how to plan a battle ?

I also find that in certain battle types it pays to add the raw essence of self preservation. for example in my book (a roman era battle novel) my main character finds himself in a little bit of a tight spot when he drops his sword.... what to do ehh? the answer is to pummel the enemy to death with his helmet..... it adds a little "epic" to the situation :)

The best way to plan any battle - is from as far away as possible! Next option is to make sure that it is on someone else's land... ;-)

However...

From a practical writing point-of-view there are a number of things that it is very useful to establish...

These don't come in a rigid order - and you sometimes do a little of each and come back round to them...

1. Topography - in the broadest sense. It is useful for the reader to have a picture of where things are happening - or - better still - where things are going to happen... It is much easier to keep action flowing (and brief) if you don't have to keep stopping to describe where people are...

On the other hand - you can create pauses in the action in which people look around and assess what they can see around them - this allows "moving over the horizon / round corners and introducing features that hadn't/couldn't be seen before.... This can also add in "surprises"

2. Equipment. As far as possible you always want to have established what people will be carrying and using (and/or what will be carrying them) - preferably well before any action - I think that it is very useful to study the start of "Saving Private Ryan" - to see the whole mass of visual information piled in to a very short period - you cannot do this in written words - so you need to set up the images in advance

3. Personnel. You need to have a clear image in your own head of different levels of personnel - and their perspectives. You must know which eyes you are going to see things through and which reactions you will be dealing with. If you haven't got it already it is very useful to set up the continuity patterns for the main characters you will be dealing with.

This then needs to be added to with continuity records for the most significant actors - you need to set and then trace all the things that are going to be significant - which vehicle they have/are in, which weapons they have - how many magazines/rounds of ammunition (or quivers/arrows). The reach of a spear/pike/bayonet can be significant - as can lack of reach. You do not want any weapon suddenly (and miraculously) appearing just when it is needed - and you don't want to forget an option that you set up earlier...

Position. This can mean rank/authority/responsibility - but, much more basically - you want to be clear about where people are...

If you are dealing with a trench or hedgerow it is useful to have at least one protagonist looking around and seeing where his "mates" are before the action starts - this is much the same as setting up topography - you need to be careful about mixing the two - you want each to be distinctive and clear... mix is very possible - but you need to make sure that your reader will get as clear a picture outside your head as you have inside your head.

Then... You MUST keep track of who moves where - you can have everyone moving in a direction together - groups moving - individuals moving... Again - you can work mixes - but - continuity is the key... Also - in all the mayhem - you need to grab the reader's attention from time to time so that they note significant movements - and don't end up thinking "how did he/they get there?"

It can be very useful to set up a map or even maps (especially the view from each side if you deal with both - it's much easier to have maps set out from the perspective of the viewer than to keep turning the same map round - either physically or in your head). Having got the initial map(s) several copies of each are useful - they enable you to plot the changed positions at key stages.

At a lesser level - but where more detail is required - diagrams to keep track of which order a squad /group is moving forward in really do help - it is much easier to keep track of who is in front and who is behind with a diagram / with diagrams than by having to keep checking back in the text... Anything that breaks your flow of where who is will be more likely to do the same to your reader - you want to be able to be positive and clear about position(s).

There's probably more stuff I should put in - but - the key things to getting a battle - or even a skirmish - right are -

Preparation (setting everything up)

Continuity (Keeping track of everything and consistency).

Perspective (Visual and emotional - if the latter applies)

Action - and pauses.

Finally - any conflict scene with a number of people/participants really is something you need to get an uninterested party to check through for you - because you can't get out of the position of knowing what is going on. You can't check properly/effectively - because you already "know" - so - you need someone who doesn't know to go through it and raise questions, spot stalling points and everything else for you.

When you have done at least all but the last point - you need to set it completely aside for - probably at least a week... Any issues that come to mind in that week you need to list away from the text. After a week you should go over the original as it is - only when you have done that should you look at your listed points again and see whether you want to introduce any of them.

Hope this helps.

Someone else has already raised the issue of the value of the degree of gore... In general I work very much on the principle that the less gore there is the better - and - generally - within the battle - it is there for a moment and gone. If you really want to - the subject is really very useful - you can flashback or refer back to it later - but - unlike films - the experience doesn't linger or stop-action on gore - if you stop in a battle you increase the risk of getting killed massively - within the battle you keep acting - and that applies to continuing to keep your head down - the gore you are laying in has no significance at all compared to the nasty stuff whizzing over your head... but - the consequence (having to clean it off) can come back later - possibly without knowledge of where the gore was obtained - and maybe that raises questions...

And - don't forget - most of "war" is not fighting - and, even with a battle raging, people can be on the fringe or at a distance - so that they may even only hear and not see what is going on... It is possible to describe a battle entirely in radio traffic - but not for knights in armour...

:-)

I have done a few battle scenes in my book, just flow with it. use description like bone crushing blow or sickening crunch ect ect, in terms of whats going on - i like to picture myself in the battle - what can i see? how far can i see? what can i smell or hear ?