creative writing about a heist

How to Write A Heist Scene [50 Tips, Examples, & Guide]

Calling all masterminds and wordsmiths: let’s “steal” the spotlight with an epic heist scene that even the literary police can’t resist.

Here is how to write a heist scene:

Write a heist scene by establishing high stakes, creating a diverse team, and detailing planning and execution phases. Incorporate tension, unexpected twists, and a vivid setting to enhance the narrative. Avoid skipping specifics or dumbing down security.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how to write a heist scene.

What Is a Heist Scene?

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A heist scene is a pivotal moment often found in crime and thriller genres, where characters engage in the planning and execution of a high-stakes theft.

It’s a blend of strategy, suspense, and action, holding the reader’s attention through intricate plot details and character interactions.

This scene typically involves a group of characters, each with unique skills, working together to steal something valuable.

The allure of a heist scene lies in its complexity and the thrill of whether the characters will succeed or face unexpected consequences.

It’s not just about the theft itself, but the planning, the team dynamics, and the obstacles they face.

A well-crafted heist scene can be a showcase of clever writing, character development, and plot progression, making it a favorite among readers who enjoy tension-filled, strategic narratives.

7 Types of Heist Scenes

There is more than one type of heist scene and story.

Classic Bank Robbery

The quintessential heist scene, involving a well-planned robbery of a bank. This type often includes detailed planning, a diverse team with specific roles, and high tension during execution.

Focused on stealing priceless art, this type involves more elegance and sophistication.

It usually features characters with a deep appreciation or expertise in art, and often includes forging or swapping artworks.

Casino Heist

High stakes and glamour define this type. The scene is set in a luxurious casino, involving clever schemes to outsmart high-level security and often includes elements of bluffing and gambling.

Jewel Theft

This type revolves around stealing precious gems or jewelry, often from heavily guarded locations or high-profile events.

It requires meticulous planning and often involves a mix of stealth and social engineering.

Cyber Heist

A modern twist, focusing on stealing digital assets or information.

It involves hacking, technological skills, and often a race against time to breach sophisticated digital security systems.

Prison Break

While not a traditional heist, it involves similar elements of planning and teamwork to escape from a high-security prison.

It’s more about the escape plan and execution rather than stealing.

Heist with a Twist

This type subverts the usual heist tropes, perhaps involving an unexpected betrayal, a twist in the objective, or a moral dilemma that changes the course of the heist.

How to Write a Heist Scene (40 Ways)

Writing a heist scene is a thrilling challenge that requires a blend of creativity, strategy, and an understanding of human psychology.

A great heist scene isn’t just about the crime itself.

It’s about the characters, the tension, and the stakes involved.

Here are 40 detailed ways to craft an unforgettable heist scene, each accompanied by examples to illustrate the concept.

1. Establish the Stakes

High stakes are the heart of a heist scene.

Make it clear what your characters stand to gain or lose. This could be monetary, personal, or even moral.

For example, in Ocean’s Eleven , Danny Ocean’s team isn’t just after money.

There’s also the thrill of the challenge and personal scores to settle. Establishing stakes that resonate with your characters deepens the emotional impact of the heist.

2. Create a Diverse Team

Each member of your heist team should bring a unique skill set and personality.

Think of The Italian Job , where each character has a specialty, whether it’s driving, explosives, or hacking.

This diversity allows for interesting interactions and solutions to problems that arise during the heist.

3. Intricate Planning

Detailing the planning phase adds credibility to your heist.

It’s not just about the action; it’s about how well your characters can anticipate and solve problems.

In Inception , the planning phase is crucial as the team must understand and navigate the complexities of the human mind.

This phase should be logical yet creative, showing the reader how the heist could realistically be pulled off.

4. Build Tension

Tension is what keeps readers turning the pages.

Introduce elements that threaten the heist’s success, whether internal conflicts, external obstacles, or moral dilemmas.

In Heat , the tension escalates as the crew realizes they’re being watched by the police, adding a layer of urgency and risk to their actions.

5. Use Time Constraints

Adding a ticking clock can dramatically increase the suspense.

Whether it’s a security system reset or a guard’s patrol schedule, time constraints push your characters to their limits.

In Mission: Impossible , the team often works against a tight deadline, making every second count.

6. Incorporate Unexpected Twists

No heist goes exactly as planned.

Introduce unexpected twists that force your characters to adapt. This could be a betrayal, an unforeseen obstacle, or a change in the target.

In The Thomas Crown Affair , the twist comes in the form of a complex game of cat and mouse, keeping the audience guessing.

7. Pay Attention to Setting

The setting of your heist should be as detailed as your characters.

Whether it’s a high-tech vault, a bustling casino, or a remote mansion, the setting can add challenges and opportunities for your team.

In The Bank Job , the setting of a bank vault surrounded by businesses and apartments adds complexity to the heist.

8. Use Technology Wisely

In modern heists, technology plays a significant role.

However, it should be used realistically and not as a deus ex machina.

In films like Sneakers , technology is crucial but it’s the characters’ understanding and manipulation of it that makes the plot compelling.

9. Focus on Character Development

A heist scene is an excellent opportunity for character development.

Show how the pressure and moral dilemmas of the heist impact your characters, leading to growth or revealing hidden facets of their personalities.

In Reservoir Dogs , the characters are profoundly affected by the events of the heist, leading to a dramatic and revealing climax.

10. Add Elements of Humor

Humor can be a great way to balance the tension.

It can humanize your characters, making them more relatable and likable.

The humor in Ocean’s Eleven adds charm to the characters, making the audience root for them despite their criminal activities.

11. Include High-Action Sequences

Action sequences are vital in keeping the pace brisk and the excitement high.

These could be chase scenes, fights, or narrow escapes.

In The Fast and the Furious series, high-speed chases and daring stunts keep the adrenaline pumping.

12. Make the Heist Believable

While you can push the boundaries, keeping the heist within the realms of possibility adds to its impact.

Research real heist strategies, tools, and techniques to add authenticity.

The heist in Inside Man is clever and well-thought-out, making it believable and engrossing.

13. Explore the Moral Gray Area

Heists often operate in a moral gray area. Explore the ethics of your characters’ actions and the justifications they make.

This adds depth to your story and challenges the reader’s own moral compass.

In The Town , the characters are deeply conflicted, blurring the lines between right and more.

14. Showcase Team Dynamics

The interactions within the heist team can be as compelling as the heist itself.

Show how they work together, resolve conflicts, and rely on each other’s strengths.

In Leverage , the team’s dynamics are central to the plot, with each member’s personality and skills contributing to the group’s success.

15. Include Realistic Consequences

Every action in a heist should have consequences.

Whether it’s the risk of getting caught or the moral implications of their actions, these consequences add weight to the story.

In A Fish Called Wanda , the consequences are both comical and serious, affecting each character differently.

16. Use Misdirection

Misdirection is a key element in heists.

Have your characters use deception to throw off their adversaries, or use narrative misdirection to surprise your readers.

The twist in The Sting is a classic example of misdirection done right.

17. Detail the Escape Plan

The escape is as critical as the heist itself.

Detail how your characters plan to evade capture after the heist.

This can include backup plans, disguises, or strategic routes. In Baby Driver , the escape sequences are meticulously planned and thrillingly executed.

18. Introduce a Worthy Adversary

A strong opponent, such as a detective or rival gang, can add another layer of tension.

This adversary should be as competent and determined as the heist team.

In Catch Me If You Can , the cat-and-mouse game between the protagonist and the FBI agent adds depth to the story.

19. Utilize Flashbacks and Foreshadowing

Flashbacks can provide backstory and motive for the heist, while foreshadowing hints at possible outcomes.

This narrative technique enriches the story and keeps the reader engaged.

In Ocean’s Thirteen , flashbacks and foreshadowing are used to reveal motivations and hint at future events.

