The Art of War is all about Storytelling (Laying Plans)

Today we discuss Sun Tzu's The Art of War. 


I've been meaning to post this for a year now and darn it, I'm going to do it.

I maintain that The Art of War is one of the greatest storytelling textbooks of all time.
I will attempt to illustrate how throughout this series by drawing on how it relates to the author of the piece, the characters, and the plot.

It begins:

The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or ruin. Hence, it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected. 

It actually begins:

Sun Tzu said:  The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or ruin. Hence, it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected. 

But, that sounds creepy and just a little formal.
It's like saying Miles Boucher says...

Point being, Sun Tzu says that the art of war is of vital importance and can on no account be neglected.
Why?
He illuminates (later on) that war is the last tool of diplomacy.
Meaning if diplomacy has failed us, war is the only recourse.
But, the converse is also true: diplomacy should never fail, there should always be the option to be diplomatic.
Therefore, the greatest of nations/utopias would be those without the need for war.

However, life is rarely so benevolent.
Things happen.
Bad rulers rise.
And diplomacy does fail.
To what must we turn in times of turmoil?
Simply war.
Since it is the last resort, it must be studied in ever greater detail (according to Sun Tzu).
Why?

Because diplomacy has failed.
If it had succeeded there would be no need of war.
Therefore, diplomacy will not save you in the future.
Your nation's skill in war must be the saving factor from annihilation.
Therefore, study.
And attend.

The Art of War:

Sun Tzu gifts us five "heads" to determine who wins the field:
Conditions when obtaining the field:

1.  The Moral Law
2. Heaven
3. Earth
4. The Commander
5. Method and Discipline

He then defines each: 

The Moral Law unites the people under their ruler and means that they will lay down their lives for her, believing them to be in the right. 

By Heaven, he means night and day, cold and heat, time and seasons.

Earth comprises distances, great and small, danger and security, open ground and narrow passes, the chances of life and death.

The Commander stands for virtue, wisdom, sincerity, benevolence. 

Method and discipline are to be understood as the marshaling of the army into its proper subdivisions, graduation of ranks to officers, maintenance of roads, supplies, and funds. 

Once these are outlined he goes on to say:

These five heads should be familiar to every general. She who knows them shall be victorious, she who knows them not will fail. 

So now, we have our conditions for victory and failure. 

Familiarity with the five heads.

He even provides a useful list of questions to ask when entering a battlefield:

1. Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral Law?
2. Which of the two generals has the most ability?
3. With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?
4. On which side is the discipline most rigorously enforced?
5. Which army is stronger?
6. On which side are the officers and men more highly trained?
7. In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

By these, Sun Tzu is able to forecast who shall win any encounter.

A Case Study: The Bat

The Batman is one of my go to protagonists.

Why?

Because he fights like a damn diplomat.

Meaning, he uses everything at his disposal in order to have an edge.

And why?

Because on any given Tuesday he might run up against this: 

That my friends is our god. 

Slash Superman.

Same difference.

Point being he is on a murderous rampage and what are you going to do?

If you're Batman, you are going to win.

And how? 

Well you can bet your last dollar that he has read the Art of War. 

Because Batman comes with the full accompaniment:

1. Batman has the Moral Law. He seeks Justice, not Revenge (The Killing Joke).
2. Batman has the single greatest mind on planet earth. He is without doubt the general with the most ability 
3. Advantages would lie with almost any other adversary that Batman faces. Superman definitely has the power of Heaven and Earth. However, Batman lays plans to his advantage: Gotham is his playground and he makes sure to always have the upper hand (The Court of Owls where he identifies the type of stone that constructs their secret base and uses it to create an explosive to escape in the waterways)
4. Batman is the most disciplined. (The Batman Files illustrate his daily training regimen, which is fierce)
5. Which army is the strongest? Probably the other guy. Damn you Supes. But, through carefully laid plans, Batman again becomes the strongest by weakening his foe (In Batman: Hush, Batman says that you never go to Metropolis (home of Superman) without preparing for him and pulls out a ring made of kryptonite (Superman's greatest weakness, able to kill him in some stories))
6. Batman is more highly trained (Batman Files again)
7. Batman is a good guy, meaning that he rewards and doles out punishment on a pretty consistent basis. You don't see him slamming Robin into a wall for acting like a hero on a daily basis (Batman: Hush)

In every single category Batman, by laying plans and reaping the advantages of his calculations is able to overcome any adversary, no matter the difficulty.

