examples or further explanation can help you gain a clearer understanding of the areas for improvement.

Constructive criticism holds immense potential for personal development, but only if we embrace it with the right mindset. By actively listening, keeping an open mind, and seeking clarification, we can reap the benefits of feedback and use it to propel ourselves forward.

Welcome to the Spacebattles community, where collaboration and camaraderie are at the heart of our online platform. Whether you are a long-time member or just discovering us now, joining our community opens up a universe of possibilities. With a vibrant and diverse membership, we encourage everyone to embrace the spirit of collaboration and contribute to the thriving discussions and creative endeavors that take place here.

At Spacebattles, collaboration is the cornerstone of what we do. Engage in lively debates, share original works, or team up with other members to create something extraordinary. Our forum threads facilitate dynamic conversations on topics ranging from science fiction and fantasy to politics and current events. By fostering an inclusive environment, we provide a space where members can learn from one another, broaden their perspectives, and spark innovative ideas that can shape the narratives of tomorrow.

Joining the Spacebattles community means gaining access to an array of collaborative projects. Our Writers’ Workshop offers a supportive platform for aspiring authors to showcase their work, exchange feedback, and improve their craft. If you have a story to tell, our community is here to provide guidance and encouragement every step of the way. Additionally, the Art and Design section allows members to connect with talented artists, share resources, and collaborate on visually captivating projects.

By joining the Spacebattles community, you become part of a collective force that values collaboration and encourages the exploration of new horizons. Connect with like-minded individuals, find inspiration, and embark on exciting endeavors together. Whether you are here to engage in intellectual discussions, craft fictional worlds, or simply connect with others who share your passions, Spacebattles welcomes you with open arms. Embrace the power of collaboration and let the Spacebattles community fuel your creative journey!

Q: What is Spacebattles and how does it relate to creative writing? A: Spacebattles is an online community where members can engage in discussions about various topics, including creative writing. It serves as a platform for writers to share their ideas, receive feedback, and participate in writing challenges.

Q: What is the importance of having a dedicated creative writing forum? A: Having a dedicated forum for creative writing provides writers with a supportive community that encourages their growth and exploration. It allows writers to connect with like-minded individuals, receive constructive criticism , and find inspiration for their work.

Q: How does Spacebattles foster imagination and creativity? A: Spacebattles encourages writers to unleash their imagination by providing a space to share and discuss their ideas. Through vibrant discussions, collaborative storytelling, and writing challenges, members can push the boundaries of their creativity and explore new narrative possibilities.

Q: What are some unique features or activities on Spacebattles that enhance creative writing? A: Spacebattles offers a range of activities to enhance creative writing, such as writing contests, role-playing threads, and collaborative projects. These features allow writers to engage with others, gather diverse perspectives, and develop their storytelling skills.

Q: Can beginners benefit from joining Spacebattles, or is it primarily for experienced writers? A: Spacebattles welcomes writers of all skill levels, including beginners. The community is known for its supportive atmosphere and willingness to help newcomers improve their writing. Beginners can receive valuable feedback, learn from more experienced writers, and grow their confidence and skills.

Q: How can Spacebattles help writers overcome creative blocks? A: Spacebattles provides a wealth of creative resources, writing prompts, and feedback mechanisms to help writers overcome blocks. Engaging in discussions, seeking advice from fellow writers, or participating in challenges can inspire new ideas and provide the necessary motivation to overcome creative hurdles.

Q: Are there any limitations or guidelines writers need to follow on Spacebattles? A: Like any community, Spacebattles has guidelines for appropriate conduct and content. Writers are expected to respect fellow members, engage in constructive discussions, and adhere to forum rules regarding plagiarism, explicit content, or personal attacks to maintain a positive and inclusive environment.

Q: How can writers get started on Spacebattles and make the most of their experience? A: To get started on Spacebattles, writers can create an account and explore the different sections and threads related to creative writing. Actively participating in discussions, seeking feedback on their work, and being open to constructive criticism will help writers make the most of their experience and grow as writers.

Q: Is Spacebattles solely focused on creative writing, or does it cover other topics as well? A: Although creative writing is a prominent aspect of Spacebattles, the community also covers a wide range of other topics, including science fiction, video games, technology, and more. This diversity allows writers to draw inspiration from different sources and further expand their creativity in various areas.