20. Balance Risk and Reward

The risk involved in the heist should be proportional to the reward.

This balance keeps the story realistic and the stakes high.

In The Great Train Robbery , the immense risk is matched by the potentially huge reward.

21. Craft a Satisfying Conclusion

The conclusion of your heist scene should be satisfying, whether it’s a successful heist, a twist ending, or a moral victory.

It should tie up loose ends and reflect the journey of your characters.

In The Italian Job , the conclusion is clever and leaves the audience with a memorable last scene.

22. Use Pacing to Your Advantage

Effective pacing is crucial in a heist scene. Alternate between fast-paced action and slower, tension-building moments.

This ebb and flow keeps the reader engaged and heightens the impact of the climax.

For instance, in Now You See Me , the pacing varies between the intricate magic performances and the frantic chase scenes, creating a rhythm that keeps the audience on edge.

23. Implement Clever Dialogue

Sharp, clever dialogue can enhance character interactions and add an element of wit to the heist.

It can also be used to convey crucial information in a way that’s engaging and natural.

In The Thomas Crown Affair , the dialogue is not only smooth and engaging but also serves to reveal character dynamics and plot details.

24. Highlight Character Motivations

Understanding why each character is involved in the heist adds depth to the story.

Their motivations could range from financial desperation to a desire for revenge or a need for thrills.

In Heat , each character has a distinct motivation, enriching the narrative and adding complexity to their actions.

25. Use Environment to Create Obstacles

The environment can be a source of obstacles or advantages for the heist team.

This could be anything from a high-tech security system to a crowded public space.

In Entrapment , the laser-filled room presents a physical obstacle, adding tension and visual interest to the heist.

26. Incorporate Character Backstories

Backstories can provide context for a character’s skills or motivations.

A well-placed backstory can add layers to the narrative and make the characters more relatable.

In Logan Lucky , the characters’ backgrounds in mining and construction play a key role in the heist’s execution.

27. Utilize Multiple Points of View

Showing the heist from different perspectives can provide a fuller picture and add complexity to the narrative.

This can include the viewpoints of the heist team, law enforcement, and even innocent bystanders.

In Rashomon , the use of multiple perspectives adds depth and ambiguity to the story.

28. Integrate Subplots

Subplots can enrich the main heist narrative.

These could be romantic entanglements, personal vendettas, or side hustles.

In The Usual Suspects , the subplots intertwine with the main story, adding layers and enriching the overall narrative.

29. Show Preparation and Training

Showing the team training or preparing for the heist can build anticipation and demonstrate their commitment and skills.

In The Score , the preparation phase is crucial, showcasing the expertise and meticulous nature of the characters.

30. Add Ethical Dilemmas

Ethical dilemmas can add moral complexity to the heist, forcing characters to make tough choices.

This can create internal conflict and add an emotional layer to the narrative.

In Dog Day Afternoon , the ethical dilemmas faced by the characters add a poignant, human element to the story.

31. Introduce Internal Conflict

Conflict within the heist team can add tension and unpredictability.

This could be due to clashing personalities, differing goals, or mistrust. In The Town , internal conflicts among the crew members add a layer of drama and uncertainty to the heist.

32. Employ Symbolism and Themes

Using symbolism and recurring themes can add depth and meaning to your heist scene.

This could be a recurring motif or a thematic element that reflects the larger narrative.

In The Da Vinci Code , symbols and themes are central to the plot, adding layers of mystery and intrigue.

33. Leverage Character Flaws

Character flaws can affect the heist’s outcome and add realism to the story.

A character’s impulsiveness, greed, or overconfidence can create complications. In Jackie Brown , the characters’ flaws lead to unexpected twists and turns in the heist.

34. Incorporate Real-World References

Referencing real-world events, technology, or locations can add authenticity to your heist scene.

This grounding in reality can make the story more relatable and believable.

In Ronin , the use of actual locations and references to historical events adds realism to the narrative.

35. Explore the Aftermath of the Heist

Don’t forget to explore the aftermath of the heist.

This can include the distribution of the spoils, the impact on the characters’ lives, or the consequences of their actions.

In No Country for Old Men , the aftermath is as significant as the heist itself, impacting each character profoundly.

36. Utilize Visual Descriptions

Vivid visual descriptions can bring your heist scene to life, immersing the reader in the action.

Describe the setting, the characters’ actions, and the atmosphere in detail. In The Night Manager , the vivid descriptions enhance the tension and realism of the heist scenes.

37. Incorporate Red Herrings

Red herrings can mislead the reader and add an element of surprise to your heist.

These false clues or misleading information can make the outcome more unpredictable. In Sherlock Holmes stories, red herrings are often used to keep the reader guessing.

38. Use Foils and Rivalries

Character foils and rivalries can add tension and drama.

This could be rival heist teams, law enforcement, or personal enemies. In Public Enemies , the rivalry between the bank robber and the FBI agent adds depth to the narrative.

39. Explore the Psychological Impact

Delve into the psychological impact of the heist on your characters.

This could include stress, guilt, or adrenaline rushes, affecting their decisions and relationships. In Thief , the protagonist’s psychological journey is as central as the physical heist.

40. Ensure Logical Consistency

Maintain logical consistency throughout your heist scene.

This includes the characters’ actions, the technology used, and the sequence of events.

In The Prestige , the intricate plot is carefully constructed to maintain logical consistency, making the final reveal both surprising and satisfying.

Here is a video about how to write a heist scene, story, or movie screenplay:

Heist Scene Template

A heist scene template provides a structured approach to crafting an engaging and dynamic scene.

This template offers a general outline that writers can customize according to their story’s needs.

• Introduction : Set the scene and introduce the target of the heist.
• Character Introduction : Introduce the characters involved, highlighting their skills and roles.
• Stakes and Motivation : Clarify what’s at stake and why the characters are undertaking the heist.
• Planning Phase : Detail the heist plan, including roles, strategies, and contingencies.
• Preparation : Show the characters preparing for the heist, gathering tools and resources.
• Execution : The heist in action, showcasing challenges and character dynamics.
• Climax : The peak of the heist, where tension and stakes are at their highest.
• Aftermath : Consequences of the heist, success or failure, and its impact on the characters.
• Resolution : Wrap up loose ends and conclude the character arcs.

50 Heist Scene Ideas

• A team stealing a rare diamond from a moving train.
• A solo hacker attempting to breach a top-secret government database.
• An art heist during a high-profile auction.
• A group infiltrating a corporate gala to steal trade secrets.
• A team of thieves targeting a casino’s vault during a boxing match.
• A heist to recover a stolen painting hidden in a private mansion.
• A daring bank robbery executed within a 10-minute window.
• A digital heist to erase a criminal record.
• A mission to steal a prototype car from a high-security facility.
• An underwater heist to retrieve a sunken treasure.
• An escape artist breaking into a vault for a challenge.
• A group stealing rare books from an ancient library.
• A heist to steal a famous musician’s priceless guitar.
• A mission to retrieve a lost heirloom from a gangster’s safe.
• A team of ex-soldiers robbing a drug cartel’s cash house.
• A heist to intercept a shipment of smuggled artifacts.
• A mission to plant evidence in a corporate office.
• A heist at a ski resort to steal diamonds from a guest.
• A group hacking into a lottery system to rig the draw.
• A heist to steal a valuable manuscript from a book fair.
• A plot to rob a high-speed hyperloop train.
• A heist during a city-wide blackout.
• A mission to steal a famous chef’s secret recipe.
• A heist in a futuristic society to steal memory files.
• A heist to retrieve a scientist’s stolen research.
• A heist at a fashion show to steal a designer’s collection.
• A team stealing a rare coin from a numismatic convention.
• A heist to hijack a cargo ship carrying electronics.
• A mission to steal an ancient relic from a museum exhibit.
• A heist during a space station’s maintenance shutdown.
• A plot to steal a prototype drone from a military base.
• A heist in a dystopian city to procure rare medicine.
• A mission to swap a fake painting in a gallery.
• A heist at an airport to intercept a courier.
• A plot to steal exotic animals from a private zoo.
• A heist to liberate documents from a corrupt politician’s office.
• A mission to steal a vintage car from an auto show.
• A heist in a ghost town to find hidden gold.
• A plot to rob a luxury yacht at sea.
• A heist to steal the crown jewels during a national celebration.
• A mission to retrieve data from a sunken submarine.
• A heist at a tech convention to steal a new AI.
• A plot to pilfer rare plants from a botanical garden.
• A heist to steal a historic sword from a military parade.
• A mission to snatch a rare bird from an aviary.
• A heist during a major sports event to steal memorabilia.
• A plot to rob collectors at a rare coin expo.
• A heist to steal a priceless violin during a concert.
• A mission to obtain ancient scrolls from a hidden temple.
• A heist to capture a holographic art piece from a gallery.

