June 15, 2020 • 11 mins
From arrows guided by a whistle to swords made of lasers, there are a lot of possibilities for weapons in your writing. Today, we're going to talk all about the basics of creating unique weapons.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Laser Swords? Sword Lasers.
(00:07):
Fire Ring Teeth? My name is Ken Mears.
And I'm Melissa Fales. And welcome to Writers World.
(00:36):
Stephen King said, quote, what all my ideas boil down to is seeing two things and having them come together in some new and interesting way.
And then adding the question, what if? What if is always the key question.
End quote. In creating unique weapons, I think that my one creating unique weapon tip would be to allow enough ideas to build and try to connect them. Ken, what do you think is the one most important tip you could give writers in creating unique weapons?
(01:11):
I would say probably just kind of think outside the box, but also consider things that have been used throughout history as weapons. It would amaze you how creative our species is when it comes to making weapons kill each other well.
As a general rule, if you can think of a way to make something hurt someone, then it can be considered a weapon. That's lovely. For those of you who don't know a weapon, according to Google dictionary is, quote, a thing designed or used for inflicting bodily harm or physical damage.
(01:46):
End quote. In this episode, we'll be talking about how you can create unique weapons and we will also be briefly covering using real weapons in your writing.
Now that we've gotten the crash course out of the way, let's take a deeper look into creating unique weapons. Ken, how does one create unique weapons?
(02:08):
Well, I think it could be pretty obvious, but of course, with your imagination, when it comes to the techniques that I have used in creating unique weapons, I have started by examining the kind of culture the weapon emerges from.
For example, with one of my favorite weapons I've ever created, the fly boya, that weapon came from a semi Native American inspired culture.
Once you have a sort of type of culture, I would recommend looking at what weapons would have emerged from that type of culture, or if it's fully a unique culture, look at what kinds of weapons could emerge in such a place.
(02:41):
Going back again to the fly boya, this weapon was based on the hunting weapon, the boya, which some Native American tribes use to entangle prey.
The last step in my process is then to see what you can do to make it unique. If there is magic or some level of high tech, how is that integrated into this weapon?
With the fly boya, that particular weapon ended up using sky stone, a sort of magic anti-gravity material that allowed it to act slightly different from the weapon that it's based on.
(03:11):
And of course, once you have the weapon created, you need to figure out how you can actually use the weapon.
StandOutBooks.com had a tip I thought was interesting, which was to keep in mind the role of skill, strength, and stealth of your weapon.
Throwing knives requires a large amount of skill, as would a bow, while hammers and axes would require large amounts of strength.
(03:36):
They mentioned that in readers minds, skill beats strength, and stealth obviously becomes less helpful once you are discovered.
I mentioned this balance between skill, strength, and stealth, because, and we talk about this in our superhero episode, giving your weapon all of this power can feel a little like cheating to the reader.
All powerful can get all predictable and all boring fast.
(04:01):
And as I was researching this episode, I came across some different thoughts on how powerful weapons should be. Ken, how powerful do you think weapons should be?
I would say perhaps it should be as powerful as it needs to be given the circumstances.
Most weapons won't be super powerful like Xanath's Infinity Gauntlet. Really, the power of most weapons should be related to the skills of the person using it.
(04:26):
For example, there are spell stones in my world of the Middle Land. These stones can accomplish some pretty awesome feats, but they are only as powerful as the person using them to challenge magic.
The same spell stones that could practically be a plaything in a total novice's hand could be the means of making kings bow before you if you buy a Master of Magic.
That's the exact same spell.
(04:49):
Do you think that weapons should have weaknesses?
They should definitely have limits of some kind. After all, it would be practically impossible to create a perfect weapon that has no kinks in the armor, so to speak.
Especially the weapons your heroes are using should have some kind of limit or weakness. After all, the weak weapon makes the wielder unbeatable, and you kind of lose conflict quite quickly, and there's no risk to keep the reader engaged.
(05:14):
Great point.
BetterNovaProject.com also had a great point I wanted to touch on before we do a brain questioning exercise.
Quote, simplicity equals versatility. Every accessory, modification, or addition of something cool narrows the function of the gun or knife.
(05:35):
And quote, they argue that, quote, there's a reason the most popular firearms and knives in reality are also the most mundane.
Simplicity equals versatility.
