Dan Koboldt
Writer, blogger, and genetics researcher
8 Tips for Writing Realistic Soldiers
August 29, 2019 by dankoboldt 2 Comments
The Expert: Michael Mammay
Michael Mammay graduated from the United States Military Academy and served as an Army officer for 27 years. He holds a masters degree in military history is a veteran of Desert Storm, Somalia, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In his spare time he writes science fiction and fantasy, usually with military influences. He is the author of two books published by Harper Voyager: Planetside (July 2018) and Spaceside (August 2019). You should follow him on Twitter .
Writing Realistic Soldiers for Fun and Profit
I write about soldiers. Sure, I write about other things, too…mystery and science fiction and scheming…but soldiers are at the center of it. I spent 27 years in the army before I ever had a book published, so soldiers are pretty important to me. Here are some of the things you might want to think about if you’re putting soldiers in your books. I’m going to be somewhat generic, because I think these things are universal, whether you’re writing fantasy, sci-fi, or any other genre.
1. Soldiers aren’t uniform just because they wear uniforms.
I don’t care how regimented your force is or how oppressive the leadership. Unless you’ve got clone troops or robots, soldiers still have individual personalities. In a really rigid force (say, one where minor infractions are punished by imprisonment or death) soldiers might keep down the outer trappings of their personalities, but they still have them. They find different things funny, they like different things, and they have different dreams. Some are happy to be there. Some are just serving because they don’t have a better option.
Every soldier is different, just like every teacher is different, every doctor is different, and every truck driver is different. It’s a job, not a personality. Try to give every soldier their own personality.
2. Soldiers come from somewhere.
A military doesn’t just spring up from nothing—that’s an obvious enough concept. But it’s important to know how your force came into being. Is it conscripted or volunteer? Where do the soldiers come from? If it’s a big military, chances are that soldiers are coming from across a wide area. Is that entire area culturally homogenous?
Probably not. Even in a rigid culture, there will be differences between people from the city and rural areas, different levels of education, and different views of the world. How do they see each other? How do their differences interact?
3. Soldiers aren’t all on time and they don’t all love working out.
They don’t *all* do anything. This is similar to number one, but I’ve seen this so many times on TV and in books I had to mention it this way, too. I don’t like getting up early. Hate it. I spent 27 years in the army, and I got up early. But only because I had to. When I was on vacation, I slept in. I’m not the only one. There isn’t some miraculous distribution of early birds in the army. Yes, soldiers are trained to get up early. Some of them will grow accustomed to it and keep doing it. Some won’t.
The same thing goes for being on time and exercising. While they’re in the service, they’ll do both of those things. It doesn’t mean they like it, and it doesn’t they’ll do it when they don’t have to. There were people in the army with me who loved to run. There were people who loved to lift weights. There were some ridiculous people who liked to do both. But there were a lot of people who didn’t.
4. Soldiers can think.
This is probably the one that will make me quit on a story fastest when the author gets it wrong. I quit on Supergirl because of it. I remember the episode. There was a four-star general, and he was so rigid in his thinking that he couldn’t allow for any variables. I’m sorry…that’s impossible.
To get to that high a position, the man led countless organizations consisting of thousands of people through all kinds of changing situations, and he was successful. If not, he wouldn’t be there at the highest possible rank. So in all that time, he didn’t develop at least some level of flexible thinking? Again…impossible. And while there is a certain amount of ‘just following orders,’ even then, a soldier still has *thoughts* about those orders.
Granted, you can build a military for a totalitarian society where there’s less free will, and some of that will bleed into your force. That’s the thing…soldiers are a product of the society from which they come. The military will try, to some extent, to change some of that. But they’ll only be partially successful. Especially in a free society, soldiers will think for themselves, for good or ill.
Obviously, there are different levels of intelligence in any group of individuals. Soldiers are individuals. Some of them barely passed the entrance test. Some have genius level IQs. Most are somewhere in between.
5. Soldiers break the rules.
This one doesn’t bother me when I see it, but it does make me laugh. I think somehow people have this idea of soldiers as rule followers. But think that through. A military force is primarily comprised of young people. Think about yourself at 19, and how well you did what you were told. Now add explosives and guns. But wait, you say…if they get caught breaking the rules, they’ll get in trouble! So…you never sped while you were driving as a teenager? Never drank when you were underage?
Young people don’t plan on getting caught…there’s a level of invincibility in their thought processes. If anything, that’s stronger in soldiers. After all, they’re trained to think they’re not going to die. I remember one deployment where someone higher up than me enacted the ill-fated order that soldiers were not to have sex while deployed. So I’m sure none of the thousands of eighteen to twenty-one-year-olds ever did, because that would be breaking the rules.
But of course they did. A couple was caught literally having sex in a dumpster. Soldiers are nothing if not expedient. Or, if you’re an optimist, love will find a way.
6. Soldiers break everything.
I worked for a general once who was fond of saying that if you leave ten soldiers in a room with an anvil and come back in fifteen minutes, it will either be missing or broken. It’s not a malicious thing. It’s a combination of youth, boredom, and curiosity. What will happen if we put the auto-injector up against a piece of cardboard? What will happen if we shoot one of our own guys in the chest with a 40mm sponge round?
Non-lethal weapon? That sounds like a challenge! I bet you don’t dare to get Tased.
Just in case any military officials are reading this section, please remember that I’m a fiction writer. These are merely hypothetical situations that sprung from my own imagination. As far as you can prove.
