깡패 Kkangpa = 'gangster' in korean. This is how Korean street gangs or mafia are referred to.

Long time no see! I haven't posted for ages and I am not sure when my next post will be, writing these takes hours and hours! Thank you for all the subscriptions and comments! I feel loved <3

Do you want to write a somewhat realistic gangster story which makes sense but is, above all, entertaining? You have no idea how or where to start? Take a look at this post! Once again, this is not a lecture about what is the right way of writing a gangster story. Just some thoughts of mine that I think make sense. Rants included. This post is going to be pretty heavy stuff so be prepared.

First of all, it's important to do some research. It's hard to find information about Korean mafia, but it's useful to watch a few movies or dramas (or even read novels) to see what it all is about and how Koreans themselves see the whole scene. Wikipedia comes to our rescue once again but offers rather limited information. Here is another website which basically offers the same information but lays it out in a nicer style. 

Kkangpae literally translates to “thug” in Korean.² Establishing themselves back in the 17th century, the kkangpae is organized into three groups: the Double Dragon, the H.S. Mob, and the Seven Star mob. Favorite get-together pastimes include the usual mix of distributing illegal goods (e.g. drugs and guns), extortion, gambling, loan sharking, money laundering, ion, and even nightclub management. Gang members often identify themselves based on tattoos, and men sport a gakdoogi cut (shaved sides with hair on top).³

Whoa! Why so serious? Well, mafia is a serious genre no matter how much humor you include, darkness underlines it either way. 2 things are extremely important: good writing skills or at least basic knowledge of grammar and sophisticated plot. If you make it too simple and fail to give depth to the story it will come out childish and superficial (reference to older chapters). So, what do I mean with the depth? That is, there is more to a gangster story that just a scary gang with a hot leader who falls in love with a nerdy girl or a hot girl gangster who doesn’t care about love.

There is a lot more to killing people and selling drugs than the cool surface. The crime runs deep in a person’s soul and his/her reasons to become a criminal define who they are, how they are, and how they became to be. One doesn’t simply become a feared gangster overnight and every murder has consequences. If you make things too easy for your gangsters, then they won’t seem like real people at all, instead they will become superficial machines.

What comes to grammar, even if yours is not top notch you shouldn't worry. The most important thing is the plot, after all, and your writing skills will get better as you keep writing. As long as yu have the will to improve you will get better. No matter what, just write. Hwaiting!

Define your gangster level - Organized Crime vs. Solo Crime

We all know that there are many types of gangsters: loan sharks, drug dealers, pimps, organ sellers on the black market, neighborhood thugs, street racers, and illegal gamblers. Gangsters in disguises like businessmen, corrupted politicians and police officers. A 'non-criminal' type of gang could be just a gang of boys or girls hanging out together and causing trouble, bullying others, drinking alcohol etc.  

All different types of gangsters have their own circles, and their “realities" differ from each other, they may or may not have connections with one another. The most important thing to realize is that the 'gangster world' has many levels which are different. You have to choose an environment for your main character. What do you want your story to be about? The main idea is to choose between organized crime, typical troublemakers and solo criminals. Organized crime has a purpose and influence in several areas like media, politics, entertainment etc. Troublemakers don't have influence or purpose, they are just troublemakers. Solo criminals are a whole different story, they have motives and goals of their own like personal grudges etc. but they might also work for gangs as hit men and such.

Usually gangster stories are about organized crime whereas crime stories can be about serial killers or other type of solo criminals.

Why is it important to define the gangster level?

Simply because, your story won't make any sense if you don't. The soul of a gangster story is the gangster himself (or herself), how he is, how he became to be and how it all ended, not the crime, not the controversy, not the fear. This is why it is so important to think what type of a gangster you want to write about. A gangster can't just exist separately from the gangster world; it's like putting an idol out there who has nothing to do with the entertainment industry. Therefore, if you take a high school boy who is seeking revenge for his murdered parents and put him into the lead of a feared and murderous gang, does that make sense?

That feared and murderous gang probably had a leader before the boy, so he must have somehow taken the leader's place. And if he has been hands deep into his revenge and crime all this time why would he be attending a high school? Or if this gang is entirely his and consists of his high school buddies then how come they got away with all the murders? What are the police doing? What are other gangs doing? And what are these dudes doing on the school ground? A gangster and school doesn't really sound like they belong together unless we are talking about a future gangster, someone who has not gotten involved with the crime yet or has a family background.

Therefore, what matters the most is to define the gangster first and then put him into the right environment.