And I'm betting your character requires a truckload of the latter. Which do you use more often on a daily basis? A steak knife or Swiss Army knife?
The steak knife might be intended for cutting meat, but you probably use it for other source of other tasks, from preparing vegetables to opening map.
(06:04):
Despite all the roles it tries to fill, the Swiss Army knife is actually less functional standpoint. It requires a specific need before it's used, end quote.
Despite your thoughts on Swiss Army knives, I thought that his point on simplicity equals versatility was something to keep in mind as we continue.
Some questions you could address creating your weapons are, does your weapon have a mind of its own?
(06:31):
Does the wielder of the weapon have to hold a deep connection or understanding of the weapon to work it?
Does the wielder of the sword have a close connection with their weapon? Why? Does holding the weapon hurt the wielder?
What makes this weapon special? Does this weapon have slash need a backstory?
Okay, now think of an element. Now think of a weapon. Could you combine the two?
(06:54):
I mentioned this earlier, but I think a key part in creating unique weapons is combining.
Try the exercise where you think of a word and then you think of a weapon and see if you can combine them.
Ken, what are some questions you should ask yourself or some points you should address in creating your weapons?
I have just a few things to consider. What kind of skills does a person need to have to use the weapon well?
(07:19):
Just how useful is the weapon and what are the limits to what it can do?
Are there ways to perhaps upgrade the weapon to make it better or more powerful?
Versatile, that sort of thing. Is the weapon intuitive? I.e. could a novice pick it up and instantly be able to bust out incredible moves?
Just a few little things to consider.
Yeah. Now, if you're still stuck, I would ask yourself, what weapon would I use to beat back my brother slash boy slash boyfriend slash other?
(07:50):
Now you have something in mind. It could be from just using your own fist to a magical rainbow gun.
Write about it, but give it a history.
Or this idea comes from crime fiction book dot com to quote read a newspaper and quote newspaper.
You know, they are things. And I think you could adjust what you read about and edit the weapon for your audience or what you feel comfortable.
(08:19):
Now, I don't think that every story should have physical weapons, but I'm amazed in literature at how words are used as weapons, which is a unique weapon.
The hero's weapon may not be physically there, but it is there, which often turns into be the real weapon.
Ken, what do you think? Do you think that every story needs a unique weapon?
(08:40):
Probably not every story, especially if it's just like a drama story with little to no actual violence.
There is zero need for actual physical weapons at all.
Of course, another thing to consider is that in a given story, you could use classic weapons everyone knows like sword, shield and like just have them use slightly differently.
(09:02):
Make the fighting style unique instead or something like that.
That's a great point. Sometimes you just need a new fighting style, but whatever you want.
And on that note, let's address nonfiction weapons.
I think that if you want to write nonfiction weapons, you should get some real life experience with the weapon or interview someone who does have that experience.
(09:25):
Watch videos on it or read books about the subject.
Benjamin Sobik has a book titled The Writer's Guide to Weapons, a practical reference for using firearms and knives for fiction, which seems like a great, qualified place to start.
A key point to consider, though, is the time period your story is taking place in and the character who is yielding the weapon.
(09:51):
And crime fiction book dot com had a great point that, quote, If it's in a movie or on television, it's probably inaccurate.
And, quote, Ken, what should I do if I want to write nonfiction weapons?
Research, research, research. There will be so many people that will call you out if you don't do the research.
(10:13):
For example, in my story, Hunted, a revolutionary short story, I make use of some guns from the Revolutionary War.
I made sure I did my research on them, and as such, I haven't gotten that kind of flack over misuse or failing description.
I would also recommend getting some kind of practical experience with the type of weapons you write.
For another example, I used to do kung fu and tai chi, and during that process, I learned to use swords, nunchucks, ninja stars, and even fan those weapons.
(10:41):
So I could pretty well describe how to use those weapons based on my training, as well as hand-to-hand combat.
And of course, you don't have first-hand experience, bring in an expert to work with you and fact-check you.
Trust me, it will save you a lot of pain and rude comments.
You sound like you're speaking from experience.
(11:02):
We hope today's episode was helpful.
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.
For sources in the transcript, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.
And our Instagram is writersworldpodcastofficial.
Our Patreon is patreon.com slash writersworldpodcast.
And if you want your questions or comments answered,
(11:25):
our email is writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.