Q: What are some success stories or notable achievements that have come out of Spacebattles? A: Spacebattles has seen many success stories over the years, with numerous writers going on to publish novels or gain recognition within the writing community. The community has also produced collaborative projects that have gained significant popularity. Many writers credit Spacebattles for their growth as storytellers and their ability to create engaging narratives.

In conclusion, Creative Writing Spacebattles offers a limitless platform for unleashing your imagination and honing your writing skills. So get ready to engage in thrilling battles of words and explore the depths of your creativity!

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Five Tips for Creating an Engaging Space Battle

Image by Bill Lile used under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Space battles are an important aspect of science fiction, especially space opera , and we want them to be engaging. At first blush, that might sound easy. Space battles have hyperdrives and torpedoes and lasers, oh my. How could that not be engaging? But it’s harder than you might think. Spacecrafts are complex and alien. It’s easy to drown your audience in endless technical details, fill page upon page with ships firing ineffectually at each other, or leave the audience wondering why the battle was set in space at all.

Fortunately, we storytellers are clever folk, and we have methods at our disposal for ensuring our space battles keep the audience on the edge of their seats. So strap in to your favorite spaceship and spool up the FTL drive. It’s time to explore some tips on keeping your space battle engaging.

1. Plan For Distance

I say this a lot, but space is big . Really big. So big that it’s difficult for our puny meat brains to comprehend. It’s also really empty, meaning that hostile ships will probably see each other from a long way off. This means that combatants will be engaging across millions of miles or more.

At those distances, the speed of light is no longer effectively instantaneous. It takes light one second to travel 186,282 miles, so by the time you see something happen that far away, it actually happened one second ago. At space distances, it’s impossible to know exactly where your enemy is. By the time the light * bounces off them and reaches your sensors, they’ve already moved.

This makes shooting difficult and calls for unique solutions. Ships in your setting might fire volleys of long-range missiles that can track the enemy once they close the distance. Or your ships might employ powerful prediction algorithms to guess at where the enemy is going to be and then fire at that spot. They might even sweep arcs of laser fire through the void like swords , trying to score a hit.

You have a lot of freedom in what options your space combatants use, as long as it has some plausibility. You can even use far more outlandish possibilities if you set them up properly. Your ships might battle by creating small gravitational singularities next to the enemy or broadcast mind-control memes via radio waves. What’s important is that your weapons feel like they’re designed for use in space. The vacuum is starkly different from any other battlefield, and unique weapons will help bring that home.

If you want a battle to take place at close range, you’ll need to set up a good reason for it. If it only needs to happen once, you could craft a scene in which two ships open fire as they depart from the same station. If you want close-range battles to be the norm, you’ll need a more robust explanation. Perhaps your setting’s FTL drives teleport ships directly to their destination, Battlestar Galactica style, which allows combatants to get really close to each other before attacking.

2. Determine Your Character’s Level of Control

A space battle probably won’t be your hero floating alone through the void. * They’ll be on a spaceship and fighting enemies who are also in spaceships . This adds a layer of distance between the combatants, and it affects how you portray the battle.

First, decide how much control your character has over the ship. This can be broken down into three broad categories.

• The Character Is the Ship: This is for battles where the character is an artificial intelligence or a human with their nervous system wired directly into their vessel. They control the ship as if it were their own body and feel damage as if they were being hurt. The battle will be immediate, with no delay between the character’s thought and action.
• The Character Pilots the Ship: In this scenario, the character isn’t part of the ship, but they control most or all of its functions. They decide where it goes, when to fire the weapons, etc. The ship is like an all-encompassing piece of equipment . The battle is still fairly immediate, but there’s a slight delay between thought and action because the character must operate the ship’s controls.
• The Character Commands the Ship: Your character doesn’t operate any controls themselves. Instead they give orders to a team of subordinates. The character makes plans, but they must depend on others to carry those plans out. There is a longer delay between thought and action, because every order must travel down the chain of command .

Your character’s level of control will have a huge impact on how the battle is perceived. When a character is one with their ship, they perceive space as if through their own eyes. They “see” anything the ship’s sensors can detect. A pilot depends on display readouts, whereas a commander must often have data interpreted for them by subordinates, because there’s simply too much information for one person to handle.