Must my gangster be a bad guy? 

Yes.

That's the whole point, Do'h!

Key words: cruel, vicious, heartless, mean, evil, greedy, ruthless, sadistic...

But, like discussed in one of the previous chapters bad and good overlap, so a gangster can be a bad guy as in 'commits crimes' but also a good guy as in 'soft personality'. A gangster can have two faces: a good one and a bad one. Yes, a man who kills can also smile at his loved ones, for reasons such as he doesn't love people whom he kills, that's it. A gangster can have a softer side, but he probably doesn't show it because that would be deemed a weakness in the criminal world. A gangster needs to have the respect of his fellow gangsters if he wants to be powerful. He must be feared too, especially if he is the boss. He can be kind to his men, but he has to have that cold side too, simply because he needs to be in the control or then... he wouldn't be a leader (applies to any boss in any field of work: can be nice but must be strict). The gangster world is dangerous, filled with scheming and violence, so you can't trust anyone easily unless that person has earned your respects. You have to be tough and strong on the outside and callous on the inside to survive. But this doesn’t mean you can’t be a warm person too.

But!

No matter how gentle to the woman he loves, a person who engages in crimes is a bad person defined by morals and law. Even if a gangster kills for revenge as in "I killed that man because he killed my daughter", he will be punished by law because our society just happens to define killing as something wrong and unacceptable (unless it’s self-defense sand sometimes even then). We can also start a long and painful philosophical debate about what is wrong and what is right, who deserves what and so on. But let's not do it. I think most of us will agree that a criminal is someone who is committing unethical things and needs to be punished. Killing is wrong.

Killings, Assaults, Murders

A gangster is a bad guy, but that doesn't mean he is a psychopath. Some of them are, no doubt about that. But let's just decide that our main character doesn't have psychological problems, he is healthy and intelligent. Would he go around killing mindlessly? I don't think so. Because after every murder there will be a police officer snooping around. Does a gangster want to be caught and prosecuted? I don't think so. And there is just so far the bribes can take him, if it happens too often the police will have to act because of the pressure from the public.

Every death is a calculated thing, the benefit of it must overweight the danger of being caught and put behind the bars. After every murder, there is a body which needs to be destroyed, at least to the point so it won't be identified (erased fingerprints, removed teeth, and nails, etc). Therefore, make a death/murder into a big thing in the story for it to have an impact on the reader. A murder needs to be meaningful. Something what is not easy to carry out and deal with. Something dangerous with scary consequences.

Hitmen exist because people don't want to get caught, they hire others to do the dirty job. Besides, it's such a hassle to get rid of a body. Right? There are also accidental deaths: torture taken too far or a stab wound in a brawl. A murder can be framed to be a suicide or an accident or someone else can be framed to be the perpetrator. Gang leaders are also more likely to send their men on missions to kill people unless they have some grudges they want to personally settle. Also, in a gang world all people are somehow connected so if someone from gang x kills someone from gang o there is a high possibility that gang o will take a revenge. This is what I meant with the consequences and aftermath of a death.

Another thing is a showdown or rivalry between two gangs. Once in a while, you see these news about someone being shot because he was a rival to this other gang, mostly happens between drug-related gangs. Again! See you have to define what kind of gangster we are talking about because if it's some corrupted politician would they go around killing other people that easy? Wouldn't corrupt people rather use weapons such as money, lobbying and public shaming?

Assaults are a part of gangster life: kidnapping, threatening, and extortion. No one dies, people get scared, job done. For example, loan sharks come to a house and destroy property, no one dies but people are threatened and scared into paying the money no matter what. Killing someone who owes you money wouldn't be smart now, would it? So, a gangster kidnaps other gangster's girlfriend or a kid because they want to extort something from this gangster. Works. Corrupt politician threatens/bribes a journalist so a certain useful article gets published/doesn't get published. A murder is not the only way to show the cruel side of a gangster, they are businessmen of a sort, not hitmen. Their purpose is not to kill but to rule. 

Side note: You don't want to put too much gruesome blood splatter into your story because that numbs. If someone is killed in every chapter it becomes boring. Once again, mystery my friends, vague words and hints. What we don't see can sometimes be the most interesting thing ever. Gangs are not all about fighting. There can be a lot of violence but in general isn't criminal world all about greed for money and power?

The Underworld

A gangster can't just simply exist without being involved underground. And this brings us to a question: what is the underworld and how to create one? Structures of organized crime - who rules what and how? HERE are some model examples. Old good Wikipedia saves us once again!

