Welcome to the second in my three-part series of Writing For Black Library articles released to coincide with BL’s January 2023 Open Submissions window. For these articles I spoke to nine Black Library authors who kindly agreed to share their advice and ideas regarding three topics: pitch summaries, Space Marine stories, and generally writing short stories and samples. In Part 1 we covered writing pitches – if you haven’t already, definitely check that out – while for this second part the focus is on Space Marines. Specifically, I asked each of the authors this question: “What would you say makes a great Space Marine story?”
Huge thanks again to our nine authors for taking the time to contribute to these articles: Jonathan D. Beer, Sarah Cawkwell, Marc Collins, Denny Flowers, David Guymer, Gary Kloster, Jude Reid, Nicholas Wolf and Rob Young. Also the usual caveats: firstly I’m not an author myself, so these articles are not about me or my opinions but rather advice from actual authors who write for Black Library. Secondly, don’t take this as gospel – everything in this article is based on these authors’ personal experiences, which may or may not be relevant to you.
That done, let’s crack on. So…what does make a great Space Marine story?
Everyone likes different things
Well, it’s a bit of a trick question really. There’s no right or wrong answer to this, but that’s why I asked it, as I was hoping to get lots of different opinions. Funnily enough, that’s exactly what I got!
John Sibbick’s amazing Crimson Fists artwork for the original Rogue Trader cover
As Nicholas Wolf says, “At the risk of stating the obvious, if you ask ten different authors you’d probably get ten different answers. Therein lies the challenge, because the same is likely true if you asked ten different fans.”
Sarah Cawkwell agrees: “It’s a question that has no real answer – simply because there are so many different ways you can take a Space Marine story.”
Why is that, though? Well, here’s what Wolf has to say about it. “One of the dangers of writing in an established setting (which I discussed in a recent podcast with Cold Open Stories) is getting too hung up on what you think makes the setting ‘cool’ versus what most people think makes the setting ‘cool’. For example, the element I find most fascinating about Space Marines is the depth of their sacrifice for a species they’re largely removed from (having transcended to their transhuman state), and while I love to read and write at length about the deep pathos wrought into their bones by their transformation and subsequent commitment to a lifetime of bloodshed and horror fighting an unwinnable war…a lot of people just want to read about these superhuman warrior monks stomping aliens into mulch. And that’s fine too! There’s room for that, as well as what the other eight authors/fans want!”
I couldn’t agree more – that’s a huge part of what makes a shared setting like 40k (or any other existing IP) so interesting. It would be pretty boring if we only got one type of story.
This would be a pretty short article without some actual advice though, so what sort of things do our authors suggest are important in Space Marine stories?
Action…but not at the expense of character
“The easy – and often correct – answer would be great action,” says Gary Kloster. “These are stories about super soldiers that are enmeshed in an endless war with a vast cast of monstrous enemies. So while it’s possible to tell an amazing story about a group of Space Marine scouts making breakfast while waiting for the orks to arrive, action is probably going to be central to most Space Marine stories.”
It’s not called Warhammer 40,000 for nothing, after all. However, even the most exciting action scene on its own doesn’t make a whole story. What you also need is, as Marc Collins says, “a proper mix of action and character.”
David Guymer expands on this: “Bolters aren’t optional (always read the submission guidelines: ‘… stories should be high-stakes, action-heavy, and show the warriors of the Adeptus Astartes doing what they do best – while showcasing the unique traits of your chosen Chapter’) but they should be secondary to what happens to the characters on the inside.”
“For a fight scene to really work,” says Kloster, “the reader has to care about the people fighting. Which wraps back to character and conflict. Setting up the stakes, the consequences of loss, makes the action matter more, but what’s really important is setting up the characters. If the reader cares about them, they’re going to care so much more about the action.”
So it’s about finding a balance between action and character, but how do you do that? Well, the 2023 window is about Successor Chapters in particular, and as Guymer mentioned earlier the guidelines specifically ask you to showcase ‘the unique traits of your chosen Chapter’.
“Space Marines have a function,” suggests Collins, “but the beauty of Successor Chapters is that each possesses their own ways of going about that. Consider Warriors of Ultramar and the contrast between the Ultramarines and the Mortifactors. Each has their wheelhouse. Each has their advantages and flaws. A good Space Marine story should be carried by the strength of its characters and the culture of their Chapter.”
“Everyone’s mileage is going to vary on this one,” says Guymer, “but for me personally a great Space Marine story needs to have something new to say about the Chapter or the setting and a conflicted protagonist with whom to explore it. Think about the best Peter Fehevari or John French story you’ve ever read and what makes them work. For me, it’s all about mood and character, realistic dialogue and good use of subtext.”
