There appears to be a misconception among some writers that a flash fiction story is too short to be anything but a scene. On the contrary, ALL fiction must tell a story. Legend has it that Earnest Hemmingway wrote this story: “Classified: Baby Goods. For sale, baby shoes, never worn.” This is a story. Of the characters, all off-camera, the ethereal antagonist, death, is perhaps the most real. And yet death is only there because we conjure him. Our mind imagines all the details: the child who never wore the shoes, the parent, bereft and hopeless, yet practical though their suffering. Do they sell the shoes for the money – pennies on the dollar? For closure? Ah, the theme…as personal as the details of the middle. Continue Reading
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The internal tension for soldiers who must make life and death decisions is conflict of the highest order. It’s not about the dangers of the battlefield, it’s about making hard, even horrible choices. It’s about the tug-of-war between conscience and duty. Which brings us to the laws of war, which sounds almost self-contradictory. After all, war is comprised largely of activities which are unlawful in any other context. But that, of course, is precisely the point.
Bellum iustum – just war theory – has its roots in the Roman legions and in the age of chivalry. Decent men were torn with guilt over the brutal actions which circumstances and duty forced them to commit. Governments (and the church) established rules, not only for the protection of civilians, but also to provide soldiers with guidelines for the moral execution of their duties.
Jus ad bellum – the just making of war; jus in bello – the just conduct of war; jus post bellum – just actions after war. In short, the laws of war come down to this: Continue Reading
On wordsfromtheherd.com I posted what may look like a ridiculously long checklist for rewriting scenes or chapters. (Note: I live by the old adage, “there are no great writers, only great rewriters.”) Continue Reading
I’ve been spending some time lately thinking about military theorists and strategists. Deep stuff. They are influenced by their perceptions of the world, by the theorists before them, and by their understanding of the needs and desires of their intended audience. But it seems there is something deeper at work as well.
I’m not referring to the fact that some strategists tend to be more cautious, and some more aggressive. That’s no great revelation – we all occupy some point along that line. But some strategists spend more time looking for the enemy’s vulnerabilities. Einstein famously said that if he had an hour to work on a problem, he would spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem itself, and 5 minutes looking for a solution. Continue Reading