If we are talking about city like Seoul do you think only one street gang can rule the whole city? Seriously... one gang and no one dares to challenge? Let me laugh. That's impossible! They are bound to have rivals and supporters and they probably fight for territories. What kind of connections do the gangs have, what is the network, how does it work and who controls it? What about friends, enemies, and the neutral zone? Do these gangs have specific tattoos, perhaps they wear a ring on a certain finger, have golden watches with a special logo or have specific haircuts?

How organized are these gangs? Are there families who fight against each other and does your gangster world have its roots in the history? Or do you choose the business world: money laundering, tax evasion, bribery, cheating? Do gangsters who own companies have thugs? Do street gangs have some kind of hierarchy? If yes who is the leader of it all? Who has the power? Are there several leaders? How to join a gang and how to work up the hierarchy? 

Then there is street racing, breaking the traffic rules, maybe accidentally killing pedestrians and most definitely creating havoc. Drugs are probably involved among those who come to watch, illegal gambling too. Where do the drugs come from? Are some street gangs involved? Who owns the racers or do they just race for their own name only? What about the illegal gambling? Who controls that? Who harvests the profit?  What about the police?

And one last thing: a high school gang. On whose territory do they cause trouble? Are they involved in drug dealing or some other simple crimes? If they fight each other, then on whose territory do the fights happen? What gangster is happy about some crazy kids causing trouble and catching the eye of the police? Or maybe other gangs enjoy betting on these fights? Are fights between high schools somehow organized? By whom and who gets the money? What do these kids get out of the fights? 

Another high school themed gang story which could be interesting would be something along... uh... sons of gang leaders fighting for dominance in a high school? They'd have links to real gangsters and to the underworld which would make everything more dangerous. 

The Police

The underworld can't exist separately from the normal world because we live in the same cities and share the same streets. No matter how many criminals don't get caught, a lot of them do get caught. Police force is always a threat to a gangster, a pressing threat. If your story is entirely about the gangsters, you don't have to go into detail about the police but you have to make your reader feel that pressing threat too, the police is watching. If your gangster gets caught how does he control the situation: bribes, lies, beneficial relationships, a stand-in man? There are networks and connections, law and crime overlapping each other.

The Punishment

You have to remember that you are writing about crime and that a gangster can't be innocent. Of course, we can argue whether a writer has a moral responsibility of punishing a character who goes against the law but that would be too tiring. To make it simple, do you really think a man who has destroyed lives by selling drugs or a woman who has killed several innocent people just because they stood on her way, deserve a happy ending? Would that be right? The gang leader is the mastermind behind the crime so he is as guilty.

Because, if you are talking about Yongguk who has been wronged in his childhood and became a gang leader just for carrying out his revenge, he didn't do anything else illegal, only killed the man who killed his parents. You are talking about one ridiculous story. First of all, one does not simply become a gang leader. Second, a gang leader doesn't simply keep his hands clean from crimes, and lastly how did he get away with a murder? This is like saying… well… Obama didn’t really kill any innocent Afghan children, he only sent American troops to Afghanistan and those soldiers who made the mistake are the evil ones. If you agree then what about Hitler or Mao?

Most of the gang stories end with death but that doesn't mean you have to kill your characters. In fact, it's your story and you can let them get off the hook if you want to, but that would take away from the story, really. Crime and punishment go hand in hand and punishment doesn't have to come from the police. It can be something like the gangster being abandoned by everyone in the end, getting killed by another gangster or being left behind by a woman he loves dearly, or maybe even his conscience finally kicking in. Karma es. Or him, simply, getting prosecuted and jailed, let him have a new chance.

My head is spinning and everything sounds so confusing

If that rambling above didn't get you excited then maybe you shouldn't write a gang fic? After all, it's not that easy. If you want it to be entertaining and somewhat believable then you have to create a criminal world inside of your head. No, you don't have to put it on the paper, you don't need to write a book about organized crime in order to explain your story. No. You just have to have a world for your characters to live in.

Other stories are no different for example high school - has its own hierarchy and rules. Most of us have attended a high school so it's easy to imagine, but most of us have not participated in the criminal underworld and that's why we have to use our imagination and write it in way which explains enough for the reader to be able to somehow relate. Most of the gang stories around AFF are too superficial so it puts the readers off, or at least me. I don't get a connection with the story, it just feels like a bunch of violent crazy words on a paper. And loads of cursing as if that makes people more "gangster".