Biggest Mistakes Writers Make When Writing Heist Scenes

Writing heist scenes can be challenging, and there are common pitfalls that writers should avoid:

• Overcomplicating the Plot : Making the heist too complex can confuse readers.
• Underdeveloped Characters : Failing to give depth to the characters involved in the heist.
• Ignoring Realism : Unrealistic scenarios can break the suspension of disbelief.
• Lack of Research : Not researching enough about how real heists, technology, or security systems work, leading to implausible scenes.
• Forgetting the Stakes : Not clearly establishing or maintaining the stakes, which are crucial for tension.
• Poor Pacing : Failing to balance action with character moments or exposition, resulting in either a rushed or dragging narrative.
• Neglecting Character Dynamics : Overlooking the importance of interactions among the heist team, which can add depth and conflict.
• Inconsistent Tone : Shifting the tone abruptly from serious to comedic or vice versa, which can be jarring for readers.
• Using Clichés : Relying on overused tropes and plot devices without adding original elements.
• Failing to Surprise : Not including enough twists or unexpected developments, making the heist predictable.

How to Write a Heist Story

Writing a heist story involves more than just crafting a compelling heist scene.

It’s about creating a narrative that weaves together suspense, strategy, and character development. Here’s how to do it:

• Develop a Unique Concept : Start with an original idea or a fresh twist on a classic heist theme.
• Create Memorable Characters : Develop a diverse cast with distinct personalities, skills, and motivations.
• Establish Clear Stakes : Make it clear what is at risk and what the characters stand to gain or lose.
• Plan the Heist : Detail the heist plan, including obstacles and contingencies, to add credibility and suspense.
• Build Tension and Conflict : Incorporate elements that challenge the characters and their plan, both internally and externally.
• Include Surprising Twists : Keep readers on their toes with unexpected developments and reversals.
• Focus on Pacing : Balance fast-paced action with moments of character development and suspense-building.
• Convey a Strong Setting : Use the setting to add atmosphere, obstacles, and character to the story.
• Explore Themes and Morality : Delve into the ethical and moral implications of the heist and its impact on the characters.
• Craft a Satisfying Ending : Conclude with an ending that ties up the narrative threads and reflects the journey of the characters.

Example of a Heist Scene

Here is an example of a heist scene that I wrote for this article:

In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, under the cloak of twilight, a semi-professional group of thieves, each a master of their craft, prepared for the heist of a lifetime. Their target: a groundbreaking AI device, nestled securely in the briefcase of a renowned AI engineer, surrounded by a cadre of vigilant bodyguards. The leader, Jean, a tactician with a penchant for high-stakes jobs, surveyed the bustling Champ de Mars through binoculars. His second-in-command, Léa, adept in martial arts and stealth, blended into the crowd, her eyes fixed on the engineer. Marc, the tech wizard, sat in a van parked nearby, fingers dancing over keyboards, tapping into security feeds. As dusk turned to night, the engineer, oblivious to the lurking danger, enjoyed the Parisian evening, his guards relaxed but watchful. Jean, communicating through earpieces, whispered, “On my mark…” and the dance began. Léa, posing as a tourist, approached the engineer, her charm disarming one of the guards. As they chatted, she subtly signaled Marc. Suddenly, the lights around the Eiffel Tower flickered. Confusion spread among the tourists and guards alike. Marc had hacked the local grid, creating a diversion. In the chaos, Jean, disguised as a street performer, moved closer, his eyes locked on the briefcase. But as he edged near, a guard, more alert than the others, noticed his keen interest. The guard’s hand moved to his earpiece, calling for backup. Jean’s heart raced. He retreated, blending into the crowd, and the moment seemed lost. Marc, realizing the plan was unraveling, initiated Plan B. A loud, orchestrated sound of sirens approached, simulating a police convoy. The guards, now on high alert, formed a protective circle around the engineer. It was now or never. Léa, seizing the moment, “tripped” near the engineer, scattering her belongings. As the guards helped her, Jean saw his chance. He slid through the crowd, his hand deftly slipping the briefcase from the engineer’s side. But just as he secured it, the engineer noticed its absence. Shouting ensued, guards scrambled, and the tranquil night erupted into chaos. Jean, briefcase in hand, darted through the crowd, weaving between confused tourists. Behind him, Léa engaged in a swift, distracting fight with two guards, using her martial arts prowess to keep them at bay. Marc, watching through the cameras, guided Jean through the safest path, away from the converging guards. But their escape was far from assured. More guards poured in, and the exit routes dwindled. Jean, sprinting with the precious cargo, realized the direness of their situation. They needed a miracle. And then, in an almost serendipitous moment, a group of street performers began a firework display. The sky above the Eiffel Tower lit up, drawing the attention of the crowd and the guards. Jean, using the cover of the fireworks, slipped into a side alley, his heart pounding in his chest. Meanwhile, Marc, in the van, had one last trick. He sent a fake radio message to the guards, redirecting them to a false location. The ruse worked. The guards, now in disarray, moved away from Jean’s location. Léa, having subdued her opponents, quickly joined Jean in the alley. They raced to the van, where Marc waited, engine running. As they drove away, the Eiffel Tower, majestic and unyielding, stood witness to their audacious feat. Back in their safe house, the team celebrated. The AI device, now in their possession, was a testament to their skill, courage, and the fine line they walked between triumph and disaster. They had succeeded against all odds, pulling off a heist that would be talked about in the underworld for years to come. In the heart of Paris, under the gaze of the Eiffel Tower, they had not just stolen an object; they had stolen a moment in time, a moment that defined their lives and showcased the art of the impossible.

Final Thoughts: How to Write a Heist Scene

Just like a master thief meticulously planning a heist, dive into crafting your scene with precision.

And don’t forget to check out more writing tips on our website.

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How to Write a Thrilling Heist Movie (or TV series): The 10 Perfect Steps

How to Write a Heist Movie (or TV series): The ULTIMATE 10 Steps

A band of misfits. A slick elite group. “Getting away clean”. Whatever the stakes. A heist movie can provide writers with an instant shortcut to tension , drama and great action scenes.

It’s a staple of the thriller genre. The heist movie has been there since the dawn of cinema and continues to reinvent itself.

There are many different ways the heist movie can manifest. It’s not always just a simple case of robbing a bank. A group banded together to steal something without getting caught. This is the essential core of any heist movie, whatever the context.

Moreover, the global smash hit Money Heist shows the movies don’t have a monopoly on the heist narrative. Perhaps the door has been opened to a new genre of heist TV series.

We’re going to take a look at the 10 key steps in how to write a heist movie. What are the vital beats and tropes to follow? How have these been subverted?