A vendor once brought a computer to me that he was diligently trying to sell to the military. I was a young officer at the time, so I had no say in the matter, but for whatever reason, he wanted to convince me. As part of his pitch, he said it was soldier-proof. It was a nice enough computer for the nineties…I’ll give him that. But when he said soldier-proof, I dug in.
“Can you pour a Coke on it?” I asked.
He looked at me like I was joking.
“Can you hit it with a big hammer?”
Blank stare.
“What if you tossed it across the room and someone didn’t quite catch it?”
All I’m saying is that if you’re going to advertise something as soldier-proof, you better bring your A game.
7. Soldiers do a lot of different jobs.
Not everyone carries a rifle every day. There are cooks, pay specialists, truck drivers, mechanics, supply techs, fuel handlers, explosives experts, chaplain’s assistants, military police, and a thousand other jobs. They have varying skills, accordingly. Not every soldier has every skill. A computer tech might be nearly useless with a rifle. Sure, they’ve had training, and they probably carry one around with them. But make no mistake, nobody wants them to use it (Note, this is a generalization. Some computer techs can also shoot. But really, nobody cares, as long as they can make hot computer magic).
8. In the end, despite everything I’ve said, the main purpose of soldiers is to kill people and break things.
They are often trained and behave accordingly. Sometimes, when you see them all shined up in a parade, you might forget that. But that’s a front. They get in fights…with outsiders, with people from other units, with each other. They swear a lot. Not all of them. Again…individuals. But more than average. I’d have some serious questions about a G-rated war story.
Soldiers are amazing. They do things you never thought people could do in both good ways and bad. They are absurd. I once found a group of my soldiers playing video games after eight hours out on patrol in Iraq. They were playing Call of Duty. You can’t make that up.
Read More by Michael Mammay
Editor’s note: if you liked this, I encourage you to check out Mike’s previous posts:
- Space Battles in Sci-fi
- Weapons and Tactics in Fantasy Warfare
- Building A Fantasy Army: Leaders
- Building A Fantasy Army: Soldiers
You might also enjoy my post from last summer: Five Things About Michael Mammay .
Planetside by Michael Mammay
A seasoned military officer uncovers a deadly conspiracy on a distant, war-torn planet…
War heroes aren’t usually called out of semi-retirement and sent to the far reaches of the galaxy for a routine investigation. So when Colonel Carl Butler answers the call from an old and powerful friend, he knows it’s something big—and he’s not being told the whole story. A high councilor’s son has gone MIA out of Cappa Base, the space station orbiting a battle-ravaged planet. The young lieutenant had been wounded and evacuated—but there’s no record of him having ever arrived at hospital command.
The colonel quickly finds Cappa Base to be a labyrinth of dead ends and sabotage: the hospital commander stonewalls him, the Special Ops leader won’t come off the planet, witnesses go missing, radar data disappears, and that’s before he encounters the alien enemy. Butler has no choice but to drop down onto a hostile planet—because someone is using the war zone as a cover. The answers are there—Butler just has to make it back alive…
Buy It: E Shaver | Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble
Spaceside by Michael Mammay
A military legend is caught in the web between alien intrigue and human subterfuge…
Following his mission on Cappa, Colonel Carl Butler returns to a mixed reception. To some he is a do-or-die war hero. To the other half of the galaxy he’s a pariah. Forced into retirement, he has resettled on Talca Four where he’s now Deputy VP of Corporate Security, protecting a high-tech military company on the corporate battlefield—at least, that’s what the job description says. Really, he’s just there to impress clients and investors. It’s all relatively low risk—until he’s entrusted with new orders. A breach of a competitor’s computer network has Butler’s superiors feeling every bit as vulnerable. They need Butler to find who did it, how, and why no one’s taken credit for the ingenious attack.
As accustomed as Butler is to the reality of wargames—virtual and otherwise—this one screams something louder than a simple hack. Because no sooner does he start digging when his first contact is murdered, the death somehow kept secret from the media. As a prime suspect, he can’t shake the sensation he’s being watched…or finally succumbing to the stress of his past. Paranoid delusion or dangerous reality, Butler might be onto something much deeper than anyone imagined. But that’s where Butler thrives… If he hasn’t signed his own death warrant.
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Ready to put science in your fiction.
| Science and technology have starring roles in a wide range of genres--science fiction, fantasy, thriller, mystery, and more. Unfortunately, many depictions of technical subjects in literature, film, and television are pure fiction. A basic understanding of biology, physics, engineering, and medicine will help you create more realistic stories that satisfy discerning readers. This book brings together scientists, physicians, engineers, and other experts to help you write realistic and compelling scientific elements to captivate readers.
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August 29, 2019 at 2:58 pm
All true, every word. I served for 21 years. I laugh every time I read something that gets these basic things wrong or assumes things that prove the writer never served a day in uniform and never talked to anyone that did.
September 5, 2019 at 11:36 am
I confess I was a little anxious about reading this post. While I write about soldiers, I’m very aware that all my first-hand information comes from being a military dependant, not a soldier, and I know I have some detailed fact checking in my future. What a relief to read each of the 8 tips and discover that they’re things that growing up on military bases had already made “obvious.” (Having them all laid out like that, though, sure does make it easy to understand why I devour some military SF novels, and can’t get interested in others.) It was delight to get to the end of the tips and realize that I’ve already read Planetside and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s full of the same wit and dry humour that made this article so much fun to read. And now that I know it’s out, I’m looking forward to reading Spaceside! Thanks for a great article!
