The Skellingcorner

[ministryofroleplay]

Anonymous asked:

Hi! Can I get some tips on how to start/run a roleplay that would revolve around some sort of Triwizard tournament?

Greetings, anonymous person. Thank you for your letter.

Tips? Maybe a few. I have never admined or been a part of a roleplay like this. However, I definitely have lots of questions for you to consider: 

• What is the tone of this tournament? Is it sinister? Is it in good fun? Be sure to set the tone with your color scheme and graphic design!
• How many players are there? Are all characters in the tournament or are some merely spectators? Are some of the playable characters organizing the tournament or pulling the strings behind the scenes? 
• Who are the players? What makes them unique? Are they all school aged? Are there requirements that must be met for a character to be eligible for the tournament? Age restrictions? Blood status restrictions? 
• Do the players know each other? Do they spend time together outside of the tournament?
  
• Are you starting with the tournament already in process with the players chosen or are you choosing your players based on application? If the plot starts with the players having not yet been chosen for the tournament, who will choose the players? Will they enter their names willingly or be forced to participate? 
• What are the stakes? If they have a choice, why should a player participate in the tournament? 
• What are the most basic rules of the tournament? Choose five or fewer core rules that every player must follow, such as tasks must be accomplished without outside help or all players must keep the tournament a secret. Keep the rules simple. You can always add more obscure restrictions or exceptions in later on a task by task basis. 
• What’s the prize? Money? A trophy? Entrance to an exclusive club or school? A job? A powerful leadership position? A marriage? The player’s life? 
  
• Is this tournament sanctioned by the government, or maybe run by it? Is it off the books? Is this something organized by the students themselves, or perhaps by a third party for something like an initiation or competition towards a grander purpose? For example, a competition between students for entrance into an exclusive private magical university or secret society. 
  
• If it’s a school thing, how many schools are participating? All of them? Just three? Is it an academic duel between schools? 
• Where is the location of the tournament? At a school? At some middle ground? At a government facility? At a changing, secret location that you have to solve a puzzle to even find? 
  
• Is the tournament open to the public to watch? Is it being reported about in the papers? Do the players become celebrities or are their identities kept secret? 
• What are the tasks? How many tasks are there? You could base them around the core academic courses, or the four elements, four seasons, seven deadly sins, five stages of grief, etc. etc. 
• How much magical skill is involved in completing the tasks? How much of it is bravery or intelligence or sheer dumb luck? Do the players get hints about tasks like the the Triwizard Tournament? Are they allowed to prepare in advance for the tasks or are they sort of just dropped into situations and expected to adapt or die, so to speak? 
• Are the tasks designed to reveal a larger intrigue in the plot? For example, does each task teach the players something they must learn or otherwise impart information to the players in order that they may achieve some larger goal? If they’re forced to participate in a tournament run by a secret organization, for example, maybe the tasks give hints about who the secret organization is and how they may be defeated. 
• Is someone tampering or otherwise interfering with the tournament? How does that affect the outcomes of the tasks? Do the players know someone is cheating? Do the players themselves cheat? In the Triwizard Tournament, cheating was unofficially expected. Is that so for your tournament? How do you plan to handle characters cheating from a roleplay mechanics standpoint? Will roleplayers have to tell the admin in advance how they plan to cheat and get permission?
• Are there judges? Who or what are they? How are the players scored or measured against each other? Is there a point system where the people with the most points move on to the next task, or does everyone move forward and the points are tallied at the end of the tournament, or is it pass/fail? 
• What happens to the characters that lose? Can a player drop out? Could a player be kicked out of the tournament for any reason? 
• Can characters die in this tournament? Is that likely to happen?
• How long of a waiting period is there between tasks in-game? What happens between the tasks? Are there events, plot drops, etc. to keep roleplayers busy even when they’re not participating in a task for the tournament? 
• Is there a dance or celebration that kicks off or concludes the tournament? Is there something like the Yule Ball in there anywhere? Everyone likes a party!
• What other traditions are associated with the tournament? The Triwizard Tournament has a Yule Ball and is judged by the heads of each school and has the Goblet of Fire to choose champions among other things. What are your tournament’s traditions? Maybe a masked ball on the night before the first task. Maybe alliances between players are traditional like in The Hunger Games.
• You can look up books with tournaments or competitions in them. For example:
• The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• The Selection by Kiera Cass
• Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
• Red Rising by Pierce Brown
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• You can also look into medieval tournaments for ideas. And, of course, read all about the Triwizard Tournament for inspiration or guidelines as well. Also look at the different protections guarding the Sorcerer’s Stone in book one. Herbology, Charms, Logic, Magical Creatures, and Potions are all represented there. 
• If I were you, I’d plan out what the tasks will be beforehand. Planning out the tasks gives you a clear direction and will help you create the overarching plot. Plan the tasks, and plan the events between like dances, trips to Hogsmeade, exams, Quidditch matches, etc. 
• I would give the roleplay a conclusion. When the tournament is over, the roleplay comes to an end. That doesn’t mean there can’t be a sequel roleplay, though! You could even plan for that! 
• You can really lay out the tasks in detail during event drops, maybe offer the roleplayers an ooc explanation of the end goal of the task and address how to get there for each character. It depends on how involved you want to be in crafting each character’s role in the plot, really. 