Different control levels also influence a battle’s pacing. At the greatest degree of control, the battle will be fast and frantic, much like a sword fight , because the character is effectively fighting via their physical body. A pilot will have a little more time to think, but not much. They must plan each maneuver with only seconds to act, staying one step ahead of their enemy.  A commander must endure delays as their orders are carried out. Use this time to build tension while the character speculates what the enemy will do next and reflects on the cost of failure.

3. Use the Environment to Add Novelty and Realism

Space is an environment unlike any other. It is cold, and yet things stay hot for a long time because there is no air to transfer heat. It is dark but also filled with the light of many stars. Emphasizing the alien nature of space is a great way to make your story more engaging, because the coolness factor and the added realism will ground your audience in the setting. To emphasize the environment, use some of these elements.

• Microgravity:  This is also known as zero gravity or weightlessness, but in absolute terms, there’s always some gravity around. * Thanks to novels like The Expanse , microgravity is becoming more common in scifi stories, but it still has a lot of novelty value. People move differently in microgravity, and things just float around unless something pushes them. Describing how a character launches themself across a room, or how their hair billows around them, will just sound cool. Meanwhile, describing all the handholds, straps, and special drinking vessels needed in a weightless environment will make your setting more immersive.
• Acceleration: In space, the only limit on how fast something can go is the speed of light. That means for most spacecraft, it all comes down to acceleration. The ship that maintains greater acceleration for longer will have a major edge, but it comes with a cost. Acceleration produces a gravity-like effect inside the ship, and the faster a ship accelerates, the stronger the gravity. If the g-forces get too strong , they can injure or kill a ship’s crew. This is a great way to build tension: the ship accelerates to avoid incoming fire, but if it goes too fast, the crew won’t survive.
• Inertia:   In an atmosphere , any moving object will stop eventually, either because it hits something or simply from air resistance. In space, this is not the case. A moving object will keep going practically forever, unless there’s a powerful gravity well nearby to pull it in. In your story, this quirk of physics is most likely to come up after a ship has been damaged so badly its engine no longer functions. At that point, the ship is adrift, unable to halt its progress, drifting into who knows what.
• Radiation: Space is full of radiation. So much radiation that it’s one of the biggest obstacles to putting a human on Mars . A space-battle setting probably has some kind of reliable radiation shielding, but that can disappear once the hull is breached. Even more dangerous than natural radiation is the radiation humans bring with them. A nuclear torpedo or breached fusion drive can put the crew in serious danger if they don’t find shelter quickly.

Those are just four of the many options at your disposal. You can also have characters overwhelmed by the vastness of space  or create a powerful dissonance between the vacuum’s peaceful silence and the many people dying with each flash of a breached reactor. The important thing is to bring in space itself as part of the story, so your battle doesn’t seem like it could have taken place on land, sea, or sky.

4. Design Battle Tactics

One of the toughest parts of narrating a space battle is deciding what the ships do. Sure, you can write that they fire at each other, but without understandable tactics, that won’t mean a lot to the audience. A fight between humans is relatively easy to understand, but when space-faring vessels get involved, it’s harder to comprehend what’s happening. If your audience doesn’t understand the fight, they won’t be invested in the actions your characters take.

Fortunately, you don’t have to drown your audience in technical details. Instead, define what kind of advantage the combatants are trying to get over each other. For a low-tech example, consider naval tactics in the Age of Sail . In those battles, the main advantage was in keeping the enemy within your broadside, while staying out of theirs. This was simple in theory and incredibly complex in practice. It took a masterful knowledge of both the ship and the wind to maneuver properly, but a story about that period doesn’t need to explain everything. It just needs to show how the sail adjustment and weather reading allows a ship to get the advantage needed.

A story of space battles can use the same principle with different specifics. If your ships fight primarily with long-range missiles, then their tactics might revolve mostly around defense. Your characters would have to decide how to allocate their electronic countermeasures and point-defense fire. Do they try to stop every missile, or are they willing to let certain sections of the ship be hit in order to protect others ?

On the other hand, if your ships fight by sweeping space with laser fire, their tactics could focus on herding the enemy into a smaller and smaller volume of space, until there’s not enough room to maneuver properly. No matter the specifics, the important part is that you have a general method and goal that’s easy to communicate . That way, when the characters order a specific maneuver or firing pattern, the audience understands why they’re doing it.