That is why I always bet on the Batman.

And judging from this list: Sun Tzu would too. 

Sun Tzu goes on to say: 

All warfare is based on deception.

• When able to attack, we must seem unable
• When using our forces, we must seem inactive
• When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away
• When far away, we must make her believe we are near
• Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder and crush her
• If she is secure at all points, be prepared for her. If she is in superior strength, evade her
• If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate her. Pretend to be weak, that she may grow arrogant
• If she is taking her ease, give her no rest. If her forces are united, separate them
• Attack her where she is unprepared, appear where you are not expected

Another Case Study: Bilbo in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit

How to use this advice as an author?

Consider your protagonist an enemy. 

Just do it.

It can even be someone you like.

Like Bilbo.

Screw it.
Make Bilbo a badass girl.

Yeah.

Someone you can love.

Now, who is Bilbo?

She is:

• Affluent
• Homeowner
• Busybody
• Fussy

In a word: SECURE.

So what do you do with someone just bursting with potential?

Well, as an author, you have to do awful things to them.

So Bilbo is affluent? Take away her money and make her a traveler.

Bilbo is a homeowner? Take away her home.

Bilbo likes her creature comforts like a hanky? Take away the hanky, give her the hardship of the road.

And that is just the bare essentials.

The comfort level stuff.

Bilbo is attacked by spiders, goblins, orcs, giant bears, elves, dark things in the night, etc.

How did Tolkien manage to make such a compelling story?

By attacking Bilbo at every turn. 

By managing her expectations.

Bilbo & Co. are lost in Mirkwood.

So, they send Bilbo into the least comfortable place imaginable: 

Up a tree.

What is she up there to do?

See the edge of Mirkwood.

Except she doesn't:

"It was no good. Gaze as much as she might, she could see no end to the trees and the leaves in any direction. Her heart, that had been lightened by the sight of the sun and the feel of the wind, sank back into her toes: there was no food to go back to down below.

Bilbo is at her lowest point.

She is stuck up in a tree.

No food anywhere.

And no end in sight.

But, that is the key: "in sight. "

Tolkien confides in the reader: 

Actually, as I have told you, they were not far off the edge of the forest; and if Bilbo had had the sense to see it, the tree that she had climbed, though it was tall in itself, was standing near the bottom of a wide valley, so that from its top the trees seemed to swell up all round like the edges of a great bowl, and she could not expect to see how far the forest lasted. Still she did not see this, and she climbed down full of despair. She got to the bottom again at last, scratched, hot, and miserable, and she could not see anything in the gloom below when she got there. Her report soon made the others as miserable as she was. 

 Boom.
Tolkien is managing our expectations as well as our protagonist's.
For Bilbo will reach the edge of the forest of Mirkwood.
How do you know?
You were promised a Lonely Mountain and a Dragon.
Until those two story items are on the page, the story isn't over.
It is like watching a trailer for a film.
Until you see everything in that trailer, you know the characters will keep on going.

Now, we have been assured that they are very near the edge of the forest.
But, the characters are in the midst of despair.
Tolkien could have written ANYTHING.
Bilbo could have seen a giant sign that said EDGE OF MIRKWOOD and that would have been that.
Instead, Tolkien deceived poor Bilbo & Co.
By making Mirkwood seemingly endless, he was able to provoke Bilbo & Co. into seeking help from the elves (bad idea) and into a nest of spiders (really bad idea).

Sun Tzu says at the end of his first chapter:

Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! 

Batman always wins because he is well calculated.
Bilbo just manages to win by taking in enough calculations.
Writers don't write because they make no calculations at all and so lose out on all their wonderful story.
I hope that this quick foray encourages people to try writing and telling stories like they are waging war.
Try it!