I am usually available via chat here on Tumblr to talk over ideas if you’d like to contact me. Sometimes it helps to have a sounding board to bounce your ideas off of. 

If you have been a part of or admined a Triwizard Tournament-type roleplay and would like to offer tips for the anon, a firsthand perspective would be much appreciated! 

Best wishes,

[writingwithcolor]

satanslesbianmother asked:

I am creating a black female character for a story that takes place in an area where...well, she's surrounded by white people who are almost obsessively politically correct, to the point of enforcing "colorblindness." I feel it's important to her character and to authenticity for her to react to her white friends being intimidated around the subject of race, but I don't want to end up writing the white person's "ideal black response" unintentionally. Any pointers?

Black Girl Living in a “Colorblind” Environment

Hey there,

Wooow, that’s like my entire life over here. Yes, I do have some pointers, but they’ll mostly just be my thoughts and experiences. Not everyone will have the same reactions as I do, but I hope this will help.

Internalized Racism

So I’ll just start by saying this is the perfect breeding ground for internalized racism. It is an everyday thing so subtle, so normalized absolutely every time, that the racism is hardly ever recognized for what it is. If your character is somewhat like me or people I know, they will struggle with the urge to not stand out, try to assimilate into the dominant culture or distance themselves from their culture(s) at the expense of their own identity, feeling the need to compensate and deflect stereotypes. They’ll be gaslit left and right, and replying with anything other than silence or agreement will most of the time start discussions or fights. They might at times feel like they’re living a lie, feel out of place and start questioning themselves. There’s more but you get the gist of it.

Reactions to Environment

Now most reactions will come down to: 

1) completely rejecting the white people and their culture,

2) trying to become like the white people and take on their views, 

3) or social withdrawal. 

What they all have in common is A LOT of unease surrounding your roots, your race and expressing your true self. 

Daily Struggles

There will be a lot of tension and anxiety when matters of race surface, even when they don’t end up mentioned or discussed. Feeling like you don’t belong, that you’ll only be accepted as long as you keep your mouth shut about racism.

Feeling unsafe comes to mind. I imagine your character desperately searching for people who might be different, looking for friends of color online, trying to make sense of their experiences by searching online, that sort of thing. If they do try to express themselves it’s because that person gives them the feeling that they just might be a bit more understanding than others and might get into discussions desperately trying for them to understand them. I imagine them not wanting to be seen as a stereotype while not wanting their race/roots/ethnicity pushed aside. High chances they will be passive aggressive about it because they lack any other meaningful way to express themselves. 

Of course there will be Black and brown people who’re content with assimilating into a culture like this. Good for them. But plenty of people also force themselves to believe that in order to survive. 

That’s what most of it comes down to. Surviving an environment that’s hostile towards you while it masquerades as your dear friend. 