The Beginning

Like mentioned before, in my opinion, the essence of a good gangster fic is the depth. What draws us in? The danger, the controversy, the darkness, the mystery... So I would prefer not to spit all the details in the summary already, like most of the fics around AFF. This is what puts me off, the summary tells half of the story. Why should I bother to read anymore? Be more mysterious, if you will. Please…

Then how to begin? With the background of the underworld or with a gruesome scene of a murder? It all depends on how you want to introduce your gangster.

1.

In a lot of the stories around aff 'the gangster' is introduced through the main character who is just a normal person. One day this person meets a gangster through some kind of accident and their fates become intertwined.

Random example:

Scarlett is an innocent 18 year old waitress at Café with a dark past, currently residing with her best friend Max.

Kris Wu is a notorious gang leader who smokes cigarettes religiously, with a right hook that could kill.

Unbeknown to the world of weapons, drugs and murder, Scarlett is about to drift into the arms of her own personal nightmare. A beautiful nightmare.

In this case the gangster is a mystery to us readers. At first we might not even know that he is a gangster, we just think he is some shady man who happens to own a trench coat and has these dark brooding eyes. And he has a bunch of friends who call themselves B.A.P or Big Bang, most of them are dorky but the gangster guy is so freaking handsome and violent, it draws us in and... 

Every single time I read something like this: “B.A.P is the most popular and dangerous gang in the history of Soth Korea, they are so good they never leave any trace and the police can’t catch them. Their leader is a playboy who is handsome and cool. Hana is a lonely girl without parents and she goes to high school x, where she meets Yongguk. 

2.

Another way to introduce the gangster is to make her/him the main hero, and if you create a woman gangster that's supposed to be cooler. I don't know why. This kind of story usually begins with a bang, introducing the main character in a flashy way. Going straight to the action is not a bad thing.

Random example:

Once a year in spring there's a competition open to all local gangs to fight for ninety-six hours to gain territory and status. It's not rare for someone to die. In fact, it's never been heard of that a year passes without deaths. But there are some people who survive year after year, tournament after tournament. They've been fighting for dozens of years, but they can't seem to die.  

00

Why not introduce the gangster as a person, because gangsters are human too. Do they live a "normal" life and the crimes are incorporated into their seemingly innocent daily life? If a gangster gets paid for being a gangster that means they are involved into some kind of illegal business, it's not just hanging around with the pals. Someone can lead a double life, pretending to be a salary man during the days and being a gangster during the nights, but do you think that would be possible? I doubt. People need to sleep sometimes…

First, you should introduce a character, a person, a human being and then, you make the reader realize that his person is not just an average joe. And voila! You have the mystery. First, it has to be someone we can sympathize with, someone who has strengths and weaknesses. If he is supposed to be an evil character let us readers first get disappointed with him and then make us slowly hate him. The magic words: Don't rush things. 

So, create a criminal world and then create a character, put him into his rightful place in the criminal world. Your story could be either about someone starting from the bottom and working their way to the top or someone who is already on the top and falls from his throne (gets his punishment or wows to take revenge). Ah, the classics… The story could also be just about an average gangster who is somewhere in between the top and the gutter, he wants to get out from the crime but can’t. Or a gangster who has committed a mistake and is now a wanted man by the police or/and the other gangsters. The possibilities are countless but what matters the most 1. where 2. who.

The Humor

I have made everything dark and hopeless, right? That doesn't mean a gangster story can't be a comedy. It sure can. There are so many movies about loser gangsters who try to work it up the ranks, but fail miserably. I enjoy those a lot. But still, as long as there are crimes involved even the comedy is somewhat dark, the darker the better it fits. Personally, I consider a gangster theme as a mature theme simply because killing people is not a joke and seeing people being killed in front of your eyes is traumatic. But it's not like there can't be any humor in gangster world at all.

The Research

I say, read books and watch movies. Asian gangster movies are good, I like them better than western because they make the line between bad and good transparent and gray. They make you think and wonder, make you even fall in love with the main characters who are evil. Maybe that's the reason why most of the main characters usually die, because it's not right to commit crimes. That's their punishment; they either get caught by the police or killed by their rivals. Karma es!

Every Story is a Journey

 'Being a gangster' is a part of the story, not just a description.

Little by little, let us readers sink into the underworld step by step. We don't want to dip there at once because we don't know what it’s like. We feel hesitant and get confused easily. That's why, you have to create a gangster world on the background, something you are familiar with so you can slowly lead us into it. That's the whole point of the story, sort of. We wander into the underworld, learn about it, slowly see and feel how cruel it can be, we reach the of the story and then… The End.