We’ll primarily use five examples of heist narratives to help illustrate our points: Ocean’s Eleven , Inception , Money Heist, Dog Day Afternoon &  Hustlers .

This isn’t a guide simply on how to write a heist movie, but how to write a heist narrative.

Of course there are exceptions to the rules and heist narratives that subvert tropes . But there is almost always a basic format in place. The format of how to write a heist movie is also helpful for laying out a thriller structure in general.

So let’s get started. Let’s meet our merry band of thieves…

1. The Setup and the Mastermind

Who is the brains behind this operation? And where are they coming from? There will always be a leader. Someone with a plan, a vision to execute and change the lives of those willing to participate.

Now the mastermind is not necessarily always also the protagonist .

• In Ocean’s Eleven , George Clooney’s Danny Ocean is both.
• Same with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Cobb in Inception and Al Pacino’s Sonny in Dog Day Afternoon. 
• But in Money Heist and Hustlers , the protagonist and the mastermind are not the same. In Money Heist , the enigmatic The Professor is the mastermind, whilst Tokyo is the protagonist. In Hustlers , Constance Wu’s Destiny is the protagonist, whilst Jennifer Lopez’s Ramona is the mastermind.

A heist movie is a genre in which the protagonist isn’t always the most important figure in the story. The protagonist is still our guide through the story. But often it’s the mastermind who is star of the show.

It’s important to show us what makes this mastermind tick. What is their life like and what has lead them to this point?

• In Ocean’s Eleven , our first introduction to the story is to see Danny Ocean released from prison. This is a crook whose first thought upon being released is to plan a new heist.
• Whereas in Money Heist , the Professor’s backstory remains a relative mystery to us throughout the series. We gradually learn over the course of the series how his childhood plays into bold plans.
• In Hustlers , there is a mix of both approaches. We see quite a lot of Ramona’s life before hard times forced her and Destiny to resort to hustling wealthy clients.

It’s most important to get a sense of how the mastermind’s backstory makes them uniquely placed to lead this heist.

2. The Team

Who makes up our band of heroes? What do each add to the overall team?

In Money Heist , Ocean’s Eleven and Inception, the team is specifically assembled with each character’s unique talents and abilities. They’ll be a computer whizz who can hack into anything, a master of engineering who can unlock any safe, or a hardened soldier ready to fight anyone or anything.

In Dog Day Afternoon and Hustlers , the teams are more organically assembled.

• In Hustlers , Ramona and Destiny choose accomplices from the strip club they work at.
• Whereas in Dog Day Afternoon, the whole point is that this isn’t a strategically assembled team but a haphazard concoction, between two friends, that goes awry.

What’s important to remember in the team is that each character must add something to the ensemble. This is why heist teams often prove opportunities for great casting.

Each role has flair and a distinct place to take in the movie. Think of the A-listers in Ocean’s Eleven and Inception or the memorable verve of each member in Money Heist .

Hustlers perhaps best proves the importance of each team member being different from the other.

• They might not be recruited for their unique abilities in quite the traditional way.
• But they none the less ultimately prove vital to how the operation (and the heist movie in general) works, adding their own personality to the team in a way that is both different from the other members and complimentary.

This is one of the most fun steps in how to write a heist movie. Inventing your charismatic heroes. And making sure each one has a distinct and unique flavour to add to the overall dish.

3. The Motivation & The Reason We’re on Their Side

Why are they doing this? What is the mastermind’s great motivation? And why do the team members follow?

Motivations can range from to theoretical to personal to the simple motivation of needing money. Often the best heist movies will have a motivation that is a mix of all of the above.

• For example, in Ocean’s Eleven the motivation is a mix of personal (revenge), ambition (pulling of a grand heist), and need for money (Danny has just been released from prison and this is mainly how he earns his money).
• Dog Day Afternoon makes the motivation viscerally personal (Sonny is trying to get money to pay for his wife’s sex reassignment surgery).
• Whereas in Money Heist , the Professor’s desire to rob the Royal Mint of Spain is not just about getting rich. He’s also making a political point about the way society is rigged to favour the establishment, whilst the rest of society struggles.

It’s hard to make any motivation without it being at least a little personal. This speaks to key part of creating any motivation: We need a reason to emphasise with what is essentially a group of criminals.

What is behind these character’s desperate attempt to subvert the law?

• A desire simply to get rich and kill some hostages is unlikely to lead the audiences to sympathise.
• So the characters must have a backstory and a motivation that speaks directly to that backstory.

The characters in Hustlers are plunged into economic precarity when the 2008 financial crisis dries up their income.

• They’re hard up and they use what they have to survive, taking advantage of the people (indirectly) responsible for their situation in the first place.
• That’s a motivation that most audiences can relate to. There is a maths at work that we can understand.

4. The Headline Grabber

So the characters have a motivation. But what is the unique context of this forthcoming plan?

What is the key ingredient that separates your heist movie from all the others. What is the core central idea that makes your story stand out?

• Inception has a dream architect who needs to hack into someone’s dream and plant an idea.
• Hustlers has a group of dancers spiking and exploiting wealthy clients.
• Dog Day Afternoon has a true story inspiration. A unique setting, time and place.
• Ocean’s Eleven has the glitz of robbing the three biggest casinos in Las Vegas.
• Money Heist has the ambition of robbing the biggest financial establishments in Spain, told in a long form format.

All these stories have a big, ambitious premise. One that is likely to grab headlines both in and outside the movie.

What do these stories have to say about contemporary society? Or what unique setting and context do they have to wow audiences (the ambition of robbing three Las Vegas casinos/the concept of dream stealing)?

By now the heist movie is a well-worn genre. How does your take on the genre stand out and what is the big idea behind it? This is crucial to the viability of your idea and script.

5. The Plan

What is the plan for this outrageous heist? And how are they going to pull it off. Not only do the team need this explanation but the audience need it too.

It’s hard to think of any heist movie or narrative without a scene or sequence where the plan is laid out in front of the team.

It might be (probably will be) in a warehouse, it might be in someone’s house, it might be in a car. It will probably feature a presentation on a white board. But it feels impossible to write a heist movie without it.

The team need to know the plan, how they will pull it off and potential bumps in the road. And we need to know this too. It’s an essential part of the tension in a heist movie – knowing what the team are trying to achieve and seeing if and how they will pull it off.

• This type of scene is quite unique to heist movie in how overt it is in its exposition about the plot.
• And largely we forgive these scenes of their blatant exposition. After all, we know to be a realistic heist there will have to be some kind of explantation at some point.
• It makes complete sense in the context, which is what makes it great exposition.

It’s a familiar scene to audiences. And so it’s worth thinking of how to put a twist on it.

In Money Heist, for example, the setup is spun out for the entirety of the series.

• We learn the plan bit by bit, alongside the main narrative in the form of flashbacks.
• It’s an ingenious structural twist on the formula, one that maintains traditional tension whilst also keeping the audience in the dark.

6. The Unpredictable Element

After the formality of the plan is laid out and then carried out, we need an element of unpredictability to veer us off course.

A member of the group or an enemy that is a loose canon will add a flavour of unpredictability and tension to proceedings. This could also be an unplanned element to the proceedings, one we’re never quite sure which way will turn.

Think of Julia Roberts’ Tess in Ocean’s Eleven.

• She’s Danny’s ex but she’s also his foe’s (and owner of the targeted hotels) current girlfriend. We’re never quite sure where her allegiances ultimately lie.

Or in a totally different way, Berlin and Palermo in Money Heist .

• They are the leaders of the group. But they have a wild, egotistical streak that means things are never straight forward.
• They provoke rage in the other team members and sow the seeds of mutiny.

In Hustlers , the addition of Dawn to the gang proves a turning point.

• She is a drug addict and proves sloppy and unreliable in carrying out the hustles.
• We can sense her involvement will stop the wheel from turning smoothly.