~ Mod Alice

Daily Struggles - Racism & Racial Tension

In middle school, I had this friend. I was telling her a story involving someone else when she asked a strangely-worded question. 

“Did she look like you or me?” 

I was all “huh” until she pointed to my arm, my skin.

“Like you…” She said, then pointed to her own arm. “Or like me?”

I instantly fed off of the race-is-scary vibe and just muttered “Oh, like you…”

I grew up in a slightly less intense version of Alice’s environment, and my experience was passive-aggressive racism (micro-aggressions) with both the micro-aggressions and aggressive racism brushed over and kept low key. (That lady moved her purse when you walked by because she thinks you’ll steal it? Nah, she just needed it to warm her lap!)

I rarely felt the heat of racism. It wasn’t as blatant. Still, it happened in pockets.

Daily “racial tension” would be stares in public because seeing a Black person in the supermarket was a marvel. At school and other frequented places, well, they get used to you, so unless you’re the very new kid, it’s not likely she’d be made awkward on the day-to-day for existing (At least not until slavery is discussed and everyone is turning their heads to stare at her..).

Colorblind Environment and Balancing Culture

Alice hit the main points. Some reject the dominant culture, some embrace it (and may even allow and make race jokes at their own expense to cope) and some withdraw completely. I don’t think anyone fits into any neat category. 

Consider that your character may fall on a scale of embracing her situation, and rejecting some aspects. No one person is the same. 

I think background and home life will affect how she copes in this environment. I moved into my super-white town at a pretty young age, prior to that growing up in a culturally-diverse city and had sisters who did as well. We were able to embrace our culture at home among each other and other family even if that openness could not be experienced with most people in the neighborhood. If I’d been older before I moved, I probably wouldn’t have given a damn a bit more, or rejected more of the environment’s culture, but hey. 

Either way, it’s very possible for her to blend and embrace more than one culture. But how one embraces or how much, depends on the person.

Now, embracing different culture depending on the environment and code-switching doesn’t mean you’re at a cultural crisis or both sides cannot co-exist. For example, while I was made awkward about race in one experience, around that same age and time, I brought a bigger celebration of Black History Month to that same school by approaching administration on the severe lack of it. With permission and the help of friends, we made posters and announcements celebrating prominent Black leaders and inventors. That would not have happened if I didn’t have cultural pride being nourished elsewhere.

In Short

With maturity, self-realization, getting away from that environment and/or connecting with a knowledgeable and accepting group of people comes accepting what living in the dominant culture has made you, and hopefully embracing and not losing the culture you might’ve experienced without its influence.

As always, we’d also recommend having appropriate beta-readers take a look at your story for sensitivity and accuracy.

~Mod Colette

P.S. Based on some responses defending colorblindness as a good thing, which it’s not and is in fact racist (!) I would urge you to research the harms of the colorblind approach and learn of the huge disservice it is to People of Color to ignore the beauty that is diversity and in recognizing cultural differences.

PSA: “Seeing color” isn’t the same as “judging color.” 

Won’t dwell on it here. I do want to quote mod Brei from a different ask: 

Colorblindness is an act of racism by denying to acknowledge differences. I mean, no one ever says “I don’t see gender” so why apply such ignorance to race?

[its-a-writer-thing]

Steps of Change

[thecharactercomma]

People don’t just change overnight! There’s a process. Even if the change is fast, there are steps and there’s a certain amount of thought involved if they want to make the change stick. There are exceptions, of course, like that antagonist you have somewhere with a dark and stormy night of tragedy that turned them into a revenge-obsessed murderer. For the most part, though, if your character changes too quickly, it feels fake. You need to ease them through the process.

This is a process that professionals study, so it’s legit. And you can reapply it in a way to fit how your characters change and develop during their arc. AND it’s a list of steps, so you guys will like it. For the character example, our arc will be about Audrey learning to stand up for herself.

