In a pickle with capers
- Thread starter calieber
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That's a really broad question. The best answer is to write well, which I'm not sure helps. 
Do you have more specific questions for us?
Do you have more specific questions for us?
I think your quote: "Everybody must get stoned" --Medusa is a perfect start.
(Really, I think if I received a manuscript where the first line was "Everybody must get stoned," said Medusa" I'd be completely hooked.)
(Really, I think if I received a manuscript where the first line was "Everybody must get stoned," said Medusa" I'd be completely hooked.)
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Have you seen the BBC series, "Hustle"? I got the first season through the library, but several seasons' worth are available for streaming through Idaho Public TV. It's a lot of fun -- a British tv series about grifters, inspired by the Ocean's movies and the famous non-fiction book about grifters in the early 1900s America (the title of which eludes me).
I've got a caper story in the works, and I'm finding it's difficult to plot from the grifter's POV, because a lot of what works in the Ocean's series and the Hustle show would be a cheat in fiction, because it depends on witholding information that a POV character would have. Westlake does some of that witholding too, by using an omniscient POV, but I'm no good at omniscient. But if you know all the details of what's going on, as it's going on, it's not as interesting. So I'm at a bit of a loss, how I'm going to keep it exciting, without giving away the twist, while also not cheating on the pov.
If you figure out how to get around that, I'd certainly be interested to hear about it!
I've got a caper story in the works, and I'm finding it's difficult to plot from the grifter's POV, because a lot of what works in the Ocean's series and the Hustle show would be a cheat in fiction, because it depends on witholding information that a POV character would have. Westlake does some of that witholding too, by using an omniscient POV, but I'm no good at omniscient. But if you know all the details of what's going on, as it's going on, it's not as interesting. So I'm at a bit of a loss, how I'm going to keep it exciting, without giving away the twist, while also not cheating on the pov.
If you figure out how to get around that, I'd certainly be interested to hear about it!
Block does withhold information in his Bernie Roddhenbar series. More than once. And it's very annoying. But it's less annoying than some of his fake trials when he invites a bunch of people and goes through a reconstitution of the events. Many of Bernie's conclusions are more than a stretch of the imagination based on the available data to the reader.
One good way to avoid the heroes from having to withhold information to the audience is to have a plot beat that forces improvisation at the most improbable step in the caper. From that beat on, characters and audience are on the same page. Usually...
Another one, although making this right is difficult, is to have a separate narrator, sort of a frame around the story. (ex: Fight Club). Whenever the audience lags wrt characters, the narrator intervenes to set things straight. That narrator can be unreliable (ex: The Usual Suspects).
Hope this helps.
-cb
One good way to avoid the heroes from having to withhold information to the audience is to have a plot beat that forces improvisation at the most improbable step in the caper. From that beat on, characters and audience are on the same page. Usually...
Another one, although making this right is difficult, is to have a separate narrator, sort of a frame around the story. (ex: Fight Club). Whenever the audience lags wrt characters, the narrator intervenes to set things straight. That narrator can be unreliable (ex: The Usual Suspects).
Hope this helps.
-cb
I have a few of those, the collection started with "The child is father to the man" --Oedipus and grew.
I'll look for that; I had been watching "Leverage" but I somewhat fell behind the last couple of seasons.
Would your POV character have to be one of the main grifters?
What if the POV character was someone brought in to fill a particular role in the caper, and due to some problem, was drawn further in, with no further explanations, either because there's no time, or because keeping the POVC in the dark seems safest?
Not really in on the plan, but piecing stuff together in a way that draws them in.
For that matter, what if Someone hires the Gang to steal something, or do something, assuming it would be a hands-off operation, and that they'd just report back when the job's done, but the Gang keep needing more information, or more supplies, or a specialist in this'n'that, and Someone starts to get overly-involved.