The stakes are high in a heist whatever the context. We don’t want to see our heroes get caught. And so an unpredictable element will heighten the fear of everything going wrong.

No matter how much you plan, you can’t account for everything.

7.  The Plausible Losses

There needs to be some kind of sacrifice at some point. Audiences will find it hard to believe that all will go smoothly and everyone will get away scratch free. The odds are stacked against them. Can everyone really get away completely unharmed?

*As a heads up, here is where we will start to get a little less specific with our references in order to avoid spoilers.

Contemporary audiences are used to seeing characters dying (thanks Game of Thrones ) and happy endings subverted. So it’s unlikely they’ll be convinced by a completely happy ending and a smooth journey for the protagonist and heist team.

The heist movie often has at its advantage though, a team of characters to choose from to sacrifice. But proceed with caution in this regard.

• There will probably always be less loved and less pivotal characters within the team. These are the easy sacrifices, the ones who it feels natural to put in harm’s way.
• Audiences might find the peril or sacrifice of their favourite characters painful. But it’s a more refreshing and contemporary take on a narrative arc.
• It shows courage and commitment to the stakes. After all, if we see the characters get away scratch free from everything, we’re less likely to believe they are ever in actual peril. And the journey overall will be less tense.

This isn’t a direct order to kill your favourite characters. But there needs to be some kind of tension in the protagonist and group losing something. Otherwise, the journey seems all too easy.

8. Enemy Gains, All Seems Hopeless

There has to be a moment where it seems the good guys have won. The police have the upper hand. There’s no way the gang can get out of this corner.

The plan has gone wrong, the unpredictable element has wreaked havoc, there have been some heavy losses. How will our heroes survive all this?

This is a plot point that quite directly mirrors one you would find in your beat sheet – the ‘Triumph of Evil/Hope is Lost’ beat. We need to give our characters a moment of unparalleled low, so that ideally they can then bounce back and reach an unparalleled high.

There’s no right or wrong way to carry out this part of a heist narrative. Either the characters will get through this low moment and survive/pull off the heist. Or they won’t. Either can be equally as convincing and gripping.

In Hustlers , for example, it’s not a spoiler to say we know the heist will come crashing down at some point.

• The narrative is framed from the perspective of an older Destiny telling her story to a journalist.
• We know she doesn’t live that life anymore and we know the heist became public knowledge (enough for a journalist to be doing a story on it).

But this doesn’t make Hustlers any less gripping. The thrill is in seeing how it comes crashing down not that it does. And the point at which the enemy appears to have won is even more crushing than if we had the sense the team might get out of it.

Bring your characters down even if you can’t bring them back up. It will make their story feel more empathetic and the conclusion all the more impactful either way.

9. The Final Showstopper

So here we are. It’s all come to this. The plan hasn’t gone exactly to…well, plan.

But there’s one final way the gang are going to get out and pull off their heist. Or are they? Even if they’re going to fail in their initial aims, they will go out with a bang.

This will be one last big set-piece for the script go out on. Something that will look good in a trailer. Something that will flex the action side of the thriller genre.

All the tension of the story will have been bottled up until this point, where it can finally be released. A shootout, a disguise and run, a near miss with the enemy, a final run for it. Our tension will be peaking here, so that it can be released and then settle in the conclusion.

A key element of this kind of final set-piece can also be to surprise the audience. Whilst we might have largely known the plan up until this point, one vital part of it will have been kept back. And here is when it will be revealed.

It’s a magic trick, a key piece of the puzzle which will be crucial to getting the characters out of a sticky patch.

• This is classic dramatic writing. You’re essentially bombarding the audience with so much drama that they don’t notice the other hand moving, doing the most important part.
• When you write a heist movie, you’re carrying out a kind of heist of your own.

The sweat levels have peaked, the tension released. Now breathe and enjoy the conclusion…

10. The Happy Ending?

More often than not our heroes will get what they wanted. It might not have gone perfectly but they made it out the other side.

However, it doesn’t always work out ( Dog Day Afternoon ) and sometimes that success is ambiguous ( Inception/Hustlers ). Either way, there has to be some kind of conclusion.

• What was the point of all this?
• Did the gang get their unimagined riches?
• Did the protagonist emerge happier? Or was this heist a failed band-aid on their troubled personal life?

In a heist movie, the happy ending can often seem less corny that it would do in another genre. Well at least, this is more likely to be the case if you have considered and included some of the aforementioned elements.

• We might not find it as convincing that the gang emerge victorious if we’ve seen they’ve incurred some heavy losses or came incredibly close to being caught or killed.

Moreover, the protagonist and team might have come to the realisation that the goal of the heist didn’t matter. Instead, they’ve gained something much more important along the way (love, for example).

When you look to write a heist movie, following the steps of predecessors can be vital to unlocking the tension and drama inherent in the genre.

Set a goal, make a plan and execute with the right amount of skill, ambition and caution of the potential bumps in the road. Remind you of anything?

The heist movie ultimately serves as the perfect metaphor for the writing process.

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3 thoughts on “How to Write a Thrilling Heist Movie (or TV series): The 10 Perfect Steps”

Appreciate your effort! Thank you

Loved the article very solid examples of writing a great heist. Conclusion of the heist movie being the perfect metaphor for writing nailed it! 👌 Future heist writer

Glad you enjoyed it Damon!

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• Scene Stealers: Writing The Perfect Heist (Part 2)
• By   Kevin Nelson
• . May   5 ,  2021
• Scene Stealers: Writing The Perfect Heist (Part 1)

Here is the final part of our series in writing heist films.

Just like your characters, a screenwriter needs to consider every aspect of the heist and come up with scenarios for when there are unforeseen variables that interfere with that plan. No matter how fool proof their plan is, there needs to be complications every step of the way.

First, consider your style & approach. The tone and voice of your overall script should match the manner in which your characters carry out the heist. Make sure your word choice reflects the tone you wish to convey.

Are you kicking in the door with guns blazing or slipping in under the radar? The answer should depend on your main character and the world they live in. The bank robber Doug in The Town uses brute force because that’s all he knows growing up in his Boston neighborhood.

Meanwhile, The Four Horseman of Now You See Me are magicians, so their heists rely on sleight of hand, tricks, and illusions. Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible can certainly shoot his way out of a bad situation, but that’s only if he has to if things go south.

So, if you were to try and steal a priceless jewel, would you go in there like Jean-Pierre Melville or Michael Mann? Smart and sophisticated, or blunt and brutal?

The Execution

Timing — Every heist takes place during a ticking clock. The goal is to get in and out as quickly and cleanly as possible. With so many factors working against them, their greatest threat is time.

If your heist team is working against an actual timer, remember a page of action equals about a minute of runtime, and if you’re working with short paragraphs or sentences to reflect the speed action, you might run over that amount. So, if you’re counting down, try to keep it in sync with the timing on the page.

Formatting – If you take a look at this example from the climax of the Mission Impossible heist scene, you can see the rhythm Koepp and Towne create by keeping their paragraphs to one or two lines per scene heading. Dialogue is only used to increase tension.

Descriptions – Once you get the momentum going, keep the descriptions as brief as possible. Short sentence that convey exact actions are best. You can capitalize key actions or objects to add emphasis. Take a look at how Peter Craig introduces the characters of The Town during the middle of a robbery. He wastes no time and introduces them through action.

Nothing Ever Goes As Planned

No matter how fool proof the team’s plan seems, something is bound to go wrong at some point. The more abstract variables that arise, the more tension will be created. If the character’s have to think on their toes, chances are the audience will be on the edge of their seats. Just when things start going right, throw a wrench in their plans and make them overcome it.

A great example of this is the famous heist scene in Mission Impossible when Ethan has to extract data from a vault located in the CIA Headquarters. Each step of the way, another complication brings their mission closer to failure. Yet, through seemingly impossible feats, Ethan is able to pull it off.