1. Pre-contemplation: The thought first enters your mind. Maybe a friend mentions something, or you see something. [Ex: someone tells Audrey, “You’re such a pushover! Grow a spine.”]
2. Contemplation: You start thinking it’s a good idea. You start considering the benefits. [Ex: Audrey starts to think about how nice it would be if she was more assertive. She’d be happy more often and wouldn’t feel like a coward. It’d make her feel better about herself.]
3. Preparation: You start considering how you’d make it happen, and the steps you’d have to take. This can include removing temptation/unhealthy things from your life that are keeping you from change. [Ex: Audrey decides she needs to learn how to say “no.” She starts researching online about self-confidence and how to stand up for herself. She also needs to find a new friend, because the one she has uses her as a doormat (and someone to do her homework).]
4. Action: You do something! [Ex: Audrey starts to make her own choices. She tells her ex-friend “no” and refuses to do her ex-friend’s homework. She doesn’t let anyone push her around.]
5. Maintenance: You keep it up, get in a groove. [Ex: Audrey continues to stand up for herself. She doesn’t let others make choices for her. She gains confidence.]
6. Relapse: You break out of habit and lose the groove. Relapse is usually to step 3, but sometimes you’ll fall back to 1 or 2. [Ex: Something breaks Audrey from her confidence. Maybe the ex-friend pleads, or says “just this once,” or guilts Audrey into it. The inner voice tells Audrey she’s being selfish for putting herself first.]

With a steady progression like this, your character’s eventual success at the end of their character rainbow won’t seem sudden or contrived. At this point, they’ve earned it. They’ve worked for their change, and a reader will respect them for that. When they relapse, drama! It might take a few tries until they really break out of it. Think of it like someone trying to quit smoking. Habits are hard to break, and they don’t have to be a drug to be addictive. It takes some people years to quit smoking.

Change isn’t easy, and a lot of people don’t like change. It can be scary. It takes you from your comfort zone, and you won’t be sure of the results. Characters are the same way. Make them agonize and struggle over this change and make them relapse and lose all hope in what they’re doing. The end result will be so much more rewarding!

—E

[its-a-writer-thing]

Anonymous asked:

Hi there! I am writing a novel and in it there is a character who learned self defense plus some martial arts skill online- watching youtube videos, and what not. First of all, I want to ask you how effective that would be? And If he comes into a fight with a person properly trained in a martial art, what would be his(online learning guy) weaknesses?

howtofightwrite answered:

It’s not going to be that effective. Let me break it down.

Self-Defense: Self-defense training isn’t about learning how to fight, it’s about learning some tools and techniques to avoid trouble and extract yourself from a bad situation. All the techniques learned are geared toward providing the trainee to create openings that allow them to get away, to see trouble happening before it starts. “Do what you have to and get away” is the mantra. The techniques should be simple, easy to use, and capable of fitting a variety of situations. This isn’t always the case. Joint locks and throws were very popular in the 90s (and probably still are), the question is of course whether or not the student will remember how to do them a month or two later after only a few days or weeks of training.

Now, there are different schools of self-defense training. They also have different lengths. The best self-defense is consistent training, especially one where the instructor has a practical combat outlook. (The term “practical combat” can be confusing if you’ve never encountered it, it means the martial training has a total focus on “actual combat” or “real world combat” as opposed to sport or exhibition. Training with the expectation of real word application and usually restricted to students 18 or over. Here, you’ll see full contact training without pads because the only way to truly know how to do a technique is to experience it. Military combat styles, Police Academy, etc practice practical combat.)

The late Close Combat and Self-Defense Legend Rex Applegate is a good resource if you want to study the difference, so is Michael Janich. These are usually instructors who have a police or military background first and foremost with secondary martial arts training.

“Practical” self-defense will often include guns, knives, and other weapons as legitimate options to use when defending yourself. Because of the way non-martial artists and recreational martial artists think about the word “practical”, “militant” self-defense is probably a more accurate term to use.

Your character probably isn’t doing this kind of training, but it’s a good idea to stop and really hammer out where they were taught self-defense and what kind of class it was.