Until next time, I've been Ken Neary.
And I've been Melissa Fales with Writers World.
And keep on writing.
Laser Swords? Sword Lasers.
(00:07):
Fire Ring Teeth? My name is Ken Mears.
And I'm Melissa Fales. And welcome to Writers World.
(00:36):
Stephen King said, quote, what all my ideas boil down to is seeing two things and having them come together in some new and interesting way.
And then adding the question, what if? What if is always the key question.
End quote. In creating unique weapons, I think that my one creating unique weapon tip would be to allow enough ideas to build and try to connect them. Ken, what do you think is the one most important tip you could give writers in creating unique weapons?
(01:11):
I would say probably just kind of think outside the box, but also consider things that have been used throughout history as weapons. It would amaze you how creative our species is when it comes to making weapons kill each other well.
As a general rule, if you can think of a way to make something hurt someone, then it can be considered a weapon. That's lovely. For those of you who don't know a weapon, according to Google dictionary is, quote, a thing designed or used for inflicting bodily harm or physical damage.
(01:46):
End quote. In this episode, we'll be talking about how you can create unique weapons and we will also be briefly covering using real weapons in your writing.
Now that we've gotten the crash course out of the way, let's take a deeper look into creating unique weapons. Ken, how does one create unique weapons?
(02:08):
Well, I think it could be pretty obvious, but of course, with your imagination, when it comes to the techniques that I have used in creating unique weapons, I have started by examining the kind of culture the weapon emerges from.
For example, with one of my favorite weapons I've ever created, the fly boya, that weapon came from a semi Native American inspired culture.
Once you have a sort of type of culture, I would recommend looking at what weapons would have emerged from that type of culture, or if it's fully a unique culture, look at what kinds of weapons could emerge in such a place.
(02:41):
Going back again to the fly boya, this weapon was based on the hunting weapon, the boya, which some Native American tribes use to entangle prey.
The last step in my process is then to see what you can do to make it unique. If there is magic or some level of high tech, how is that integrated into this weapon?
With the fly boya, that particular weapon ended up using sky stone, a sort of magic anti-gravity material that allowed it to act slightly different from the weapon that it's based on.
(03:11):
And of course, once you have the weapon created, you need to figure out how you can actually use the weapon.
StandOutBooks.com had a tip I thought was interesting, which was to keep in mind the role of skill, strength, and stealth of your weapon.
Throwing knives requires a large amount of skill, as would a bow, while hammers and axes would require large amounts of strength.
(03:36):
They mentioned that in readers minds, skill beats strength, and stealth obviously becomes less helpful once you are discovered.
I mentioned this balance between skill, strength, and stealth, because, and we talk about this in our superhero episode, giving your weapon all of this power can feel a little like cheating to the reader.
All powerful can get all predictable and all boring fast.
(04:01):
And as I was researching this episode, I came across some different thoughts on how powerful weapons should be. Ken, how powerful do you think weapons should be?
I would say perhaps it should be as powerful as it needs to be given the circumstances.
Most weapons won't be super powerful like Xanath's Infinity Gauntlet. Really, the power of most weapons should be related to the skills of the person using it.
(04:26):
For example, there are spell stones in my world of the Middle Land. These stones can accomplish some pretty awesome feats, but they are only as powerful as the person using them to challenge magic.
The same spell stones that could practically be a plaything in a total novice's hand could be the means of making kings bow before you if you buy a Master of Magic.
That's the exact same spell.
(04:49):
Do you think that weapons should have weaknesses?
They should definitely have limits of some kind. After all, it would be practically impossible to create a perfect weapon that has no kinks in the armor, so to speak.
Especially the weapons your heroes are using should have some kind of limit or weakness. After all, the weak weapon makes the wielder unbeatable, and you kind of lose conflict quite quickly, and there's no risk to keep the reader engaged.
(05:14):
Great point.
BetterNovaProject.com also had a great point I wanted to touch on before we do a brain questioning exercise.
Quote, simplicity equals versatility. Every accessory, modification, or addition of something cool narrows the function of the gun or knife.
(05:35):
And quote, they argue that, quote, there's a reason the most popular firearms and knives in reality are also the most mundane.
Simplicity equals versatility.
And I'm betting your character requires a truckload of the latter. Which do you use more often on a daily basis? A steak knife or Swiss Army knife?