The Shoot Out

In Heat , everything seems to be going as planned. The thieves have the money and are seconds away from freedom — when the police arrive in swarms. They’re cornered and have to shoot their way out.

This is the team’s point of no return, where the protagonist reaches their lowest and closest point to failure. Their escape becomes impossible. Yet, somehow — they’re able to out maneuver or out gun their adversaries.

Hell or High Wate r flips this convention on its head by being set in the open carry state of Texas, so citizens take matters into their own hands before law enforcement can even arrive. When the bank robbing brothers exit the bank to a line of shooters taking aim, the audience is captivated because their expectations are met in unconventional ways.

What’s a heist film without a proper chase scene? Chase scenes are often written in larger chunks of action, yet still manage to drum up speed through their use of action verbs, as displayed by the reigning champ of chase scenes, Ryan Gosling in Drive and The Place Beyond the Pines.

The Aftermath

When heist movies became prevalent again in the 1950’s, they were required by the Motion Picture Association of America to end in failure due to proper moral standards. Nowadays, the line of good and bad has become blurred. Heist films have always been a reflection of a broken system that pushes people to their limits and forces them to resort to drastic measures in order to break free.

Some things never change.

Kevin Nelson

Contributing Writer

Kevin Nelson is a writer and director based in New York City. He has created critically acclaimed short films and music videos with incredibly talented artists, worked with anti-human trafficking organizations, and would rather be in nature right now.

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The mission: impossible formula to writing thrilling heist sequences.

By Ken Miyamoto · September 23, 2019

Is there a formula for writing compelling, engaging, and thrilling heist sequences?

We turned to the Lessons from the Screenplay video Mission: Impossible — Executing the Perfect Heist and found one.

The Mission: Impossible franchise is most known for its outstanding heist sequences. While the franchise’s genre is often identified as falling under the spy thriller genre, each of the films actually better represent the heist subgenre. Or perhaps we can refer to them as a hybrid subgenre — the spy heist genre.

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The formula the video breaks down consists of three phases, each of which contains its own specific elements. We take the phases and their elements from this video and create a specific formula that screenwriters can use in their heist sequences.

Phase 1: The Goal

Every great heist film has a physical goal. And that goal is created by a desire.

The Protagonist wants or needs something. And that desire fuels the whole story. For the story — and heist — to be compelling, the goal has to be as difficult as possible to achieve. And with every great heist film, there’s a team.

Each team member has a specific characteristic that the Protagonist needs to achieve that goal. It enhances the story to inject conflict within that team. You can accomplish this with varying degrees. One method is the use of a Fake-Ally Opponent.

Fake-Ally Opponent

According to John Truby’s book The Anatomy of Story , “the Fake-Ally Opponent is a character who appears to be the hero’s friend but is actually an opponent. Having this character is one of the main ways you add power to the opposition and twists to the plot.”

This element can be fun to play with because you have multiple team members that could be the Fake-Ally Opponent. And the interesting thing is that audiences now expect this. It’s not always delivered, but they know that it’s possible because this is part of the successful formula of a heist film. And you, the screenwriter, can play with that.

Phase 2: Obstacles

Without conflict, the story doesn’t exist. And the more conflict you create, the more drama, suspense, and action there is to behold. And in a heist sequence, obstacles represent that necessary conflict. You reveal those obstacles while the team goes through the plan.

How you share this plan with the audience is up to you, but it’s best to find a creative or visual way to do so. The Mission: Impossible films usually show the visual implementation of the plan as the exposition of it is being explained in voiceover.

And those very same films change things up by showing the plan in different ways. In the first film, we see the key locations and obstacles that they need to overcome.

But the script keeps us in the dark as far as how the team is going to do this.

In Rogue Nation , we see their plan in the works, complete with the various ways that it could fail.

Whichever way you choose to creatively communicate the plan is up to you. Just make sure it’s not just characters talking. That’s the worst and most boring way to convey the information.

Once the plan is set into motion, the formula requires you to build tension.

Building Tension

Tension is key to a successful heist sequence. You want to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

Ticking Clock

A ticking clock is the easiest way to enhance the tension of the plan. We know the characters will face obstacles, but when the time to overcome them is limited, the tension grows.

In Mission: Impossible , the ticking clock is the return of the employee who mans the high-security room.

In Rogue Nation , the ticking clock is a literal ticking clock.

You showcase this ticking clock with visual clues.

Visual Clues

Visual clues are what reminds the audience of obstacles and the ticking clock. When we see the obstacles that were explained to us by the team as they hatched their plan, the tension builds. When we see reminders of the ticking clock, the tension builds even more. But then everything must go wrong.

Everything Must Go Wrong

Obstacles and ticking clocks aren’t enough to create standout heist sequences. When the plan goes awry, every pre-conceived notion of the heist is shattered. Now the audience doesn’t know what to expect. And this is where you engage them the most. This is when the characters are experiencing a crisis.

By showing the audience visual clues and introducing a ticking clock, you inform them enough to know when something is going to go wrong.

In Mission: Impossible , Ethan Hunt falls towards the sensored floor, missing it by inches. Then we watch as a drip of sweat runs down his glasses and falls towards the touch-sensitive floor. He catches it just in time.

When he recovers and achieves his goal, he’s pulled up by part of the team. But the noise-sensitive sensors are picking up the sound from his rope being dragged over the vent.

This crisis where everything goes wrong is set up through the visual cues that have already been established. And the ticking clock visual cue of the employee returning to the room is the final ingredient to the fantastic tension-filled sequence.

Phase Three: The Plot Thickens

In both Mission: Impossible and Rogue Nation , the first heist sequences fall right around the 50-minute mark of each film.

They feel like the climax of the movie, but there’s still an act and a half to go.

When the Protagonist gets what they want, they soon discover that what they thought was their main goal actually wasn’t. The plot thickens.

This is usually the point where the Fake-Ally Opponent is revealed, either only to the audience or to the Protagonist and the rest of the team. Or whatever variation.

Now the Protagonist’s goal changes. A new desire is created. And the first two phases of this heist sequence formula resets, only with new information, new questions that need to be answered, evolved or enhances obstacles, new obstacles, new team dynamics, and bigger stakes.

Read More: Hasta La Vista, Baby: The Best 90s Action Movies

The Goal >Desire+Team+Fake-Ally Opponent+ Obstacles >Plan+Building Tension+Ticking Clock+Visual Cues+Everything Must Go Wrong+Crisis+ The Plot Thickens = Thrilling Heist Sequences.

That’s the Mission: Impossible Formula to writing thrilling heist sequences.

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Writing The Heist Novel: 7 Character Tips

Heist fiction is not easy to write. It’s fast paced and twisty, and it takes a lot of characters.

Over the last two Wednesday posts, I’ve been throwing open the vault and letting out all crime writing secrets. If you need to catch up, you can get more help for your story with Tips for Writing a Heist and Picking the Loot . This week I’m talking about the characters.

Building any fictional heist crew starts with the same foundation as any other successful team: mutual self-interest and a certain level of professional courtesy. A bit of faith that the other team members know their jobs well enough not to get the rest of the group killed is a serious plus.

So here are 7 tips for creating a likeable gang of thieves.

1. Load up on leadership skills: The heist team is a basic pyramid structure. Someone needs to be at the top keeping everyone else in line. For me the path to creating a cheer-worthy heist crew started with a capable leader. I recommend packing this main character with all the attributes of a great boss. Make them smart, organized, and a good communicator. They should know how to delegate, how to take input from others, but be willing to make the difficult decisions.

2. Give the crew better than average looks and a lot of charisma:  Who doesn’t love the idea of the sophisticated cat burglar? Having good-looking characters often plays into the story. You usually see it in the form of the decoy, or as the romantic subplot. The team needs to have enough charm to talk their way out of any sticky situation.