5. Make Damage Matter

Finally, once you’ve figured out foundational details like distance and tactics, you’ve got to make this feel like a battle. One of the greatest weaknesses of space combat in fiction is that it can feel like two computer-generated objects are just flashing lights at each other until one of them disappears. In a battle, people are trying to kill each other, so it should feel like the characters are in danger . To do that, you must make the battle damage matter.

One of the more popular techniques in this area is to show how damage degrades the ship’s capabilities, making it harder for the characters to win the battle. This can work, but it requires that the audience have a thorough understanding of the battle mechanics in your story. Saying the main deflector dish has been disabled won’t matter much if the audience doesn’t understand what the main deflector dish did in the first place. Some storytellers try to fix this by having a character explain in the moment why losing the deflector dish is bad, but even that’s not great, since it can seem arbitrary or contrived.

Instead, you’ll get the best result if you first set up how the various components of your spacecraft work and then start taking them away. If your ships fight by lobbing missiles at each other, it’ll be easy to explain how the ship’s three radar dishes guide the missiles to their targets. From there, it’ll be intuitive that losing a dish makes the ship’s missiles less accurate.

A second option for making damage matter is to make it affect the characters directly. This is what Star Trek tries to do whenever consoles on the bridge explode, but you’ll want a method that makes a little more sense. * My personal favorite is to craft a setting where everyone wears spacesuits during a battle, so you can breach the hull without instant death by asphyxiation. Nothing makes the action impactful like a shot passing straight through the bridge, nearly taking off the protagonist’s head.

If it’s not feasible for battle damage to reach your characters’ location, you can still make the damage matter by endangering their friends. If you establish important relationships between your protagonist and some of their crewmates, you can ratchet up the tension by having some of those crewmates send a frantic call to the bridge saying how that last hit fractured the hull in their section and they can’t take much more.

And of course, if you picked a character who is one with their ship back in step two, you have even more options at your disposal. A character who inhabits their vessel can feel battle damage as a physical injury and react accordingly.

Like any other conflict, space battles follow the basic rules of storytelling. They need proper stakes, a strong motivation, a clear turning point, and so on. But space battles also have their own specific requirements. A poorly built one will seem distant and boring, but with the right techniques, the space battle can be a truly compelling piece of fiction.

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Comments on Five Tips for Creating an Engaging Space Battle

The Lost Fleet series, Star Wars: X-Wing series, and the Thrawn books all have pretty involving space battles, and they do their best to get the science of it right (or as close as possible in the case of the Star Wars ones, which have to conform to the established onscreen material).

I would think it’d be pretty impossible to write a realistic space battle scene in a universe where space can conduct sound and ships close to within feet of each other before firing their weapons.

I have reached at least a couple of headcanon conclusions about the physics in the Star Wars universe. For example I think that time is Newtonian (thus avoiding a lot of problems with time dilation and FTL travel), and that empty space has drag, at least for small (non-planetary) objects, which explains things like the need for constant propulsion to keep constant speed, the way space fighters maneuver, and a few aspects of the WWII-style naval battles. And maybe the sound in space.

In one of the X-Wing novels, a starship is mentione to have a rudder for a “luminous ether”, which caused drag.

In EVE online the official explanation is that the ship’s warp core causes an effect similar to drag and due to its inner workings cannot be shut down entirely or else it would explode (which also neatly explains the ship’s critical existence failure upon reaching 0 hp – the warp core is breached, stops and everything explodes).

Too much of fiction, especially TV & film, ignores the realities.

“Buck Rogers” & the original “BSG” used to really bug me. Buck had a Thing that drove me crazy: aileron rolls that looked flashy, but didn’t actually change direction at all. That’s a great way to get killed.

“BSG” treated the Vipers like fighter aircraft. I know some of it was lack of money for miniatures & SPFX shots, but it would have paid to spend some for stock footage of the Vipers moving directly sideways, or vertically, or radically diagonally, or just rotating on their axis & shooting back.

The idea of predictors is pretty accurate. Space battles limited by STL are very like antiaircraft: the target is much faster than the gunfire, & predictors were around even before modern supercomputers. Now, calculating a target’s likely future position would take account of every bit of environmental data & dead-accurate estimates of the possible delta-vee (up _and_ down) from point of contact: human limits are fixed, but a given ship will vary. So intelligence on hostile ship types & capabilities will be worth more than platinum.

