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Warfare for Writers - Irregular Warfare

March 21, 2016 Dameon Cox Leave a comment

Warfare for Writers - Irregular Warfare.

In the last post, I looked at the Fog of War and previously discussed Open and Close Units of soldiers. Formal Warfare, the familiar wars, like WWII have been depicted in various media. Also, Irregular Warfare has been popular: Tom Clancy's works are a good example. So, how does Warfare for Writers - Irregular Warfare affect the writer?

These types of units are rarely under efficient direct control of a military commander, which can lead to CHAOS!

Many times, these units of irregular forces come from cultures where men go armed, all the time and are made up of:

Privateers (navy) with letters of Marque and Reprisal.

Mercenaries are paid units from elsewhere.

Guerrilla Warfare are in support of war, especially by part-timers: The Arab revolt that made T. E. Lawrence famous. (Yes, Lawerence of Arabia was a real person!)

Private units and armies, like Muqtada Al-Sadr's Mehdi Army in Iraq.

Spies and Assassins

What does this mean for a writer?

If your characters are engaged in irregular warfare, what tensions does it cause for military commanders and the characters themselves? How well are they fitting in?

Note: this information was taken from lectures by Timons Esaias with his permission.

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Warfare for Writers - Fog of War

February 23, 2016 Dameon Cox Leave a comment

Warfare for Writers - Fog of War

Unfortunately, Hollywood, TV, and yes, a few authors have privates and sergeants knowing the overall situation of a battle. Audie Murphy who played himself in the movie To Hell and Back won the Congressional Metal of Honor and was the most decorated soldier in WWII. He didn't know what was happening a mile away in most cases and such is Warfare for Writers - Fog of War. Have this uncertainty effect your characters and the plot! Have it get on their nerves, and in some cases they may become irrational. It is definitely a good plot device.

Soldier Deployment:

Historically, soldiers and troopers have been put on the battle field in one of two ways: Close Order or Open Order.

Close Order:

Close order is where warriors are more or less shoulder to shoulder and within an arm's reach of the warrior ahead or behind.

Benefit:

Soldiers are psychologically supported by direct, even physical peer pressure. Your "buddy" is helping with his actions and words to lead you forward.

It puts a lot of power in one place and ready to strike.

The warriors in the trenches during WWI would be considered in close order as would warriors in columns or lines.

Cons:

Projectiles or artillery would kill more warriors when rained down on the warriors head or even nearby in a hard-to-miss target. A lot more people would die.

Open Order:

A formation which is spread out in either groups of two or three men, if not, singly.

Benefits:

There will be reduced casualties.

Cons:

Psychologically, the warrior is on his own to face the fears and indecisions of the situation.

Communications with the leaders may break down and with other groups of men.

It requires more training.

Summary:

If you have a warrior in battle, you should have some sense of what formation they are in, what they can and can't do, along with what they can see. Also, the unit's purpose must be clear. These factors will effect the warrior psychologically.

Note: This information was taken from a lecture by Timions Esaias with his permission.

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Cover Artist 5

October 21, 2015 Dameon Cox Leave a comment

Brian C. Hailes is my Cover Artist 5. He has worked as a professional illustrator, designer, author and commission artist for fifteen years, and has received numerous awards for his art from across the country, including Winner of the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future contest out of Hollywood. He has written and illustrated two graphic novels, entitled Dragon's Gait and Devil's Triangle. Other titles he has illustrated include Passion & Spirit: The Dance Quote Book, Continuum (Arcana Studios), as well as McKenna, McKenna, Ready to Fly, and the 2015 Girl of the Year ebook, Grace & Sylvie (American Girl). His work can be seen at www.HailesArt.com

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Copyright Law Basics

March 17, 2015 Dameon Cox Leave a comment

Copyright protection exists from the moment a work is created in a fixed, tangible form of expression. The copyright immediately becomes the author's property who created the work. Only the author, or those he/she gives rights to, can claim copyright. In works made for hire, the employer—not the writer—is the author.

Ownership in Copyright Law Basics of a book, does not give copyrights.

Duration: If you right it now, you own it until seventy years after your death. Pseudonymous works (unless the author's identity is in the Copyright Office), the copyright is 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Works prior to 1978 are different. See an attorney.

A copyright notice has three parts:

The symbol © (the letter C in a circle), the word "Copyright" or the abbreviation "Copr."
The year when the work was first created.
The name of the owner of the copyright.

"International" Copyright

"International" copyright that automatically protects a work throughout the world does not exist. Nonetheless, the most widely-adopted copyright treaty, the Berne Convention, states that once a work is protected in one of the Convention member countries, it is protected by copyright in all of them. As of mid-2004, 156 countries, including the U.S., belong to the Berne Convention.

As always, if you have questions about Copyright Law Basics, see an attorney!