3 . Shun the guns: This is critical for helping to create likeability. You don’t want the crew to engage in boundary crossing behaviors. No killing people.  Make sure the crooks fight with their equals, or someone perceived as stronger. No picking on someone who is smaller and weaker. If the likeable crew gets aggressive, it’s after suitable provocation.

4. Show some emotion: A good heist boss shows he cares by engaging with the team, noticing their good work and helping them solve their problems. The team mirrors this affection back toward the leader in the form of respect, playful teasing and distress when something goes wrong.

6. Don’t skimp on humor: A touch of awkwardness, some goofy pranks, anything from fast one-liners to someone falling out of a chair, can create a few laughs and make the characters, even crooks, seem more friendly and approachable. It’s not mandatory the story drip with the funny stuff, but a heist needs some tension breaking moments.

7. Include negatives to overcome: The nature of an anti-hero is they evolve. Don’t forget to throw in a few negative behaviors for your characters to conquer. Maybe one of your team is always watching for signs of a double-cross, it makes them jumpy and short-tempered. Later you can reveal the secret of a past partner’s betrayal and show them lowering their guard and learning to trust again.

Since I’m prone to writing stories with lots of characters, I’ve written a few posts on building large character casts. If you haven’t written anything with 20 or more characters, you might find one of my other posts helpful:  Assembly Required or The Do’s and Don’ts of Getting a Group Together .

Casting my characters was the only time I found watching films useful. That was when I learned heists and capers are surprisingly formulaic films. And they share a large number of trope characters. Have some fun, grab a stack of DVDs and a notebook. If you find a new way to make heist characters more likeable, please share your idea in the comments area.

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Author: Robin Rivera

Robin trained as a professional historian and worked as a museum curator, educator, and historical consultant. She writes mystery fiction, with diverse characters and a touch of snark. She's currently working on two new manuscripts that started off as NaNoWriMo projects. You can follow her on Facebook(https://www.facebook.com/robin.rivera.90813). However, Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/RRWrites/) is where her inner magpie is happiest of all. View all posts by Robin Rivera

8 thoughts on “Writing The Heist Novel: 7 Character Tips”

• Pingback: Throwback Thursday: My Endless Tolkien Series part 15 | Sourcerer
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I am enjoying these. Haven’t had much time to comment this week, but this is good stuff. Nice analysis of the genre going on here.

Does this: “Make them smart, organized, and a good communicator.” Sound like a blogger you know? LOL.

The bits about not picking on the weaker or getting aggressive without provocation are critical to the likeability factory.

And with rogues, charisma always helps, never hurts.

Hi Gene’O, It was a crazy week for me too, so I know what you mean.

Yes, that does sound like someone I know, someone with world domination on his mind. You would have my vote for heist leader!

Writing about criminals is not easy, you have to find something to help readers relate.

I don’t think I’ve seen the Italian job but I liked Ocean’s 11 (and 12, I think I was burnt out by 13) and I agree with you and DL about Leverage. I miss that show.

The Heist post series has been fun and informative. Thanks.

Hi, Leverage had a great mix of crimes, they did a lot of cons as well as some heists. Try to see at least one version of The Italian Job, I think you’ll like it.

The Italian Job is one of my favorite movies and the crew in it embodies everything you just wrote about. Another crew that I can think of is from television…LEVERAGE. So…so writing, but the make up of the crew was spot-on. 🙂

Thanks DL. I liked the second Italian Job better. The part with Minis is amazing in the second one, more comical in the first one. I also liked Leverage, they had nice cast chemistry with that show.

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100 crime fiction writing prompts

November 26, 2023 by Richard Leave a Comment

100 Crime Fiction Writing Prompts

Have you ever wanted to write a thrilling crime story but struggled to come up with an intriguing plot or nail-biting scenario? Look no further! This comprehensive list contains 100 crime fiction writing prompts specially crafted to spark your creative genius.

From unsolved murder mysteries and hostage situations gone awry to art heists, assassination plots, and cyber extortion schemes, these prompts run the gamut of thrilling criminal exploits. Whether you prefer gritty police procedurals, cozy small town whodunits, historical crime tales, or even supernatural thriller subgenres, you’re guaranteed to find death-defying storylines bursting with cliffhanger twists.

The prompts utilize popular hooks related to missing persons, forensic investigations, secret identities, conspiracy theories, revenge plots, antagonist mind games, criminal underworlds and more to grab reader attention fast. There are also creative takes on serial killers, prison breaks, robbery capers and other high-stakes scenarios, with unexpected perspectives that invert tropes in refreshing ways.

So power up your laptop and dig into these original prompts conceived to set free the groundbreaking crime writer lurking within you. Let clever criminals and cunning detectives come alive on the page while you craft the next breakout police drama, legal thriller or mystery saga!

Here are 100 crime fiction writing prompts:

