Never fight giant insects, and other words to the wise.

[Our_Lady_in_Twilight]

I remember at some point last year I tried to start off an adventure with a pyramid tomb raid, featuring an epic battle with a giant scarab beetle. The worst choice of a monster I could have made! Insects, you see, don't react in any sort of way that could be narratively interesting. They don't roar or snarl. Their eyes don't flash with hunger, or betray the first semblances of fear when the hero begins to turn the tables. They don't even really bleed - at best a sword can be made to buckle their chitinous exoskeleton slightly, at which point the beast will... erm... wiggle its mandibles in pain?

This is a pretty common thing, apparently, enough that experienced writers have warned of the difficulties of writing battle scenes against non-emotive foes like insects. A common solution seems to be moving much of the scene to the prelude, get most of the emotional drama from the hero's fear as he hears the otherworldly chittering and stalking in the darkness, sees a flash of something awful scurry up the wall, etc, and then make the actual fight itself quite short.

So how about you guys - when is the last time you learned a writing craft lesson 'the hard way'?

 

[Wamba2K]

I remember at some point last year I tried to start off an adventure with a pyramid tomb raid, featuring an epic battle with a giant scarab beetle. The worst choice of a monster I could have made! Insects, you see, don't react in any sort of way that could be narratively interesting. They don't roar or snarl. Their eyes don't flash with hunger, or betray the first semblances of fear when the hero begins to turn the tables. They don't even really bleed - at best a sword can be made to buckle their chitinous exoskeleton slightly, at which point the beast will... erm... wiggle its mandibles in pain?

This is a pretty common thing, apparently, enough that experienced writers have warned of the difficulties of writing battle scenes against non-emotive foes like insects. A common solution seems to be moving much of the scene to the prelude, get most of the emotional drama from the hero's fear as he hears the otherworldly chittering and stalking in the darkness, sees a flash of something awful scurry up the wall, etc, and then make the actual fight itself quite short.

So how about you guys - when is the last time you learned a writing craft lesson 'the hard way'?

I disagree here. The robotic behavior can make them intimidating. I would suggest doubling down on the way they do move. Maybe the fact of them not reacting to the hero turning the tables can plant a seed of doubt.
There's always a way to make something work. You just have to look at it from a different angle.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

The constant clicking of their carapaces, the tapping of their claws on the stone, the scuttling noises... You haven't read much horror involving bugs have you?
Also, if they're giant insects, they might recoil in pain, make squealing sounds when hit, etc. - they don't have to follow the rules of normal insects. Heck, they could even have a sentient leader (the battles with regular scarabs in the Brandon Frasier The Mummy worked because ... Imhotep, was it? Was there, directing them, even if he didn't take an active role.

But then, remember, chicks dig giant robots...

 

[Our_Lady_in_Twilight]

The constant clicking of their carapaces, the tapping of their claws on the stone, the scuttling noises... You haven't read much horror involving bugs have you?

TBF the 'fix' I cited was basically to emphasise the horror elements. I just needed to work it out.

 

[tiaf]

The fact that they are insects makes me shiver as someone who can’t stand crawly stuff.

The way they move extremely slow are fly past extremely fast with unpredictable pattern and the possibility of them crawling in into you.
The magnified sounds of them moving when they are close to your ears.

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

Time for hissing and chirping.

 

[LeilaniOtter]

If you're going to ghostwrite something, don't ever say to anyone that you ghostwrote it. ?