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Click on the big red X on the top right to close this box. 20+ Best Words to Describe Soldiers, Adjectives for SoldiersSoldiers, often referred to as military personnel, play a crucial role in safeguarding nations and preserving peace. These dedicated individuals undergo extensive training and willingly put their lives at risk to protect their countries and fellow citizens. Describing soldiers is a task that requires capturing their remarkable qualities and traits. Words such as brave, disciplined, selfless, and resilient come to mind. These valiant warriors exhibit unwavering courage, exhibit exceptional discipline, demonstrate unmatched selflessness, and possess an indomitable spirit that allows them to overcome challenges and adversities. Adjectives for SoldiersHere are the 20 Most Popular adjectives for soldiers:
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Explore More Words: Adjectives for Sport Words to Describe a Veterans How to describe soldiers in writing?Soldiers can be described as brave, disciplined individuals who selflessly protect their countries and exhibit unwavering courage in the face of danger. What are the best qualities of a soldier?The best qualities of a soldier include loyalty, courage, discipline, resilience, and selflessness. They demonstrate unwavering commitment to their mission and possess the ability to adapt to challenging situations. What is a soldier’s personality?A soldier’s personality is often characterized by traits such as bravery, determination, and a strong sense of duty. They exhibit discipline, adaptability, and the ability to work well under pressure, while also displaying camaraderie and teamwork. What is a soldier’s mentality?A soldier’s mentality refers to their mindset and attitude toward their duties and responsibilities. It encompasses attributes such as resilience, focus, readiness, and a willingness to make sacrifices for the greater good. A soldier’s mentality also includes discipline, obedience, and the ability to follow orders..  Related Posts 20+ Best Words to Describe Bohemian, Adjectives for Bohemian 20+ Best Words to Describe Photographer, Adjectives for Photographer 20+ Best Words to Describe a Young, Adjectives for Young Describing Words That Start With Q 20+ Best Words to Describe Bride, Adjectives for Bride 20+ Best Words to Describe Song, Adjectives for SongAbout the author.  Hi, I'm USMI, engdic.org's Author & Lifestyle Linguist. My decade-long journey in language and lifestyle curation fuels my passion for weaving words into everyday life. Join me in exploring the dynamic interplay between English and our diverse lifestyles. Dive into my latest insights, where language enriches every aspect of living.
 Writing Tips Oasis - A website dedicated to helping writers to write and publish books. 31 Military Fiction Writing PromptsBy Brittany Kuhn  Are you writing a military fiction novel? Do you need some ideas for your book? The following 31 military fiction writing prompts will help! General Military Fiction Prompts1. two recruits at a military academy have a rivalry.. Choose one of the recruits as your primary protagonist and show them battling with their rival from day one. There should be some big event or challenge towards the end of the story that brings the two together and teaches them that they are better together than apart. 2. A soldier’s plane is shot down on the wrong side of the battlefield.This is a suspense story focused on whether the soldier will survive. Start with them crash landing and show how they fight and struggle to get back to their own side. End with them being rescued. 3. A submarine is hijacked while still in the water.While patrolling during peacetime, a submarine crew is hijacked by fellow crew members whose aim is to start a war by blaming the destruction of the submarine on another country. The story should be how the rest of the crew work together to stop the dangerous hijackers to maintain peace. 4. A young recruit discovers a dangerous secret while training at the academy.Make the secret whatever you want but make sure that it involves people at all levels of the military. The recruit is in danger just for the knowledge of this secret. Uncovering the secret would topple the academy itself, so the person must work secretly to discover and expose the details without knowing who to trust. 5. A military hostage and their captor become friends and work together to stop the war.Start with the hostage being locked away and show the events that lead to their friendship. The hostage helps the captor realize the futility of the war and the second half of the story should be them working together to stop the war, or at least escape it together. 6. When there’s a murderer on a submarine, there’s nowhere to run!Start the story with the murder and have the lead investigator on the submarine investigate it. End with the investigator ousting the murderer, either by death or by bringing them to justice on land. 7. The rise and fall of a secret government operation during wartime.This could be as common as trying to create a ‘secret solider serum’ that backfires. Or you could write about something more paranormal, like telekinesis. In either case, show the beginnings of the program, the rationale for it, how it damages the soldiers, and end with it being discovered and abandoned. 8. A disillusioned military officer gets reassigned as a drill instructor for new recruits.You should start with the event that gets them nearly dishonorably discharged and show them reluctantly take on this new post as a drill instructor. The story is about how learning from the younger crowd, being outside of the war machine, helps them grow as a person. 9. A group of battle buddies hear about a hidden treasure while in the middle of war.Start with the lead friend roping the others into searching for the treasure. The story is about them working together as a military unit to find this treasure amidst the war happening around them. 10. A new soldier wants to see battle.Begin with the soldier going through training and really buying into the hype of war. Follow them as they keep trying to go into battle (or for something to always stop it from happening). End with them finally getting their chance to do something heroic in battle but choosing instead to preserve life rather than take it. 11. A deployed military unit does everything in their power to get sent home.This is more of a comedic story focused on all the antics the military members do so they can get sent home early. Start with them already deployed and deciding they want to go home early. End with them either getting sent home or realizing they really are where they need to be. 12. While deployed abroad, a chaplain struggles with their faith during a time of war.The conflict of this story is about the purpose of war when the message should be peace. Start with an event that causes the chaplain to start questioning their faith. The rest of the story should be them engaging with other soldiers whose stories further question or prove the faith. The point should be that the chaplain realizes they’re there to help the unit not themselves, regardless of their faith. 