What About Worldbuilding? #17 - Once Upon a Crime

Good Morning, Afternoon, Evening, or whatever time of day this happens to find you. The world seems to be burning down around us, and I hope everyone is finding a way to say safe and sane in these tumultuous times.

If you’re out on the ground to make sure your voice is heard, be safe.

If you’re one of our diligent and dutiful healthcare workers the world over, be safe.

If you’re down to your last few freezer foods and are wondering if a bit of bacon sandwiched between two Bagel Bites is a nutritionally fulfilling meal… well, maybe get outside and get some fresh air.

Once Upon A Crime

Without further ado, let’s dive right into the topic at hand… Heists!

Now I know there’s a contingent out there that doesn’t like heists, and that’s okay. You’re entitled to your opinion and are welcome to spend your time looking at a different post. Not a big deal, it’s cool.

In fact… here’s something just for you.

As for the rest of you, let’s talk about heists, planning, practicality, and suspension of disbelief.

Getting the Band (Back) Together

Now the fun part about a heist is often not the heist itself, but the lovable group of misfits the author smashes together to create the ensemble required to perform the intended crime. Sure, you can have an intricate plan in mind for exactly how whatever you’re going to have stolen is stolen, but it’s more important to plan out the journey that takes us, your readers, to the culmination of the character’s efforts throughout the story.

If it goes off perfectly with nearly no perceived hurdles, then what was the point of doing telling us a story about it? That’s dull. Stories require conflict, heists require hurdles. Perhaps we’ve got some member of the ensemble too frightened to carry out the plan, or a double agent working for the intended target, or… or… okay, I’ll stop.

Suffice to say, the point of the ensemble is to expand the narrative of a heist beyond the heist itself. Plans rarely go as planned, and that’s where a story happens.

There are of course any number of ways to do this, and I won’t waste our time by listing those out, but just be aware that the best ensemble casts have some degree of skill or personality that ties back to that same heist at the core of the story.

Make It Matter

Sure, any doofus in a story can plan out and execute a heist, but without a sufficient motivation for doing so… it’s crime for the sake of crime, and that rarely happens in the world. Every criminal had some underlying motivation, and the ones featured in your story surely needs to have one as well.

Let’s look at a few examples from my list of favorites. First, we’ll start with a novel: The Lies of Locke Lamora

Now, without delving into spoilers, the core of the story revolves around this group of thieves. It’s the character interactions that drive the story forward, and their thievery is really just a backdrop to showcase the characters. They’ve also got a surefire motivation involving robbing the rich, it’s all very Robin Hood (but better). A lovable cast combined with a clear motivation makes for a great story.

We’ve also got the first book in Mistborn trilogy and its own ragtag bunch of thieves. The idea here was to make the goal of the heist something that would cause widespread destabilization with an undercurrent of revenge. Isn’t that more fun than a straight-up robbery?

Keep It Simple

Now, this point’s a bit tricky. The more complex and ridiculous a plan is, the greater the degree of disbelief it creates. Now with any story, there’s some level of suspension of disbelief that we, as the reader, need to approach the narrative with.

That being said, it’s a hell of a lot easier to do so when the actions of the character are plausible. Pay attention to that word there, because it’s important. Heist stories need to have plausible plans which play out within the confines of the narrative’s world, and those same confines define points of failure in the plan.

It’s all connected…

Also, guards are not morons.

Seriously.

They’re not.

People get caught.

Okay, that’s all I got. Go out and do things… wait, no! That’s the opposite of what we’re supposed to do. Stay in and do other things. Go!

FFC Winners

1. /u/OldBayJ - First place

2. /u/Mjpoole - Second place

3. /u/Ryter99 - Third place

Honorable Mentions

/u/sevenseassaurus for squirrel scrutiny

/u/lynx_elia for cold-hearted death

/u/PhantomOfZePirates for waiting for answers