Regardless of the Chapter, it always comes back to character. Cawkwell suggests that “Focusing on the core element that these are fearless, super-human warriors is always important. Understanding that they will likely reach their objectives regardless of cost to anybody outside of their immediate brotherhood helps as well. Ultimately though, what makes a great Space Marine story is what makes any story great – engaging characters and an appropriately gauged threat for them to outwit, defeat, capture, engage and/or generally muck about with.”
The inhumanity of Space Marines
Something that a lot of our authors picked up on though, which may well differ depending on which Chapter you choose to write about, is the nature of the Space Marines themselves. As Cawkwell says, “Some people prefer their Space Marines to be distant and removed from humanity, while others like them with a core sense of basic humanity.”
That’s an important point to consider, I think – what’s your personal take on the question of Space Marines’ humanity?
John Blanche’s classic cover for 2nd Edition 40k
“I can only speak as a reader as I’ve yet to write a Space Marine story,” says Denny Flowers, “but I like the contrast between Marines and Humans. Marines are not super soldiers in the style of Captain America. They aren’t even close to human, and are more like autonomous biological weapons.”
As Cawkwell pointed out, you might prefer your Space Marines to have a bit more of a human core, but there’s probably always going to be at least some element of inhumanity in any Space Marine story.
Flowers continues: “Not only are they a different breed physically, but the majority of their emotions have been stunted or warped by hypno-conditioning. They not only do not feel our emotions but barely understand them outside of a wartime situation. Know No Fear is a cool trait for a soldier, but utterly alien to most higher life forms. It’s a trait closer to insects and other hive creatures where self-preservation takes a back seat to the needs of the collective.”
This inhumanity is something that Jude Reid mentioned too: “For me, the most interesting thing about Space Marines is that they’re totally inhuman. They’re the champions and defenders of humanity, sure, and they’ve been given power beyond our wildest imaginings, but the price of that is enormous. My favourite stories about the Astartes drill into what it would be like to have become something post-human, and how it would change you and your outlook on the world.”
“Do they feel fear?” asks Flowers. “Certainly not from death or pain, but do they fear failure? Dishonour? Dying before their mission is fulfilled? Perhaps there is something there. And we know they are capable of betrayal and deception, so they are more than just drones or biological automatons. So, what are they? Just how much humanity is left?”
Those are great questions, and ones that don’t necessarily have easy answers. But what can you do to try and tackle them, and get across some of the differences between Space Marines and regular humans?
Mikhail Savier’s brilliant cover art for Legacy of Dorn
As Beer suggests, you could look back to that question of humanity. “The thing that fascinates me most about Space Marines is their inherent difference from baseline humanity. They aren’t just big men with big guns, they are hypno-indoctrinated warriors elevated way beyond mortal capabilities. Some of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 stories explore how Space Marines relate to civilians, their serfs and servants, or other soldiers of the Imperium.”
“I feel Marines work best when contrasted against regular humans,” agrees Flowers. “These could be allies or enemies, but serve to highlight the alienness of the Marines. There is a wrestling truism which states that if a promoter has one guy who is seven foot tall, then that’s a giant that can make you money. But if you have a whole territory of seven-foot-tall guys then you have no giants because everyone is the same height. To make the giant taller you need smaller people around looking up.
“This isn’t to say Marines can’t fight other Marines, or huge monsters, but often a story will benefit from humanesque characters to make the Marines seem even bigger and inhuman.”
Rob Young offers a slightly different suggestion, but one that I think actually fits well with what’s already been discussed: “Space Marines might be superhuman, but they’re not infallible and I think the best stories really show that. They should have bigger, harder obstacles to overcome, and the story is always more interesting if the characters are facing more than just a physical threat.”
This is a great point, about making sure your characters have something to deal with that doesn’t just involve fighting. As Jonathan D. Beer suggests, “it doesn’t have to be all-action, all the time. Rationing the action and intensity throughout a Space Marine story is key to making sure that that bolt shell hits as hard as it should when you get into the thick of it. Also, you’ll be surprised how quickly a firefight can eat up your word count. “
I love this Howling Griffons artwork, but sadly I don’t know who the artist is
Final thoughts
However you tackle these questions, your choices are ultimately going to come down to what you are personally most interested in with Space Marine stories. You can take some or all of the advice here, or none of it if you’d prefer. But it’s clear to me that there’s a lot to think about beyond simply bolters and action.
Jonathan D. Beer makes a good point: “Getting inside the mindset of a Space Marine and understanding the lens through which they see the galaxy, its occupants and its challenges, is one of the great opportunities of Warhammer 40,000 stories. Exploring how they view the barriers to achieving what they must – whether it be an opposing horde of xenos, or the byzantine politics of a planetary governor’s court – is what draws me as a reader and a writer to the Imperium’s Angels of Death.”