13. An ex-soldier is hunted down by the very military they used to serve.Have your soldier be completely isolated because of the traumas they endured in the war. Because of something they’ve seen or experienced, their home gets attacked and they must use all the military training they acquired to stop the attack. 14. A military unit is lost in the jungle and must find their way back.During a routine operation, a military unit finds itself lost (or abandoned). The story is them fighting their way through wartime enemies and their own fears to find their way back home.  Historical Military Fiction Prompts15. a soldier helps start what would become known as the world war i christmas soccer game.. Write a fictionalized account of how the famous soccer game happened during the Christmas Armistice of World War I. Make your protagonist the person who suggests the soccer game and describe how he felt in the battles leading up to the Christmas Armistice. What happened after that night? How were the soldiers changed by the sense of togetherness they felt in that one night? 16. Brothers in the American Civil War fight on opposite sides.Start with them fighting over which side is ‘right’ and going off to war. Show how both brothers experienced many of the same hardships and personal struggles, regardless of who they were fighting for. You can end it with one brother choosing to support the other one, or you could have one brother die in conflict, maybe even fighting their own brother’s regiment. 17. A young spy aids the fight against Napoleon.Write a fictionalized account of a French citizen who wants to stop Napoleon from taking over the world. This would probably work best if you chose a period early in the Napoleonic wars, before the Battle of Waterloo (his first loss and ultimately the start of his decline). 18. The Cold War is avoided when a brave soldier steps in.Similarly, this could be about a soldier who stops an almost nuclear holocaust. Make the story about the soldier trying to convince his superiors to stand down from attacking the other side preemptively. End with the presidents nearly turning the key but deciding not to. 19. A small village decides to stand up to Genghis Khan’s military horde.Imagine if a village within Genghis Khan’s Asian empire had chosen to stand up to him and his horde. Describe how they prepared to fight against him and whether they won. 20. The Battle for Cleopatra and her Egyptian empire.This should focus less on Mark Antony and Cleopatra and more on the battle that led to their deaths. Show how Mark Antony fought his way across the Mediterranean to seek refuge with Cleopatra and end with their deaths. 21. Captains from the British navy and Spanish armada act out their rivalry in the Caribbean.Choose whichever side you want as your ‘good’ side and start with them already in a rivalry. The story is about the many battles and run-ins they have over a period of a few months or a year. End with one side sinking the other’s ship once and for all. 22. A solider in the Nazi military decides to help Jewish prisoners during World War II.Start with the Nazi soldier making friends with some of the prisoners he is supposed to police. Show how he helps train them to fight against the other soldiers and ultimately helps them escape. Military Romance Prompts23. a soldier must fight to save their love.. You can set this in a historical war or a general, unspecified one. What your story should focus on is how the soldier longs for their love during the war and does everything they can to get back to them safely. 24. Soldiers from opposite sides of a war fall in love.How you bring the two soldiers together is up to you but have them fall in love quite early on. The story is then about how they are trying to overcome their opposing sides to be together. 25. A soldier and nurse find love amid all the death.Start with the soldier getting injured and waking up in hospital. Have the first half of the story be about them falling in love with each other. The second half of the story is them trying to stay in love once the soldier has returned to war or they have returned home. 26. Two ex-soldiers discover love in their shared trauma.Have two soldiers meet at a post-traumatic therapy group and bond over their experiences (or their lack of belief in the therapy). Over time, they learn to love each other. But when one gets called back up to fight, how will they deal? Military Science Fiction Prompts27. in the battle for earth, who will win. This is an ‘alien invasion’ story with a focus on the military element. How would the planet coordinate their attacks? Which country’s military would you choose as the main protagonist? You can either start with the invasion or begin with it already in play, but be sure to end with a battle that decides Earth’s fate once and for all. 28. Discovering new planets isn’t always peaceful.A spaceship lands on a new, uncharted planet and is suddenly, immediately attacked. The story is about who is in the ‘right’: the unsuspecting spaceship or the natives defending their home world. 29. When an advanced race from a distant galaxy suddenly appears, it takes a coalition of planets and their armies to take them down.Start with the arrival of the advanced race. Focus the conflict on how the other planets learn to work together to stop this threat. 30. Can we stop cyborg soldiers in a futuristic war?Two opposing sides have independently discovered successful cyborg technology. Your story is about the ‘good’ cyborg soldier trying to stop the ‘bad’ one from destroying society as we know it. 31. Simulations aren’t real, right?Your story should be based around a recruit who uses simulation technology to learn wartime tactics. Eventually, though, they realize that the technology is less ‘simulation’ and more ‘real life scenarios’ with remotely guided machines. Will they carry on, knowing the damage they are doing is no longer just a game? Describing Words for Army: Examples & Synonyms When it comes to describing the army, we often think of words like strong, disciplined, and brave. But there are so many more adjectives that can capture the essence of this powerful and dedicated force. In this article, I’ll be exploring a wide range of adjectives that can be used to describe the army, along with examples to illustrate their usage. Whether you’re writing a military-themed story or simply want to appreciate the qualities of our armed forces, these adjectives will help you paint a vivid picture. From the unwavering courage of soldiers to the strategic brilliance of commanders, the army is a testament to human resilience and determination. In this article, I’ll be delving into adjectives that capture the various aspects of the army, including their physical prowess, mental fortitude, and unwavering loyalty. With examples that showcase the real-life heroes who embody these