: Re: Aside from military, how do I write strategy in seemingly ordinary settings (something going on beneath the surface)? The question says it all, but the only results I'm getting are battlefield

@XinRu607

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You need to really understand the situation and your character to do this. I would first recommend reading the Art of War by Sun Tzu, it will probably hep you quite a bit here.
If you want everything to seem like a battle, you need to assign everything values, classes, and other things. Let's take a look at a passive-aggressive conversation with just dialogue;

"Here's the homework, sorry it's a day late, " I said.
"You ought to spend more time on school, sometimes what seems important now isn't important at all, " the teacher said without looking up.
"It was a late night, but I got it done. "
"A loud night?"
"Yeah, didn't get much sleep. "
"There's a reduction for late work but you should still be fine. " The teacher took the homework and continued grading papers.

On it's own, you probably don't see much out of the ordinary, but with some creative thinking you can turn it into a battlefield. Here's a more in-depth version of the same conversation;

"Here's the homework, sorry it's a day late, " I said. Just approaching with a small force, I thought as my mind laid out the battlefield, a small force of my imaginary troops approaching the fortified city of my teacher's strict rules. Hopefully no suspicion is raised.
"You ought to spend more time on school, sometimes what seems important now isn't important at all, " the teacher said without looking up. Shoot she saw right through the cover, can't stop keep going forward. My small force kept advancing, despite the countless weapons aimed at them.
"It was a late night, but I got it done. " Try to bluff past one more time, maybe I'll get lucky. The leader of the small group called out to the walls of the city, trying to get through without a fight.
"A loud night?" Shoot she knows, I've been flanked. A company of soldiers appeared behind my own, trapping me between the fortified walls and a wall of troops.
"Yeah, didn't get much sleep. " Try to stall, maybe she'll slip up and I can get away. My smaller group began to huddle together and look for a way out.
"There's a reduction for late work but you should still be fine. " The teacher took the homework and continued grading papers. What? She's just letting me off free? The city gates opened, and my frightened troops got in safely. For now.

It's all in your characters head, and you just have to use a little imagination to help it become a battlefield.

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