I’ll close this article off, much like part 1, with some final thoughts from Nicholas Wolf. These highlight once more that there’s no right answer to the question of what makes a great Space Marine story, but that it’s worth thinking about how to balance what you personally love about the 40k setting with what’s likely to have a broad appeal to lots of other readers. It’s not quite as Space Marine-focused as the rest of this article, but it’s well worth considering.
Wolf: “Over the past few years I have served as a editor/mentor for aspiring authors pitching to the Open Submissions window, and I can distinctly recall the instances wherein I finished a story and said, ‘wow, I can really see that they’re very passionate about this niche subject, but honestly I don’t care’. And while I don’t expect every story to cater to my interests I do assume that I share many opinions on what makes Space Marines ‘cool’ as the average reader. Niche stories are risky simply because they just don’t resonate with a broader audience as well as some other ideas, and your chances of success will be slimmer.
“This is, of course, not to say that what you pitch should be a carbon copy of what’s already been done. If anything, you’ll have even slimmer chances of success than swinging for the fences on something strange and out there! The key is balancing what you’re passionate about with what the average reader is passionate about.
“I’ll give you an example: my first story Reborn follows an abandoned guardsman who ‘falls’ to Chaos to survive out of a desire to return home to the newborn son he’s never met.
“What most interested me about this premise was the visceral human horror of watching one’s body mutate into something monstrous, and the scene I chose to submit as my sample in particular highlighted that aspect. But the story includes a lot beyond body horror that appeals to a broader audience, including a goodly amount of battle scenes and good ol’ fashioned violence. Now that’s something everyone can enjoy!”
So I’ll leave you on that note, which I think is a really good point. Whatever you choose to write, whichever Chapter you pick, think about how you can balance what you love with what’s going to work for lots of readers – because it seems to me that this is one of the core skills required for anyone who wants to write in a shared IP. Good luck!
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There you go then, that’s Part 2 finished of this 3-part article looking at advice and ideas for anyone interested in Black Library’s 2023 Open Submissions window. If you haven’t already, make sure you check out Part 1 – which focuses on writing your 100-word pitch summary – and Part 3, which is a broader discussion of writing short stories and putting together writing samples.
Massive thanks to all nine authors for taking the time to talk to me, and for contributing such fascinating insight! Check out the bios below if you want to know more about each of the authors.
The three topics in these articles are obviously directly related to the 2023 open subs window, but I think the answers are going to be relevant under any circumstances really, so do refer back to them even if you’re looking at this after the window has closed. Similarly, the vast majority of the earlier ‘Writing for BL’ articles and interviews I’ve put together are still very much worth reading and thinking about, so make sure you check those out too. You can find all of them on the Writing Resources page.
About the authors
Jonathan D. Beer is a science fiction and alternative history writer, whose stories for Black Library have appeared in the anthologies Broken City and Sanction and Sin, and in the Warhammer Crime Week 2022.
Sarah Cawkwell is a freelance writer based in northeast England. Her work for Black Library include the Silver Skulls novels The Gildar Rift and Portents, and the Architect of Fate novella, Accursed Eternity. For Warhammer, she is best known for her stories featuring the daemon princess of Khorne, Valkia the Bloody.
Marc Collins is a speculative fiction author living and working in Glasgow, Scotland. Grim Repast is his first novel for Black Library. He is also the writer of the short stories Ghosts of Iron, Respite’s End, and Champions, All for Warhammer 40,000, and Cold Cases for Warhammer Crime. When not dreaming of the far future he works in Pathology with the NHS.
Denny Flowers is the author of the novels Fire Made Flesh and Outgunned, the novella Low Lives and several short stories. He lives in Kent with his wife and son, and has no proven connection with House Delaque.
David Guymer is a scientist and writer from England. His work includes many novels in the New York Times-bestselling Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 universes, notably Headtaker and Gotrek & Felix: Slayer, and the bestselling audio drama Realmslayer. He has also contributed to fantastical worlds in video games, tabletop RPGs, and board games.
Gary Kloster is a writer, a stay-at-home father, a librarian and a martial artist – sometimes all in the same day, seldom all at the same time. He lives among the corn in the American Midwest and his short fiction can be found in Analog, Apex, Clarkesworld and others. For Black Library, he has written the Necromunda novella Spark of Revolution, and a number of short stories.
Jude Reid lives in Glasgow with her husband and two daughters, and writes in the narrow gaps between full-time work as a surgeon, wrangling her kids and failing to tire out a border collie. In what little free time she has, she enjoys tabletop roleplaying, ITF Tae Kwon Do and inadvisably climbing big hills.
Nicholas Wolf is an author, artist and occasional musician. He’s written science fiction for several publications, and his work includes the Warhammer 40,000 short stories Reborn and Negavolt for Black Library. He lives and works in Arizona, with his family.
Rob Young is a copywriter and graphic designer from Lancashire. When he’s not reading or writing, you’ll find him working on his latest Warhammer project. The Roar of the Void is Rob’s first story for Black Library.
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