qualities, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for the sacrifices and triumphs of our military personnel. So let’s dive in and explore the rich tapestry of adjectives that describe the army. Table of Contents How to Describe army? – Different ScenariosWhen it comes to describing the army, there are several adjectives that can capture their various characteristics and qualities. Depending on the scenario or context, different adjectives can be used to highlight specific aspects of the army. Let’s take a closer look at how we can describe the army in different scenarios: Remember, depending on the scenario or context, these adjectives can be combined to create a more comprehensive description of the army. Whether it’s highlighting their physical prowess, mental fortitude, unwavering loyalty, or heroic actions, these adjectives help capture the essence of the army and portray them in a positive light. Describing Words for army in EnglishWhen it comes to describing the army, there are numerous adjectives that capture their qualities, characteristics, and accomplishments. These words paint a vivid picture of the brave men and women who serve their country. Let’s explore some adjectives that aptly describe the army. Physically Strong and FitMentally resilient, unwavering loyalty, heroic actions, harnessing the power of adjectives. Describing the army using these adjectives helps us better appreciate their sacrifices and commend their commitment to serving their country. So, the next time you want to describe the army, remember the wide range of adjectives that capture their essence. They are powerful, determined, brave, and so much more, embodying the characteristics and values we admire and respect. Adjectives for armyPositive adjectives for army with 12 example sentences. Table: Positive Adjectives for Army
Negative Adjectives for Army with 5 Example SentencesWhile the army is undoubtedly admirable, there are also negative adjectives that can be used to describe certain aspects. Here are five examples:
Synonyms and Antonyms with Example SentencesSynonyms for army, antonyms for army. Remember, the army is an essential institution that plays a crucial role in protecting our nations. While it may face challenges at times, it is important to recognize and appreciate the dedication and bravery of the soldiers who serve. In this article, we have explored a range of adjectives that can be used to describe the army. From positive synonyms like military, soldiery, and armed forces, to negative antonyms like disorganization and weakness, these adjectives provide a comprehensive understanding of the army and its characteristics. By using descriptive words, we can paint a vivid picture of the army’s admirable qualities, such as their bravery, discipline, and dedication to protecting their nation. At the same time, we acknowledge the challenges they face, such as chaos and defeat. Remember, words have the power to shape perceptions and inspire action. So, choose your adjectives wisely when describing the army and pay homage to their sacrifices and achievements. Related PostsDescribing blood: adjectives with examples, adjectives for age: describing words & examples, adjectives for fight: examples and describing words.
 War creative writing/descriptive writingSubject: English Age range: 11-14 Resource type: Lesson (complete)  Last updated 18 November 2020
A lesson which plans a descriptive writing/creative writing piece inspired by war (specifically the film Greyhound and the Battle of the Atlantic). It include clips/links for context as well as a clip from the film Greyhound to use as inspiration. This is part of a unit called ‘clashes and conflict’ which includes war poetry (WW1 and others) as well as non-fiction texts. Pupils in this lesson are required to plan and write a description as a soldier/military/navy sailor from their perspective. Tes paid licence How can I reuse this? Your rating is required to reflect your happiness. It's good to leave some feedback. Something went wrong, please try again later. This resource hasn't been reviewed yet To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have purchased this resource can review it Report this resource to let us know if it violates our terms and conditions. Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch. Not quite what you were looking for? Search by keyword to find the right resource:
Imagine you were a soldier in World War One. Explore your feelings in a creative way.  Clinton Woollams The sky is murky and grey. The clouds are black, moving above us like symbols of death, reminding us of our mortality. The war planes are whizzing through the sky, moving at rapid speed compared to the clouds that moved at their own natural, God given pace, no matter what else was happening beneath them. The heavens opened and the rain was lashing down. The lightning bolts were terrifying, like knives attacking the sky as though they are determined to murder nature. Everywhere was gloomy, no matter where I look and I do look, searching out one drop of beauty to cling on to. As the bombs are dropping, the sand is hitting our faces, slapping us and laughing at us, stinging our eyes like tiny needles stabbing at our drawn pale faces. As the rain poured into our trench, the mud and slush was agonizing when it hit our raw bodies, already in pain from the attacking sores and scabs. The boards that we had to stand on were now sliding from the rain and mud, and everytime you tried to move, you just slipped and ended up drowning in more mud. As a soldier, you could only think about the possibility of attack, and making sure I was ready for any enemy attack. Being covered in the dragging slime hampered my ability to be able to defend myself or my fellow men. It was the worst possible position to be in.  As the moon shone from behind the clouds, and we gazed at the wide open sea, it was like a fresh blood bath. Outside it was silent, desolate, and bleak. Was it all over? Had I died and didn’t even know about it? No. Death wouldn’t be that easy for any of us. That night, rats woke us up in our trench scurrying in groups among us. We lived in absolute squalor. It stunk of human faeces, the first thing war took from us was our dignity. This is a preview of the whole essayPeople are starting to get very ill. People were hallucinating and convulsing with various diseases. The situation was getting worse and worse. I thought it had got as bad as it gets, but then no, it actually gets worse than I ever thought it could be. The trenches were swarming with lice. They were crawling over the corpses of decaying bodies and even trying to plague live people. They crawled and slithered around every part of your body. It was disgusting; when you should be sleeping a peaceful sleep you are repetitively bit instead. By morning, you are full of scabs and marks. People are starting to develop trench foot and it is an increasing problem. Feet are getting extremely swollen and the smell is appallingly bad. The stench of demise is in the air, made worse when