Probably laser (or EM) main battery would be secondary to guided missiles capable of enormous delta-vee & extremely high velocities, plus a variety of terminal guidance options, & high innate “intelligence”.

There’s also an issue of heat rejection. It might be combat is less an issue of hitting your enemy than making him generate heat beyond his ability to reject it. How robust are the radiators? How vulnerable to large delta-vee are they?

Are there any articles on gun fights specifically? I recall gun tactics getting mentioned briefly, but I don’t recall any articles going into details on that subject specifically.

I do have a worldbuilding article about guns, but nothing specifically about gunfight scenes. https://mythcreants.com/blog/six-ways-guns-change-a-fantasy-setting/

Thanks. I’d like to see that subject covered in an article or podcast episode if at all possible for you guys.

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Coiler's Creative Corner

A blog of miscellaneous miscellany

Tag: Spacebattles

Twig ending and the worm dilemma.

Although Twig has not officially concluded, much less Worm 2 having started, the first epilogue of that story has been posted.

The question of whether I should try to get into Worm 2 is tough. I tried to get into Twig a bit, but it just didn’t really grab me, however thematically interesting. Reasons I’d want to get into Worm 2 are:

• I could be pleasantly surprised.
• I want to know more about Spacebattles’ favorite weird niche webfic.
• Most importantly, reading it as it starts means I’m not buried by a gigantic overload of previous chapters.

However, the reason why I wouldn’t, and why I haven’t, are twofold.

• Wildbow (the author) has prose that’s just “meh”. Not terrible, but not the most gripping.
• The pacing of the stories isn’t very good, which combined with their (admirably) fast update schedule means I catch up on several chapters of nothing.

That being said, I’ll still give it a try, and if nothing else, I might be motivated to read through the many updates of Worm 1 while Twig winds down. Maybe I’ll find it an acquired taste. It’s certainly happened before with stuff that didn’t seem good at first impression.

Worms and Twigs

One piece of webfiction in particular holds a peculiar trend. The work of fiction would be the web serial Twig , by “Wildbow”, the author of the Spacebattles-favorite superhero epic Worm . The trend is for fans to declare that the storyline must be almost over.

The claims that Twig must be ending soon first started appearing in earnest around Arc 10. Now Twig is at Arc 20. And there’s talk that, honestly, really, Wildbow’s close to finishing it off.

When browsing through the Worm community, I’ve found an explanation that I felt made a lot of sense. People want Worm II, Wildbow’s announced sequel to the initial blockbuster, and they’re so eager that they want Twig to be over.

I admit to being one of them. A story I could follow a chapter at a time could get me to know the setting better than having to dig through a gigantic million word archive. At the same time, I’ve always felt Wildbow has had pacing issues, and thus I’m not surprised Twig has gone the way it has.

The morbid question I have is “will Worm II overload Spacebattles even more?” According to a running thread , around 15-20 of the top stories in Creative Writing are Worm-centric. I personally feel that if it catches CRWs attention again (which is not a guarantee-Pact has only two fanfics written on Spacebattles, and Twig has  zero),  most of the “victims” will be other wormfics.

So I guess I’ll have to wait and see. For what it’s worth, Worm itself ended after 31 arcs , and Wildbow’s next work, Pact, wrapped after 16 .

The Alternate History Blowup

It’s a weird coincidence.

Shortly after I made my post about how I’d soured on Alternatehistory.com , there was an incident in the dreaded Chat. The board administrator had undertaken another mass banning and issued a rant that many considered to be far beyond his well-known anti-Israel bias, crossing the line into being outright anti-Jewish. As a result, with the aid of friendly staff, a breakaway (sub)forum was set up on Sufficient Velocity .

Many people pointed out the irony of that, since disagreements with board administrators was how SV got started to begin with. And like the Athene Incident, I viewed the latest blowup as primarily a catalyst. Mass bannings/kickings [tempbans] over Israel and the administrator’s view on the country were not exactly a new experience.

This makes me all the more glad I moved away when I did.

The Infinite Loops “explained”

Someone on Spacebattles made and posted this background document for the infamous Infinite Loops project . In terms of showing how goofy oneshots turned into something as  tangled as it is, it’s worth a million words.

Linked here because it’s too big to fit in this post. The thumbnail below shows why.

Spacebattles now has a Worm forum

Spacebattles has, thanks to board upgrades, finally been able to implement a Worm subforum for their Creative Writing board.