Did they pay for it? Go to any YMCA or public gym and you’ll find flyers for different martial arts schools and occasionally self-defense seminars. Many martial arts schools offer their own brand of self-defense as part of their school’s offerings. Any shop, like many privately owned bookstores, might keep around flyers and other sorts of community events (such as cons and author readings). Privately taught self-defense can be expensive, ringing in around $80 to $200 (or more) for just a few weeks. However, colleges and other groups do offer some seminars for free. If your character was in the Boy Scouts (or possibly Girl Scouts), they may have gotten their self-defense training as part of their activities. Sheriffs offices and Police Precincts regularly offer self-defense seminars for free to the public. (The techniques taught are usually the public safety approved variation of Police hand to hand.) I recommend at least looking into these for research if you’re serious about this character as they won’t cost you anything more than your time. (If you’re under 18, you’ll need a legal guardian to sign the waiver and participate with you.)

How long was their session? The guy who put down $200-$400 for a two week retreat into the mountains where he trained six hours a day, every day, is going to look a little different from the guy who spent a few hours learning some throws in the college gymnasium.

Did they earn any certifications? Some courses offer certifications similar to the belt ranking system, but also put in a legal prohibition of teaching the techniques to anyone else. Gun disarm seminars often include these.

Remember, knowing how to do a thing doesn’t mean you’re qualified to teach the thing. Just like me discussing the concept behind a technique doesn’t translate into practical application if you don’t already know how to do it. This segues us nicely into:

Martial Arts Instruction Through YouTube Videos:

No, it wouldn’t be effective. Just like many internet blogs, videos on YouTube are a form of self-promotion. The information handed out by martial arts instructors in those videos is useful for inspiring interest, drum up business for their studio, and help out trainees in their martial style who already have a school and instructor they train with.

Every so often, we get requests on this blog to sit down and teach what we know. My answer is always the same: you cannot learn martial arts by remote. You need the assistance of (at the very least) an instructor and of a training partner to actually learn how to properly do a technique. A video can show you a concept, it can show you step by step how something is supposed to be done, but it cannot correct your bad habits. Bad habits are inevitable. It can’t show you what the technique should feel like, it can’t push you to work harder, and it can’t help you beyond the concept. The concept may give your character confidence, just like reading through a variety of tags on this blog may have inspired you with confidence but what we are able to imagine doing and what we can do are separate things.

Example: Once, outside my apartment, I saw a little girl practicing cartwheels. Each time, she tried it but always stopped halfway and fell over. She tried again and again, but she couldn’t complete the cartwheel. Watching her, I could see what the problem was: at the beginning she wasn’t putting enough momentum in to carry her through the wheel. So, I told her “Hey, you need to throw yourself into it, use your arms more, like this,” and put my hands up over my head I showed her the motion. She looked at me strangely because I was a stranger, but then she tried it and immediately after completed the wheel. Afterwards, she did cartwheels all over the lawn.

When your character is doing the technique wrong, and they will because all beginners do, there will be no one there to help them. For a really good example of the difference, go sit down and watch The Karate Kid remake with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. In the movie, Jaden Smith’s character brings videos from his former Karate school with him to China and tries to rely on them for guidance when he’s bullied by kids who train at the famous Martial Arts school nearby. You can see where he’s going wrong when he’s practicing with the videos, but again, there’s no one around to fix it until he starts training with Jackie Chan. Really, watch it.

This is part of why I, personally, get frustrated when techniques are passed around the internet as self-defense without the context behind them. “Hey guys! Did you know you could choke someone out with your thighs!” Yes, I did actually that’s a triangle leg choke and, like all grappling moves, it’s really difficult to pull off without a lot of… “Pass this around! It could save a life!” Oh, for fuck’s sake.

Watching videos on YouTube and even practicing them in your own home is likely to inspire you with confidence that you know how to fight, but is actually much more likely to get you killed. However, as writers, it’s great for conceptual work and studying up on the different personality traits and quirks martial arts inspire in their practitioners. Seriously, I love watching YouTube videos by different experts in the same style. It’s very illuminating about how different kinds of training affect personalities. For me, it’s basically just glorified people watching. For your character, it’ll probably fill them with false confidence.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

Online Guy’s weaknesses versus Martial Arts Guy would be:

Slower: yeah, he may strike first, but he’s gonna be much slower both physically and mentally in terms of following what’s happening.