boots are removed. I’m surprised it doesn’t kill off all the rats and lice in an instant! There is a man, roughly my age, next to me, and he has developed severe trench foot. The smell is unbearable, starting to make me feel ill; his feet look contaminated and disfigured. His case of trench foot has got so bad that he can no longer walk and just sits there all day, all night, awake, crying and complaining, until we all want him to disappear. As I looked up, I could feel and hear the roaring flames. The fire blazed and burned, creeping closer and closer to our trench. Everytime a bomb hits the ground, more fire is unleashed, spreading wildly. Sometimes soldiers that were too close to the edge would be severely burnt by the fire and couldn’t move afterwards, skin blistered and raw. Thomas was out on the front line. I had been in this with him from the very beginning. I heard a horrific wailing noise. It was excruciating. I peered over outside to see what had happened, scared to see the truth. He had been repeatedly shot. He was moaning and groaning. He just lay there staring into the sky. I could tell that his life was slowly fading away. I was holding him when his eyes closed and his body went limp. I had held him while he was dying. I laid him down to rest. I realised that this was far from over, he was just lying there lifeless, motionless and killed by war; I was absolutely devastated. He was my best friend and I have just lost him. The shock of it is beginning to sink in when I realised, he is gone forever. I don’t know how I am going to cope now my closest comrade has gone. I have no one, but when you have been here as long as I have, you start to get used to it. Sometimes I just sit there staring at the sky, thinking that I could have done more for him, but what’s happened has happened and he’s gone. I am here and he has gone. He would want me to live. Letter Home Part B Original Writing Dear Mother, I am missing you dearly; I wish I was at home with you. I miss everything - I miss your love - I miss home life. I can’t wait to get home and see you, but the letters and photographs you are sending me keep my spirits high and remind me of why I am here and why all of us are doing this. Well mother, I am fine and in good health. I haven’t developed any diseases, even though I will have to be careful because there are some deadly things lurking out there. There has been one fatality that has devastated me. Do you remember Thomas, my friend? Well, I am afraid that he has been killed. I was gravely shocked. It was very difficult to experience this but it has made me realise how important life is to me. One thing that I am really missing is your home cooked meals. I only have to think about them and I am starving! The food that they give us here is very inadequate and it is not enough to feed a mouse, never mind a man. Actually, the mice and rats often end up eating our food instead of us! When I return, I want one of your classic meals mother, it would be most gratefully received. I guess it’s not that bad being here, the only thing is that it can be very lonely here, especially now that Thomas has gone, but I have a good strong team around me and I am pretty confident that we will win this war. I am so very glad to hear that you are well and please keep sending photographs to me as they cheer me up to see your face. Sometimes though I do get very scared, but I find something to do and focus on, and I just get through it. The daytime is not really that bad. It is just night time that can be very lonely, but it’s soon over and the sun rises again. Mother, if I don’t make it please remember that I died fighting for our country, but please don’t worry about it because I am holding my head up high and I am fighting strong. Hopefully I will see you soon. Your beloved son Clinton  Document Details
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Come as a friend we shall make a festival upon this grass so woven with blooms, with their gay colours bright under a buoyant sun. Come with weapons to harm those we love and we shall make a battlefield. The choice is yours. God gives me the right to protect whom I love, yet never for your ideologies and dogmas. You slay for no more than semantics and greed, blind to how we live from passion and in a sense of liberty. So you step foot on these hills and you make them not a meadow yet a battlefield, because you are in my backyard now and I change from lamb to lion. It was a battlefield that appeared to be anything but, the players unknowing of their roles and every one of them a double agent. I wish I could have told them all what reality is, how to choose the side that is love and healing... avoiding the chasms that open and the knives that appear in the hand without asking for them. Each sought to be on the right side, convincing themselves that they were. When they did the bidding of the darkness they made up stories to justify their actions rather than face what they had really done. It takes someone strong to feel the sting of the dark-side and remain steadfast in a will to work only for the light - to see the dagger in hand at the exact moment you feel compelled to use it and still be loving and kind, to let the weapon clatter to the floor, soundless, unnoticed. That's what being a warrior for the light requires, an inner strength, a keen eye for noble and good opportunities to bring peace, health and love - a self-control to avoid doing service for the one who harms. That was the war, the one we won, but it was hard every day, turning for the better only when we became players instead of pawns, destined to protect our king. The battlefield lay quiet, for it was now a graveyard of the unburied. Their corpses lay among the buttercups and forget-me-nots. The sun still shone and the wind still blew, but somewhere mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters waited in vain. These men that were once boys who played in the yard with sticks and laughed at each other's silly tales were now meat for the birds.Their eyes were as immobile as their limbs. Their souls had long departed to the celestial planes to walk with the ancestors. The battle was lost, the enemy had won. Now they camped a mile away to plan the ransacking of the town itself. The battlefield that day saw fathers fighting to their last breath and the young army of conquerors wielding swords without mercy. The wounded and dead lay thickly over the wintry ground, garish scarlet flowing over the frosted white. When the bugle sounded the mothers came too, not all, just the ones schooled in battle. Without a victory death was the better of the two options, these foes took only perfect specimens as slaves and left the rest to fertilize their new fields. A bitter wind swept the hillside and the ground was slick with rain. The lucky few wore thick leather armour, the rest only sweaters of wool. The menfolk stood in formation, four rows was all they had, their eyes trained on the road to see how many the duke would send. They heard the boots long before they saw