Summarized from web content by Dameon Cox

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Cover Artist - 2

January 2, 2015 Dameon Cox Leave a comment

Cover Artist - 2 is Jeff Brown, a digital artist specializing in environment paintings. He is a full-time freelancer, originally from Saskatoon, Canada. He currently lives in Cuernavaca, Mexico. He has worked for many projects in the industry such as Monstrous, SettleForge, Fallen, Rhune, and Shattered.

Mr. Brown charges $200 for a quicker concept picture and $450 for a detailed cover. The pictures posted here are copyrighted by Mr. Brown. You can connect Mr. Brown through his website: www.jeffbrowngraphics.com

The first two pictures are concept pictures and the last two are detail covers.

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Belladonna, and other tasty treats! - Dameon Cox Author Blog

December 29, 2014 Dameon Cox 79 Comments

Belladonna, and other tasty treats!

Poisoning has been around for a long time. Socrates was forced to drink hemlock in the year 399 by his own hand. Of course, in today's world many toxins are around to do one in. I've listed some of the longtime favorites to whet your appetite. Over the years, I've found several incidents where an author used a poison not yet discovered. You can make up your own in fantasy or sci-fi, but I advise checking out your toxins if your setting is real world.

Belladonna is also know as Nightshade. Belladonna, or "pretty woman" in English is a flowering plant that can, over years, grow ten feet tall. The shiny black berries are the most poisonous, but the rest of the plant can kill you, too. It's found in Europe.

Another plant to reach ten feet is Poison Hemlock. It has pretty flowers and fleshy roots. It's not related to the Eastern Hemlock Tree grown in the United States. Paralysis of the lungs is usually the cause of death. The victim can't move, but is aware of what's happening around him until the very end. Not a happy way to go.

Arsenic inhibits the production of necessary enzymes and has been linked to cancer in small amounts. It was used in the middle ages, think the Borgias. The symptoms are similar to cholera.

Strychnine comes from Asia and Australia and wasn't discovered until 1818 by Pierre-Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Caventou.

Curare is slow and horrific. It comes from the Amazon (the forest, not the website). It's used in hunting and tribal warfare. Unless you're Indiana Jones, you probably won't need it.

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Warfare for Writers - 5

December 24, 2014 Dameon Cox 3 Comments

NOTE: As those who follow my blog know, I don't use it to self promote my novels. Nonetheless, like all authors, a little help is needed. If you enjoy my blog and find it useful, please follow and like me on the social media platforms you use. I'm on Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, GoodReads and Linkedin. Thanks for the help, Dameon

Warfare for Writers - 5 is another in the series graciously permitted by Timons Esaias for distribution by me from his lectures.

What is a "line" ?

In army terms, a line is a formation in which each soldier, or artillery piece, or horse or chariot is facing forward, and the other members of the unit are side-by-side. If a second line of soldiers/horses/guns is behind the first, this is called a double line or a two-man line. There can be triple lines, and so forth, but the nature of a line is that it is wider than it is deep. In the old days, when most military vessels were oared (galleys) and their major ship-to-ship weapon was the ram, a naval line was the same as an army line, vessels shoulder-to-shoulder, facing forward. We now call this formation line abreast. With the invention of the cannon, however, the business end of the ship was actually its sides, so the "battle line" got turned 90°, and ships moved nose to tail. So now a line on land is the opposite of a line at sea.

What is a "column" ??

The column is the "opposite" formation from a line, and can be created simply by having everyone in a line formation turn 90° to the right or left, in place. In the part-wrestling-match that is close combat, this formation is used to break through the enemy, or at least push them around, by piling up against them. If people in the front are killed, they can be replaced by folks immediately behind, without stopping to reorganize. A column is generally deeper than it is wide, though starting in a solid square was quite common. The column also applies more "peer pressure" on the troops in it to stay in formation. (It takes more discipline to stand steady in a line than it does in a column, because there are fewer folks behind you to make you stay.) Each line in a column or in a multiple-line formation is called a rank, and the rows of guys from front to back are called files. Since these formations are made up of the most common soldiers, this is where our expression "rank-and-file" (meaning the grunts who do the real work) comes from.

Which flank is which?

The "right" and "left" of a unit is judged as you would a person, as they face forward. When arrayed for battle one generally faces the enemy. Your right will be to your right, and opposite your right will be the enemy left.

Enemy Right Enemy Center Enemy Left

Your Left Your Center Your Right

Dameon Cox, Author

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Warfare for Writers - Irregular Warfare.

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Warfare for Writers - Fog of War

Soldier Deployment:

Close Order:

Open Order:

Summary:

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Belladonna, and other tasty treats!

Belladonna is also know as Nightshade. Belladonna, or "pretty woman" in English is a flowering plant that can, over years, grow ten feet tall. The shiny black berries are the most poisonous, but the rest of the plant can kill you, too. It's found in Europe.

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