The Worm craze has been gigantic, and is every bit as big now as it was when I first blogged about it . Making it opt-in is preferable to just stuffing everything into a subforum to cries of “fencing off”.

So hopefully this works without much issue.

Examining the Loops, Part 2

So, what would I do to improve the loop-threads?

This is legitimately tough. A part of me just wants to go “Ok, I’d criticize them, but let them be as long as they don’t have inappropriate content.” Another part of me just wants to impose better rules.

Rules like the Familiar of Zero ones, designed to turn a previously spammy fandom substantive. The problem is that FoZ is a specific setting, and the Loops aren’t.

So, if I was in charge of policing the Loops on Spacebattles, here’s what I’d do.

-Inactive loop threads are unceremoniously closed. For active ones, I’d give the authors a short time to write a finish, and then close them as well.

-Canon is flushed-the entire Yggdrasil excuse setup is  gone. 

-Snippets have to be very long.

-No one-liners, no dare/suggestions.

-The writer should ideally set out an endstate.

This is an disproportionately large burden, but the loops are disproportionately vulnerable to the worst excesses of goofy fandom. I’d feel reluctant in some ways, but consider it necessary in others.

Looking At Loopfics

So, I feel like writing about the “infinite loops” fandom again, after revisiting it. Looking at a few loops here and there, and taking the recent drama into account (which brings about both cynicism and hope), I want to blog about it.

I mentioned the time loop craze on Spacebattles before . I feel saddened, annoyed, and-disappointed by it, but also slightly hopeful. Very slightly.

The Infinite Loops aren’t/weren’t (just) a decision to write Groundhog Day-styled stories in various fandoms. They are their own universe of countless crossovers. The TVTropes page can at least bring a slight explanation. And-yeah. They’re something.

I like weird crossovers. Even with Sturgeons Law of 90% of everything being “bad”, and even knowing how especially hard it is to make a weird crossover good, I still like the concept. (The amount of theoretical heists I have daydreamed for the Payday cast is astounding, as is me mixing Fallout and the straight JRPG fantasy of the Fire Emblem series). Now, the issue is very simple.

To do a weird crossover right, it must be either extensively thought through or be a total goofball of a fic. The latter can work, but can’t really sustain a full story. The former requires a lot of thinking. To use my example- is there any chance that a noble (in all senses) squeaky-clean JRPG hero would back the psychotic Caesar’s Legion simply because they’re still the form of government they’re used to and know best? Could they stand House treating them as an especially bad primitive?

The loopfics somehow manage to combine all of the weaknesses of both approaches with none of the strengths. Most stories end up as tiny snippets. The ones that “continue” use the format as a way to shove aside anything in the original canon that the author dislikes-nearly always for the worse. So, they’re just tiny “crackfics”-

-that are tied together by a set of rules-Anchors, Admins, Awake, and terminology that I still have trouble getting. References to past entries that in practice take the form of in-jokes and arguments. Constant talk of violations of the rules. This was what kept me away from the loops far more than the content itself.

So, now for the events. Mods stepped in, trying to bring order to the chaos .The loop threads had one of the lowest posts-to-views ratios on the forum, and there was precedent in the Familiar of Zero threads, which went from anything goes “Louise summons ____ lol” to structured ones with strict observation and a firm requirement of substantive content.

This slowed the threads down but prompted much argument and few cohesive requirements. So looking at them now, can I say that it’s a total failure?

No. I’m seeing some better self-restraint, and some attempts at bringing order. Maybe that’s all that can practically be done-Familiar of Zero was at least a single setting, while the Loops were focused on massive crossovers from the start. But there’s still a tiny bit of hope amidst the goofy.

Spacebattles Creative Writing Trends

Spacebattles has had several huge fanfiction trends, most of which I’ve naturally missed.

-Star Trek/Wars/B5/BSG/Stargate fics. Waay back in the day. I entered just as those were fading. Mostly before my time, and Creative Writing was a relatively small, out of the way forum.

-Familiar of Zero. Already mentioned. Gained popularity because of its enormously crossover-friendly setup. Has since largely petered out.

-Self-inserts. Not an exact genre so much as a style of writing. Goes against everything a writer is supposed to do, but as a combination of wish-fulfillment and way to write in an established setting, it worked.