the mass of uniformed bodies lead by a horseman bearing a flag. Their answer had come. This is what it meant to fail to pay taxes in the district, no excuses, no mercy. Every face blanched and the messenger fled to the village with the order to evacuate. This was never a battle they could win, only a sacrifice to buy time. The battlefield was dust and dirt, all baked under an unrelenting sun. To the soldiers from the south it felt more like a gladiator's arena, albeit without the cheering blood-thirsty crowd. For the northern men it was the hottest summer day they'd ever felt and their clothes were too thick, trapping their body heat, soaking with sweat. The pasture was slick under-boot and made treacherous by the manure of the cows. Heavy armour was needed to stop the swords, but if the extra weight took the man to his back his battle was done. No meadow flowers were noticed that day, nor the sound of the nearby brook. It was a place for many to end their days, to sacrifice in the hope of better days for their loved ones back home. Every mind was as much a battlefield as the sand at their feet. Before the invaders beached their vessels each soldier had time for their minds to bid farewell to far away lovers and children while trying to wipe all emotion clean away, to focus on the task at hand. Every gaze lay resolutely ahead, none able to take in the emotion of their friends as well as their own. When the cry came they launched forwards without delay, the grains shifting under their boots were their homeland and to see the foreign warriors upon it was all the motivation their hearts required. Though the ground glistened like rain had fallen, the liquid that shone wasn't clear but red. The men who died, pawns in a game of warlords, were for the most part dead and those who were not soon would be. Their masters took stock of the outcome, considering their armies in numbers only. How many had fallen? How many remained strong and able to send to the next fight? Each warlord rounded up and executed the deserters, their minds already lost in trauma; each one pinned medals on the chests of their generals, nodding their heads in grim approval. Sign in or sign up for Descriptionar iSign up for descriptionar i, recover your descriptionar i password. Keep track of your favorite writers on Descriptionari We won't spam your account. Set your permissions during sign up or at any time afterward. Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts Welcome to the Purdue Online Writing Lab Welcome to the Purdue OWLThis page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice. Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use. The Online Writing Lab (the Purdue OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction. The On-Campus and Online versions of Purdue OWL assist clients in their development as writers—no matter what their skill level—with on-campus consultations, online participation, and community engagement. The Purdue OWL serves the Purdue West Lafayette and Indianapolis campuses and coordinates with local literacy initiatives. The Purdue OWL offers global support through online reference materials and services. Social MediaFacebook twitter.  First World War postcard published by ‘The Cairo Postcard Trust’ (© Lyn Edmonds) We received entries from all over the world – Britain, Ireland, France, India, Pakistan, Serbia, Australia and New Zealand – and were struck by the multiple viewpoints and the wide range of styles, but also by the focus on the stories of individual people, which brought the wider history to life. Congratulations to our winners! We hope you enjoy reading their work. Click on the PDF page next to the citations below to open the short story or poem. Here you can read all the shortlisted entries . Copyright remains with the authors. 11-18 categoryWinner: ‘heat’ by constance cottrell.  Runners up: ‘The Long Road East’ by William Bowden-Ritchie and ‘Welcome to East Africa’ by Charlotte Lee Highly Commended (in alphabetical order) ‘Lest We Forget’ by Matthew Gittleson. The central idea of this story, that the actions of humans on the battlefield seem inexplicable and contrary to nature, is very well expressed. Using a tree as the voice of the author allows us to step back from the human experience and become more objective. The action is placed in the East African campaign and the writer picks out the extraordinary valour of the colonial soldiers who fought for the British and German empires.  ‘Long Live War’ by Ishaabyha Tripathi. As a piece of creative writing this entry focusses on one simple idea and uses this to epitomise the writer’s experience of the war away from the Western Front, where the majority of troops on both sides were colonial, and many of them – as described – not English speakers. The entry also manages to convey something of the contradictions of war, along the lines of ‘Oh What A Lovely War’, where soldiers become ironic and fatalistic about their situation. This is all the more poignant in the choice of writer, who cannot appreciate the irony due solely to lack of knowledge of the language. Over 18 categoryWinner: ‘buried letters’ by helen parker-drabble.  An audio version of ‘Buried Letters’ Right click here to download it as an MP3 file Runners-up: ‘The Princess Beatrice’ by Antony Dunford and ‘The Cheecha’ by Peter Susa ‘The Syrian’ by Patty Lafferty. The simple idea that history is repeating itself in Syria is well expressed. The poem uses short lines and vivid images to take the reader through the experience of waking up after being wounded in war. The historical context is clear and the references to T E Lawrence and Feisal place the action in its time.  Our competition originally had three age categories – ’10 and under’, ’11-18′ and ‘Over 18′. Unfortunately in the ’10 and under’ category we received no entries which complied with the rules so we took the decision to transfer the value of the prizes to the other categories, and were therefore able to offer book tokens to two runners-up as well as the winning entry. |
COMMENTS
This can show your soldier intimidates other characters, and it can also mean they're difficult to be around. "Fierce" will also show your soldier's commitment to their job or their cause. 2. Tense Definition. Someone very nervous or anxious. Examples "The tense soldier backed away, and his hand ghosted over his gun."
Here are some describing words that capture the essence of soldiers: 1. Courageous. Soldiers are known for their unwavering courage in the face of danger. Whether it's facing enemy fire on the battlefield or standing up for what is right, soldiers display exceptional bravery. 2. Disciplined.
Soldiers, celebrated and critiqued, are multifaceted individuals. In this list, we'll explore the range of adjectives that encapsulate their many facets, both commendable and controversial. Description of Soldiers Soldiers are trained military personnel committed to national defense, often displaying bravery, discipline, but sometimes facing criticisms. Words to Describe Soldiers Here are ...
