Advice/Help Help with writing out elaborate heist plans?

[CrowOuttaHell]

Hey, Crow here. Just some time ago (around January, actually) I had gotten hit with inspiration for a potential crime-based story centering around an eccentric duo of criminals (with a buddycop-like dynamic) aiming to make life living hell for a well known public figure who's secretly dealing with international cartels. So far I've written a prologue for it, but am now currently very stuck on how to move forward because I'm not very experienced with heist and crime type stories.

After doing a bit of reading on heist stories, I figured I should have a concrete crew in place so that I wasn't going to have to introduce new ones for every single heist (since the story will involve multiple heists), and the first few chapters will have the two main characters assembling that said crew. The idea I had so far was to give the two main leads a black market fixer who pretty much directs them to the other members of the crew in exchange for favors/jobs.

I suppose all this lead-up leads to this question though...what I really need help with is actually planning out heists and crime scenes.

I've written a store robbery scene in the prologue and co-wrote a virtual bank heist plan (roughly based off of a real life bank heist in Bangladesh, I think) for a one-act play I had to do in university, but that's unfortunately where my experience stops.

So, I guess I'm just wondering if anyone here has any tips for writing out elaborate plans like that, and if you guys can share your knowledge with me. I do really want to explore this genre ever since I read A Simple Plan and played a few interactive novels about it (specifically, Life of a Mobster and BREACH: The Archangel Job, both hosted by Choice of Games).

If all goes well with this particular story, i might also consider making an RP based off of it when the main two characters decide to expand their crew from just a heist crew to a full on organization, too, so stay tuned if you're interested, I suppose.

 

[Roboticways]

The thing about heists is, they are all preparation. You could spend 50 pages for the buildup of a heist and then only 1 or 2 on the heist itself (if you are wanting it to go smoothly)

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

The thing about heists is, they are all preparation. You could spend 50 pages for the buildup of a heist and then only 1 or 2 on the heist itself (if you are wanting it to go smoothly)

Yeah, I get that. A general rule of thumb I read was that heists usually don't have everything sailing smoothly, though I am taking a bit of creative liberty with that and making the first few crimes committed by the main two leads go smoothly enough (at least, enough to win over or convince the crew member they're trying to induct into their group by doing that job to actually join up with them). As heists get more elaborate, there's suddenly a bigger chance for error since while the main two characters work with each other very well, the other members don't.

It's mostly the preparation aspect I need help with. I know a few basics like scoping out and casing a target, making a plan with the crew, and then actually putting the plan into action as an outline of events. It's filling in those events that I find difficulty with.

 

[Roboticways]

Just ask yourself the questions. How can I know the floor plan? (A character could look for public records for the blueprint, if it’s a bank of governmental building they won’t be readily available, so you’d have to create one or hack something)

How will we gain access? (Maybe you have to pose as an electrician, show your audience how far your guys will go, do they actually go take electrician courses and get licensed under a fake name? Do they become apprentices for 6 months? Do they want to plan ahead to seem legit or just buy a van and print graphic tees)

What kind of tools or tech will you use? (How are they raising money to purchase these things?Show us the black market they buy them from, or the lengths they have to go through to secure them)

what is the building composed of? (Depending on when or where a building is built, different materials will be used. Maybe your friends have to pose as code enforcers, or trick a code enforcer into analyzing the building. This is a very important thing because it tells you what tools you use.)

For things to go smoothly, it’s best to have a man inside. (Show the readers how you planted a mole and to what lengths you had to go to to get him there.)

Rehearse the heist. (Purchase the construction materials the code enforcer alluded to. Test your tools against it, formulate the plan of attack over the course of weeks or months. Practice it.)

Find a way to deal with cameras (whether it’s just a simple disguise, or a high tech gadget, or a cliche. It’s better to find a niche here because every infamous criminal usually does this their own way. For example, here in central FL we have a guy that has robbed 5 banks and still hasn’t been caught. He dresses himself up as an old woman, and even goes through the trouble of putting on makeup and using clay to change his features.)

There are many more questions to ask yourself. Just think about the stakes, and put yourself in your characters shoes. What lengths would YOU go to (YOU personally, not your characters), to not get caught, if you decided you were going to heist something?

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

Just ask yourself the questions. How can I know the floor plan? (A character could look for public records for the blueprint, if it’s a bank of governmental building they won’t be readily available, so you’d have to create one or hack something)

How will we gain access? (Maybe you have to pose as an electrician, show your audience how far your guys will go, do they actually go take electrician courses and get licensed under a fake name? Do they become apprentices for 6 months? Do they want to plan ahead to seem legit or just buy a van and print graphic tees)

What kind of tools or tech will you use? (How are they raising money to purchase these things?Show us the black market they buy them from, or the lengths they have to go through to secure them)

what is the building composed of? (Depending on when or where a building is built, different materials will be used. Maybe your friends have to pose as code enforcers, or trick a code enforcer into analyzing the building. This is a very important thing because it tells you what tools you use.)

For things to go smoothly, it’s best to have a man inside. (Show the readers how you planted a mole and to what lengths you had to go to to get him there.)

Rehearse the heist. (Purchase the construction materials the code enforcer alluded to. Test your tools against it, formulate the plan of attack over the course of weeks or months. Practice it.)

Find a way to deal with cameras (whether it’s just a simple disguise, or a high tech gadget, or a cliche. It’s better to find a niche here because every infamous criminal usually does this their own way. For example, here in central FL we have a guy that has robbed 5 banks and still hasn’t been caught. He dresses himself up as an old woman, and even goes through the trouble of putting on makeup and using clay to change his features.)

There are many more questions to ask yourself. Just think about the stakes, and put yourself in your characters shoes. What lengths would YOU go to (YOU personally, not your characters), to not get caught, if you decided you were going to heist something?

That's actually a great help, thanks! I was mostly stuck on how I was going to start off a scene, but this makes for a pretty good outline of events. I'll definitely keep this in mind when I start writing out some of the more elaborate plans.

Thanks for the help again!

 

[icechilled]

There's a video on YouTube by Vanity Fair that has a former jewel thief review heist movies. It may be of use to you.

 

[Grey]

The Roleplayer's Guide to Heists Pre-Order Edition by San Jenaro Co-Op A useful resource to this end.

I'm bad at heists so I've got nothing useful personally to offer.

 

[CrowOuttaHell]

The Roleplayer's Guide to Heists Pre-Order Edition by San Jenaro Co-Op A useful resource to this end.

I'm bad at heists so I've got nothing useful personally to offer.

Now where was this when I needed to write that one act play script? This would've been so useful!

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely give this a look when I'm back from uni.