Lack the Ability to Chain: Martial artists train and train and train so that their techniques become second nature, so blocking or reacting to an attack becomes as instinctual as a non-martial artist trying to swat a fly. They can use their techniques together and switch them up. Basically: one, two, three. Online Guy will be lucky if he can pull off anything other than a one.

Less Adaptable: Depending on what Martial Arts Guy has been trained to do, he or she will probably be more adaptable than Online Guy, simply because they’ve spent more time doing different things. They’re more likely to go with what’s first and reactionary. Online Guy has only been trained to use his techniques in very specific situations, he’s going to have to think about each technique he uses. At the very least, he’s been trained to flee not to fight. (Traditional martial artists weaknesses are often that they’re trained to fight (sport), not to wound and flee.)

Sloppy Technique: Sloppiness, this translates to some holes in his defense and he’ll wear out much faster. Martial arts techniques teach conservation of movement, tighter technique expends less energy which allows you to fight longer. Online Guy will have less control, making him more likely to hurt his opponent even if he doesn’t want to. He will also be unbalanced, lack precision, and his body will telegraph his movements before he moves.

Isn’t Used to Kinetic Impact: Unless Online Guy spends a lot of time actually hitting other people, he won’t be used to the pain that comes from actually connecting someone else. Martial Arts Guy might not be ready for this either, but he has the help of practicing on pads.

Those are the big ones. The big thing to remember about Online Guy is that he thinks he knows what he’s doing, but actually doesn’t. He’s barely a novice, but those qualities are what make him dangerous.

-Michi

[writerswritecompany]

writerswrite.co.za

Nietzsche’s 10 Rules For Writers

Lou Andreas-Salomé included Nietzsche’s ten rules of writing in Nietzsche – her study of the philosopher’s personality, philosophy, and psyche. 

[its-a-writer-thing]

worddocs.tumblr.com

Characters and Endings

[fictionwritingtips]

A lot of writing advice, mine included, will tell you that characters need to change in some way if you want good character development in your story. While that can sometimes be true, that’s not always the case with every story. Change can be good for a character, but...

[its-a-writer-thing]

Anonymous asked:

Hi there so one of my main charcters in my book is loosley based off another fictional character is that ok?

Absolutely! The world has been revolving for a very long time, and in that time, only so many personalities have been developed; there’s a vast range, but eventually you’re going to create a character that’s similar to another. There’s nothing wrong with that.

In fact, I’d recommend it. They say that there are no new plots, just new executions. By having a reference as a basis, you’ll naturally give your character restrictions and personality quirks which will make them more realistic and relatable.

Let’s say that you’re basing your character off of Tony Stark; a rich, spontaneous, and charismatic billionaire is nothing new. That’s a personality type; having them create a suit of armor, become a prisoner of war and then decide that creating weapons is a bad idea, and join a group of superheroes may be cutting it a bit close. However, up to that point, you’re in the clear! Totally base your character off other characters.

As an added bonus, as you write them, you’ll probably end up adding new characteristics that you didn’t expect and – BOOM – brand new character! So take your inspirations vast and greedily, and have fun with it.

Thanks for the question! Happy writing.

[its-a-writer-thing]

How to Give Your Villain an Emotional Backstory That Isn’t Tragic

In crafting a villain’s backstory, we often want the origin to be as powerful as the character themselves. As Chris Colfe says, “A villain is just a victim whose story hasn’t been told.”

Unfortunately, however, tragic backstories become tedious. Oh, of course their parents were eaten alive in front of them, their home was foreclosed on by a corrupt institution, the love of their life betrayed them, their favorite TV show was canceled, and they couldn’t get the last scrap of mayonnaise out of the jar. Someone get the fainting couch, quick.

At a certain point, it’s no longer a backstory – it’s a sob story, which quickly transforms our empathy into pity, and finally into boredom. We roll our eyes and wish the villain had kept the melodrama to themselves.