-Worm. This was a bit of a surprise. A long, obscure web-fiction about a superheroine, Worm’s fandom is concentrated on SB-but is very concentrated. Having read only a little, Worm’s draw of both “taking advantage of” superpowers and its surprisingly crossover-friendly nature (fanfic writers love to give the main character different powers) have earned it a huge following on the board.

-Time-loops. Lowest-common denominator goofball-fic. Basically, think Groundhog Day-styled stories. Add in characters of all the settings one could want. Huge needlessly complicated backstory and set of nominal rules. Ability to avoid such matters as plot, character development, or pacing by just rushing ahead to the goofy. (You get the feeling about my opinion on these).

As of the time of this writing on the Creative Writing front page:

Worm, Worm, Star Wars, Worm, Self-Insert, Worm, Loop, Loop, Mass Effect, Worm Self-Insert, Worm, My Little Pony, Worm, BSG, Self-Insert, Self-Insert, Worm, Self-Insert, Loop, Loop, Self-Insert, Loop, Loop, Pokemon, Stargate, goofy meme, Lord of the Rings, Self-Insert, Worm.

My Spacebattles Velocity History

My Spacebattles Velocity History

Sometime in 2006, I typed in a Google search for “M2 Bradley” and began clicking through page after page of results. Little did I know that this IFV would end up changing history. I went to a page on Stardestroyer.net , a “Star Trek vs. Star Wars” site. Then I saw references to a spacebattles.com , and signed up for that.

For most of my early time on Spacebattles (starting with my signing up in December 2006), I hung out in the Vs. Debates section. In hindsight a silly attempt to quantify the inherently arbitrary, it nevertheless appealed to me at the time-especially given the choices.

Then I sort of burned out and reverted to lurking, not posting very much. I was still active in viewing, just not in posting. At the time, I didn’t really see the huge change in the site. Now I can see it. Basically, by 2008-2009, the old sci-fi standbys of Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5, and even Warhammer 40,000 had started to run out of steam. In Stardestroyer.Net, this meant the site itself (though there were many other factors involved) began to just fade and drop in activity. But Spacebattles changed.

Huge amounts of roleplayers signed up, as did fanfiction writers. The center of the site shifted to the relevant subforums. Creative Writing, once a sleepy little board, became gigantic. Space Battles General was so overloaded by quests and RPs that a spinoff had to be made. And-then the server woes began.

Space Battles only remained in business because a programmer acquired it as a guinea pig board for vBulletin. Said owner was-to put it mildly-an absentee landlord. The latest server upgrade under him was done with the assumption that its growth would continue at the same mild rate-instead of increasing eightfold (!).

Naturally, the server became overloaded as the board grew. Changing board software to XenForo helped somewhat, but everything was only a temporary reprieve as the post swarms continued. Then in 2014, the slog became a breakout.

In April came the Athene Incident (named for the moderator’s name). Athene, a longstanding and loved moderator, was dismissed in the worst possible way. The board administrators tried to cover-up with a statement about “retiring”, but didn’t consult Athene on the coverup to see if she would agree to it (!). Page after page of flamewars and anger continued, and that’s when the split occured.

Several members of SB launched a spinoff board, named Sufficient Velocity. I stated at the time that I viewed the Athene Incident was a catalyst-it would have probably blown over had it not been for the server issues. (Also, there was a definite culture split-I think the incident was the ignition, the server issue the powder, and the shell was the different user culture).

I saw no problems with the creation of Sufficient Velocity. Although I spend far more time on Spacebattles, I have no problems with being a member of both boards.

On Spacebattles itself, things changed. The administrators apologized, there was a semi-coup with supermods becoming new admins and the older ones settling into technical roles, and (after a while), the site itself was taken under new ownership and upgraded. Now I primarily stay on the Creative and Spacebattles General boards, not going into Vs. Debates any more. Quite the adventure.

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Creative writing 'Ready to go' Q5s - AQA English Language Paper 1&2

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

11 June 2024

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A two page resource with a range of creative writing questions for AQA English Language P1 & P2. Ideal for upcoming Y10 mock exam practice.

All Qs have been designed with breadth of topics as a priority. This has worked best for me when I allowed students free choice but I’ve also seen value directing learners to certain Qs based on interest.

Most useful for in class practice and home revision.

Tes paid licence How can I reuse this?

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