In today’s society with arguments for and against gun control, is it smart to write a story in which weapons play a large part? What if heroes using weapons is the wrong thing to write about?
I’m working on a short story that might never see the light of day. The hero keeps hiding his motives from me, which makes it difficult to write about him. But if it does manage to burst into being, Lights Out will have a lot to do with weapons, guns, soldiers, and war. It’s the tale of a soldier who dies and is brought back to fight again.
Heroes Using Weapons
In the Bringer of Chaos series, the sidekick of the immortal hero is a human warrior who’d been killed in action and then revived.
To accomplish the rebirth, all the blood in the soldier’s body is replaced with the blood of an immortal. When he or she comes back to life, the training and natural abilities are all still present, but so are abilities of the immortal. If they were telepathic, so is the soldier. If they possessed enhanced speed, so does the soldier. There are dozens of “gifts” and each has both a benefit and a drawback. If you can hear the thoughts of others but can’t forget them, life could get uncomfortable fast.
With my heroes using weapons it meant I needed to understand what they do. As I prepared to write this new short story as well as book three in the Chaos trilogy, I had to understand how these weapons were used. To do that, I researched weapons of today and weapon concepts of the future.
I have a military background and enlisted in the Navy during the Viet Nam era. When I write a military sci fi or romance, I’m speaking from experience. My heroes using weapons is a result of that experience.
I’m going to take shooting lessons and learn how to use weapons myself. I want to write from experience with this as well.
Rather than shy away from the topic, I thought I’d see what my readers think about stories concerning guns. Do you read them? What do you think about stories concerning them? Do you look for stories that have a moral implication or do you prefer a rock-em-sock-em robot sort of tale?
Image credit: Nano-Core (commission for KayelleAllen.com)
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Don’t shy away from the gun topic. Art – and writing is an art – art is a away to express what is happening in society – for people to be able to take a step back and look at an issue without the clouds of emotion or bias blocking their judgement. As it is a controversial subject you will have opinions from both sides. But that is how society works. We debate – we jump up on soapboxes and preach our opinions – we argue – and sometimes we come to a resolution.
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solid advice. thank you, Daryl.
Interesting premise. I hope you resolve the issue.
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Thank you! 🙂
interesting premise. When I write about the weapons I always use them first. The feel of a broadsword is different than swinging a short sword. And keeping an arrow steady when your pulse is racing provides reality for a fantasy story. So I see nothing wrong in getting first hand experience.
Oh cool! I do want to try this. When I was in the service, few women were trained to use weapons, so this will be new to me.
Most of the clash about gun control seems to revolve around who should be able to have recourse to violence. Virtually all other advanced nations (and in theory the US, as well) declare that the state must have a monopoly on violence. They do this to avoid the chaos (terrorism, mental illness run amok, mass shootings) that today’s extremely powerful weapons can cause. To me the issue is more who controls or should control the weapons.
You’re right. Who controls the weapons is the underlying question.
Yes, it’s the underlying question, but one that seldom sees the light of day. Could be an interesting and new way to frame the debate. Excellent point, Ed.
This is a really good blog and question, Kayelle. I think a lot of us are examining our assumptions about writing these days, not just about guns, but the #metoo movement has many of us taking a closer look at our heroes and how they behave toward women. As for weapons in books, I think it all depends on the story. It’s hard to imagine a historical Western without some mention of firearms. We have to be true to our story and characters and to the time and place in which they are set. Definitely something to think about. Thanks for raising the question.
Thank you for weighing in!