On the other side of that coin, having a character who stomps on bunnies for no reason isn’t exactly relatable, and a well-rounded character can’t just burst into existence one day fully formed. Everyone has a history. 

So how can you give your villain a backstory that tugs on readers’ heartstrings, without making it a sob story?

For this, we’re going to use Epic of Lilith as an example once again (How to Make Your Villain Domestic but Still Evil), as well as Megamind briefly. Some of these tips can also be applied to heroes, but we’ll stay villain-centric for now.  

[its-a-writer-thing]

Anonymous asked:

So. I have this character who is a leader of a big gang in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. What I want to know is typically how many members would a gang have to be consider big?

howtofightwrite answered:

The biggest gangs in the USA tally in between 20,000 and 35,000 members. (Those are major gangs like the Bloods, the Crips, the 18th Street Gang, and others.) They are actual criminal enterprises with serious membership and, in some cases, run the gamut from interstate to international.

You’re more likely thinking of a lower level street gang with maybe 20-30 or up to 100 members. I would run with that because it’s much easier to manage than the massive “we can take over prisons” gangs. If not, then he’s probably a local leader or a chapter head working for a much bigger fish. Even a lot of smaller gangs work like this once they go into criminal enterprise where they have possession of a certain territory within a city, but keep that territory by owing someone else up the food chain who funnels in the drugs and other goods they traffick (if they traffick). They may keep their name while owing their allegiance to that other crime boss, who in turn leaves them alone so long as they flip a profit. This can run from smaller gangs to bigger gangs up to Colombian drug cartels.

If you’re going to put together a gang, it’s worth asking yourself what kind of gang he’s put together. If we assume that he’s into something more serious than a bunch of kids who spend their nights tagging the sides of buildings, then you’ve got to start asking the real questions about criminal enterprise that any kind of business has to answer.

How do they make their money?

Where is the money? Where does it go? Who does it go to? Who collects it? Are they running a protection racket? Are they into gambling? Are they smuggling? Are they trafficking in illegal goods (drugs, stolen cars, prostitution, etc)? How do they pay for their weapons? Do they counterfeit? Go into indentity theft? How do they buy their bullets? Gas costs money. Where does the money to pay for their activities come from?

There are street gangs that work on the level of organized crime like the Mafia or the Irish Mob and the line of what makes a gang and what doesn’t starts to blur.

It’s probably worth mentioning that the modern Hell’s Kitchen has been a victim of gentrification. You’re going to find high priced townhomes, apartments, condos in some very nice neighborhoods. It’s not the home of the uber rich, but it is a very nice place for the upper middle class to live. You’re more likely to see it targeted by white collar criminals than your average mugger and biker gang. This doesn’t mean that they’re immune from crime, after all your gang members could be targeting the lonely kids living there through sites like Facebook for recruiting and access to their parent’s credit cards/personal information.

Remember, just because the kids don’t live in impoverished neighborhoods doesn’t mean they are incapable of joining gangs. In the age of the internet, new avenues have opened that weren’t available before. The kids who come from rich families are often just as lonely and therefore just as vulnerable (if not more so due to the distance) to what a gang offers than a kid who grew up next door to it.

Some Resources:

Gangs in the US, Wikipedia in general should be looked at askance as a resource, but it’s a good jumping off point. Many of the links listed here as source material will link you to better and more reliable sources where you can begin your research in earnest. It’s a troubling subject, to say the least, but good luck.

Monster by Sanyika Shakur, aka Monster Kody Scott. This is the autobiography of Sanyika Shakur about his experiences growing up in South Central L.A. and joining the Crips. If you want to write about gangs, I suggest giving it a read.

-Michi

[weneeddiversebooks]

nytimes.com

Nnedi Okorafor and the Fantasy Genre She Is Helping Redefine

Science fiction and fantasy, long dominated by Western mythology, are growing more diverse, with novels that draw on African mythology and legends.

Alexandra Alter

“Magic, ritual and secrecy are threads that run through Ms. Okorafor’s wildly imaginative young adult fantasy series, which features a head-spinning menagerie of otherworldly spirits and deities drawn from Nigerian myths and legends.”

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