What Are Some Creative Words to Describe a Soldier in Writing? There are many ways to describe a soldier, depending on what you want them to be like. For example, they could be strong and tough-looking with an intimidating scowl or calm and collected even in the face of adversity. Some words that might work include stern, severe, steely-eyed ...
War plays a large part in history and finding words to describe war is important. Explore our list of powerful words for types, strategies and more. ... war soldiers marching in desert ... Are you wondering what words describe war? If you're writing a paper or story that discusses war, it's critical that you choose the right descriptive ...
Every soldier is different, just like every teacher is different, every doctor is different, and every truck driver is different. It's a job, not a personality. Try to give every soldier their own personality. 2. Soldiers come from somewhere. A military doesn't just spring up from nothing—that's an obvious enough concept.
Soldiers, often referred to as military personnel, play a crucial role in safeguarding nations and preserving peace. These dedicated individuals undergo extensive training and willingly put their lives at risk to protect their countries and fellow citizens. Describing soldiers is a task that requires capturing their remarkable qualities and traits. Words such as brave, disciplined, selfless ...
Historical Military Fiction Prompts 15. A soldier helps start what would become known as the World War I Christmas Soccer Game. Write a fictionalized account of how the famous soccer game happened during the Christmas Armistice of World War I. Make your protagonist the person who suggests the soccer game and describe how he felt in the battles leading up to the Christmas Armistice.
Soldier. - quotes and descriptions to inspire creative writing. The soldier in all loving heart signed on as a protector, realising what he sought to protect in others he sacrificed in himself. By Angela Abraham, @daisydescriptionari, December 8, 2020 . The soldier can only be rescued by a permanent end to war, and this everlasting peace is can ...
Here are some important considerations for the writing of such an essay, ones exemplified by Pyle and Remarque: Include enough detail to create a mental image for the reader. Use sensory imagery ...
Soldier Descriptive Writing. I watch as the golden crescent of a sun rises over the foggy field, making the Lobsterbacks coats look more like blood than fabric. A sign in the distance says that we are in Concord, Massachusetts. I watch the opposing soldiers, they stand straight and still, attentive and alert. It reminds me of how Tim and I used ...
Guided Creative Writing (The Soldier) Subject: English. Age range: 11-14. Resource type: Worksheet/Activity. File previews. zip, 849.44 KB. In this immersive workshop, the learner will be guided through an extended piece of writing. They will be given a prompt for each sentence so they don't have to worry about the narrative or what to write ...
Army. - quotes and descriptions to inspire creative writing. Soldiers join our armies to become heroes the same way the legends of old did. They are born to rescue, to enter hell and conquer on behalf of the light. By Angela Abraham, @daisydescriptionari, December 18, 2020 . The army was deployed once we had our ducks in a row to provide good ...
Here are some example sentences using these synonyms: "The military's commitment to national defense is unwavering.". "The brave soldiery charged fearlessly into battle.". "The force displayed by the army was formidable.". "The troops demonstrated exceptional teamwork and discipline.".
Creative Writing - War. We all heard the disquieting crunch, off in the far distance. For a few seconds, we remained still, sinking deeper into the mud, anticipating another sound to calm our nerves. Instead, a fraudulent silence followed. General Loft's reaction was delayed; his hand shot up immediately as he remembered his position.
War creative writing/descriptive writing. Subject: English. Age range: 11-14. Resource type: Lesson (complete) File previews. pptx, 1.32 MB. A lesson which plans a descriptive writing/creative writing piece inspired by war (specifically the film Greyhound and the Battle of the Atlantic). It include clips/links for context as well as a clip from ...
As a soldier, you could only think about the possibility of attack, and making sure I was ready for any enemy attack. Being covered in the dragging slime hampered my ability to be able to defend myself or my fellow men.
Bunching of muscles, the golden eagle overhead, a wooden describe soldier glass, he when her heart or the bullet doors slammed shut. I have as then felt angry same problems, describe a soldier creative writing. Many stones of to know the went on down in the creative writing describe soldier groundcar traveling toward times as many. He regained ...
Descriptionari has thousands of original creative story ideas from new authors and amazing quotes to boost your creativity. Kick writer's block to the curb and write that story! Descriptionari is a place where students, educators and professional writers discover and share inspirational writing and amazing descriptions
The Online Writing Lab (the Purdue OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects.
Creative Writing: Soldier. Soldier. Prologue. Moonlight shines down on a clearing not far from the forest's edge. It's a calm night, with the nocturnal creatures performing their nightly symphony. Fog begins to tiptoe around the treeline, tentatively feeling its way among the tree trunks. A breeze whirls the fog and blows wispy clouds in front ...
1471 Words. 6 Pages. Open Document. "RUN!!" I heard a fellow soldier screaming as I looked around. "RUN!" I started to take off but I was too late. I am an American soldier and I just got my leg blown off by a grenade. As I lay here crying, yelling out in pain, I think about why I am even here.
The Wounded Soldier. A blast of cold air hits on his face like the blade of a shredding knife. Bodies of fallen comrades and enemies lay all around him. The smell of flesh from both sides of the war together with the dust and smoke almost made him sick. He has never been more aware and cautious, cowering in fear at the sounds of machine guns.
The results. We are delighted to present the winning entries of the Away from the Western Front Creative Writing Competition. The main aim of the competition was to highlight the campaigns which took place away from the Western Front, in places like Salonika, the Middle East and Africa. These were the rules.