The steak knife might be intended for cutting meat, but you probably use it for other source of other tasks, from preparing vegetables to opening map.
(06:04):
Despite all the roles it tries to fill, the Swiss Army knife is actually less functional standpoint. It requires a specific need before it's used, end quote.
Despite your thoughts on Swiss Army knives, I thought that his point on simplicity equals versatility was something to keep in mind as we continue.
Some questions you could address creating your weapons are, does your weapon have a mind of its own?
(06:31):
Does the wielder of the weapon have to hold a deep connection or understanding of the weapon to work it?
Does the wielder of the sword have a close connection with their weapon? Why? Does holding the weapon hurt the wielder?
What makes this weapon special? Does this weapon have slash need a backstory?
Okay, now think of an element. Now think of a weapon. Could you combine the two?
(06:54):
I mentioned this earlier, but I think a key part in creating unique weapons is combining.
Try the exercise where you think of a word and then you think of a weapon and see if you can combine them.
Ken, what are some questions you should ask yourself or some points you should address in creating your weapons?
I have just a few things to consider. What kind of skills does a person need to have to use the weapon well?
(07:19):
Just how useful is the weapon and what are the limits to what it can do?
Are there ways to perhaps upgrade the weapon to make it better or more powerful?
Versatile, that sort of thing. Is the weapon intuitive? I.e. could a novice pick it up and instantly be able to bust out incredible moves?
Just a few little things to consider.
Yeah. Now, if you're still stuck, I would ask yourself, what weapon would I use to beat back my brother slash boy slash boyfriend slash other?
(07:50):
Now you have something in mind. It could be from just using your own fist to a magical rainbow gun.
Write about it, but give it a history.
Or this idea comes from crime fiction book dot com to quote read a newspaper and quote newspaper.
You know, they are things. And I think you could adjust what you read about and edit the weapon for your audience or what you feel comfortable.
(08:19):
Now, I don't think that every story should have physical weapons, but I'm amazed in literature at how words are used as weapons, which is a unique weapon.
The hero's weapon may not be physically there, but it is there, which often turns into be the real weapon.
Ken, what do you think? Do you think that every story needs a unique weapon?
(08:40):
Probably not every story, especially if it's just like a drama story with little to no actual violence.
There is zero need for actual physical weapons at all.
Of course, another thing to consider is that in a given story, you could use classic weapons everyone knows like sword, shield and like just have them use slightly differently.
(09:02):
Make the fighting style unique instead or something like that.
That's a great point. Sometimes you just need a new fighting style, but whatever you want.
And on that note, let's address nonfiction weapons.
I think that if you want to write nonfiction weapons, you should get some real life experience with the weapon or interview someone who does have that experience.
(09:25):
Watch videos on it or read books about the subject.
Benjamin Sobik has a book titled The Writer's Guide to Weapons, a practical reference for using firearms and knives for fiction, which seems like a great, qualified place to start.
A key point to consider, though, is the time period your story is taking place in and the character who is yielding the weapon.
(09:51):
And crime fiction book dot com had a great point that, quote, If it's in a movie or on television, it's probably inaccurate.
And, quote, Ken, what should I do if I want to write nonfiction weapons?
Research, research, research. There will be so many people that will call you out if you don't do the research.
(10:13):
For example, in my story, Hunted, a revolutionary short story, I make use of some guns from the Revolutionary War.
I made sure I did my research on them, and as such, I haven't gotten that kind of flack over misuse or failing description.
I would also recommend getting some kind of practical experience with the type of weapons you write.
For another example, I used to do kung fu and tai chi, and during that process, I learned to use swords, nunchucks, ninja stars, and even fan those weapons.
(10:41):
So I could pretty well describe how to use those weapons based on my training, as well as hand-to-hand combat.
And of course, you don't have first-hand experience, bring in an expert to work with you and fact-check you.
Trust me, it will save you a lot of pain and rude comments.
You sound like you're speaking from experience.
(11:02):
We hope today's episode was helpful.
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.
For sources in the transcript, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.
And our Instagram is writersworldpodcastofficial.
Our Patreon is patreon.com slash writersworldpodcast.
And if you want your questions or comments answered,
(11:25):
our email is writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.
Until next time, I've been Ken Neary.
And I've been Melissa Fales with Writers World.
And keep on writing.
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