• A detective wakes up with amnesia and has to solve their own case to figure out who they are.
• A hacker accidentally stumbles upon plans for an assassination plot and has to go on the run.
• After a family member is murdered, a grief-stricken protagonist becomes obsessed with solving the crime themselves.
• A serial killer taunts the police with cryptic clues about their next victim.
• A small town sheriff has to track down thieves after a priceless historical artifact is stolen from the local museum.
• An undercover cop infiltrates a dangerous smuggling ring but soon finds themselves in too deep.
• After their spouse mysteriously disappears, an increasingly paranoid protagonist isn’t sure who to trust – not even themselves.
• On the way back from visiting a prisoner, a prison transport bus crashes and all the dangerous criminals escape.
• A murdered socialite has a secret life that is only discovered after their death – they were living under an assumed identity.
• A detective keeps getting mysterious blank postcards in the mail signed only with the letter ‘X’. What do they mean?
• After a high stakes casino heist, the only witness is a cocktail waitress who can identify the thieves.
• An arson investigator suspects that a deadly fire was deliberately set to cover up a murder.
• A blackmailed politician turns the tables and sets out to uncover their extorter’s secrets instead.
• The sudden death of a Science teacher appears to have been poison – but no dangerous chemicals are missing from the high school lab.
• The murder of a reclusive train enthusiast is made to look like a suicide – but why would anyone want them dead?
• After a hostage situation goes wrong, a hostage negotiator has to track down the perpetrator who escaped.
• The star witness in a high profile trial is kidnapped on their way to testify. Can they be rescued in time?
• A package thief ends up stealing deadly explosives and has to work with police to prevent a terrorist attack.
• The murder of a highly skilled thief baffles police – who would be capable of outsmarting them?
• A forensic accountant notices anomalies in a company’s books and ends up uncovering a huge financial conspiracy.
• After an attempt is made on their life, an investigative journalist goes underground to expose who wants them dead.
• A string of unusual deaths are linked to a new app that seems to know people’s greatest fears. How does it work – and how does it choose its victims?
• A pickpocket snatches the wrong phone belonging to a member of dangerous gang.
• The murder of a reclusive train enthusiast appears to have been poison – but why would anyone want them dead?
• Security camera footage that could identify a killer is erased in what seems to be an inside job.
• A cold case is reopened after a confession letter detailing the crime arrives at the police station – but the alleged killer has been dead for 10 years.
• A wealthy widow’s sudden death means a new heir stands to inherit everything. But suspicious details emerge suggesting murder.
• After a politician’s aide dies under mysterious circumstances, the PR team goes into overdrive to prevent a scandal.
• A Rabbi, a Priest and an Imam walk into the public library and never check out the religious books they borrowed – then they all disappear without at trace.
• After a deadly yacht fire, investigators realize there’s only one person who couldn’t have started the blaze that killed a powerful senator.
• Museum security thought the antique bracelet was safely in the glass case – but that night, the mint condition item goes missing without a trace.
• A single snowy footprint outside a remote mountain cabin marks the scene of a grisly murder. But when forensics tries to match it, the print doesn’t belong to any of the suspects.
• A down and out boxer is the only witness to a drive-by shooting, but can’t afford to break his mafia-controlled code of silence to identify the killer.
• An assassin discovers their own name is next on their boss’s hit list, marking them as a loose end now that the major target is dead.
• The murder of a skilled prosecutor threatens to derail the mob trial of the century – until an FBI agent gets an unlikely tip from a petty criminal.
• Cleaning out her aunt’s attic, a woman discovers clues that the beloved relative was living a double life with a hidden crime agenda.
• A drug smuggler crash lands a plane full of cocaine and goes on the run from gangsters, the law and a dirty DEA agent.
• The star of bag lady hides in hoards and shadows turns out to be a brilliant ex-chemist with a penchant for poison and going unnoticed.
• A cold case detective refuses to accept the explanation when the autopsy report rules his star witness’ death as natural causes.
• The ashes of cremated corpses start turning up in random locations far from the graveyard and someone is definitely keeping them. But why?
• Two violent rival crime syndicates discover they’ve both been answering to the same shadowy boss who has now turned them against each other as a distraction from their own crimes.
• A villain with a peculiar blood fetish is draining victims completely dry before posing their bodies grotesquely around the city. But what is being done with all that precious red elixir?
• A pair of clever grifters turn the tables on a ruthless gang lord who wants them dead – by stealthily stealing his identity and emptying his bank accounts before disappearing forever.
• A surrogate mother carrying high value designer embryos worth a fortune is kidnapped in broad daylight. But when she turns up safe and sound with no memory of what happened, investigators grow suspicious.
• A murder investigation threatens to blow open the dark family secrets of a powerful senator when it’s linked back to his troubled socialite sister’s mysterious death years prior.
• The shocking death of a prominent anti-technology leader halts the passage of a sweeping new ban on AI research – but not before they mail out one final ominous manifesto foretelling the dangers ahead if development continues.
• A psychiatrist secretly battles his own dark urges and split personality while working to develop a psychological profile of the surrounding city’s elusive serial killer.
• The lone survivor of a horrific massacre at a remote farmhouse recounts conflicting memories about a sinister apocalyptic cult and the unexplained phenomenon that claimed 18 lives.
• A fortune in antique gold coins is stolen from a museum opening exhibit thanks to a switched shipping crate, a well-placed forgery…and an unseen mastermind.
• The gruesome Chairman Murders targeting the wealthy elite confound investigators with the macabre death tableaus left behind featuring the faces of beheaded corporation heads.
• A ruthless vigilante hacks into live TV broadcasts to deliver video manifestos exposing government and corporate corruption then carries out bold assassinations.
• A suspiciously untraceable new drug causes mass violence and chaos in prisons and inner cities while the affluent manufacturer cashes in on increased law enforcement budgets
• A devious duo therapists turn vulnerable patients into hypnotized sleeper agents to act out assassination attempts, robberies, and more so they can get rich analyzing the suspects after arrest.
• A murderous rideshare driver continually slips through the grasp of authorities thanks to hundreds of false identities being generated via algorithm to game the startup’s lax background checks.
• A warmongering arms dealer sells weapons to both sides of every global conflict through shell companies and legal loopholes while living protected and thriving under political asylum abroad.
• The desperate copycat crimes of a dangerous shooting spree fanatic escalate while an expert researcher delves into the disturbed psyche profile and motives of the still unidentified perpetrator they named “Shooter X”.
• An assassin struggles with intensifying schizophrenia and violent impulses while working against the clock as each hit risks exposing more psychological instability
• A regretful criminal genius – known for only stealing high profile masterpieces and replacing them with expert replicas – initiates their own hunt to track down where their stolen originals disappeared to when fences didn’t sell to any interested collectors.
• The lone survivor of a tragic avalanche that claimed the lives of nine wealthy socialite friends becomes the subject of dark rumors questioning the official story of the freak mid-May snowstorm.
• A driven journalist follows paper trails left behind by an anonymous whistleblower leading all the way through shell corporations to the CEO of a private military company selling clandestine services. But once the leader’s secret illegal operations are exposed far darker revelations about human experimentation surface.
• A cunning murderer makes an elaborate show of appearing to follow advice from a prominent psychiatrist to throw investigations off the trail of their connection to a spree of nurse killings staged like grotesque mercy killings.
• An online marketplace overflowing with illegal goods and criminal connections launches a wave of blackmail, extortion campaigns, and bizarre stings against politicians and celebrities leading back to its shadowy founders.
• A skilled investigator finds their own custom-ordered engagement ring hanging around the neck of a headless torso pulled from a river and realizes they’ve been framed by the very serial killer they are chasing.
• A murderous rideshare driver with hundreds of false identities blames a traumatic brain injury for increasingly bizarre delusions inspiring ritualistic kills all tied to the GPS voice directions.
• A ruthless South American cartel battles law enforcement, gang rivals, informants while rapidly exploiting vulnerable populations with a dangerously addictive synthetic street drug made and trafficked at catastrophic scale.
• A principled crusading journalist bent on exposing the rampant corruption surrounding an ambitious infrastructure mega project keeps receiving gruesome messages and bloody “gifts” warning them away from certain greedy public figures before it’s too late.
• A scrappy TV reporter relentlessly investigates hospital financial irregularities only to end up drugged and involuntarily committed by villainous administrators – can they break out and finally break the scandal & corruption story wide open?
• An eccentric chemistry teacher’s valuable original research is stolen after their suspicious apparent suicide and former students race shady biotech reps to be the first to unlock and exploit the dangerous experimental technology.
• An FBI profiler’s own twisted mentor puts her skills to the test setting increasingly elaborate psychological traps centered around his intricate murder scenes positioned as a deadly challenge to solve his ultimate mystery.
• A brilliant psychologist gets trapped in an intense battle of wits against a sinister and elusive serial bomber who stages their intricate, high profile attacks as “tests” for the investigator to pass.
• A skilled safecracker tries to pull off one last monumental heist to disappear forever only to get embroiled in the cutthroat competition between two powerful crime syndicates because the treasure they steal is far deadlier than cash.
• A framed politician out for justice and redemption must reluctantly team up with the brilliant fraudster who orchestrated their downfall when a mutual enemy has deadly blackmail to leverage over both.
• A twisted voyeur places their own cameras amid an unsuspecting couple’s intimate belongings and monitors their home life while privately engineering cruel schemes that deteriorate their relationship.
• The survivor of a mysterious plane crash uncovers unsettling clues suggesting the flight was sabotaged as part of a complex heist targeting a reclusive passenger’s priceless modern artwork collection being covertly transported.
• After a shocking public shooting reveals his best assassin has potentially betrayed him going rogue a calculating crime boss must track down the skilled killer before their valuable secrets get exposed.
• A profiler hunting a deranged escapee must delve back into her own troubled past for insight when her fugitive twin sister becomes the prime suspect behind increasingly unhinged murders.
• A freak accident during a casino heist gives a thief sudden clairvoyant abilities to foresee disastrous fates allowing them to rescue others but not cheat their own deadly destiny if they interfere too much.
• An eccentric investigator descending into amusing madness nonetheless continues cracking cold cases wide open while hunting clever serial killers who staged strange deaths as avant garde public art displays.
• The discovery of a mutilated corpse buried beneath a beloved public monument ignites an explosive investigation exposing the prominent historic site as a homicide hotbed used by serial killers for decades without detection.
• A skilled detective troubled by grief after her partner’s death comes out of retirement when a mysterious unsolved murder from their past serves as a calling card by the sinister killer who previously eluded them.
• A master hacker slowly driven mad by obsessively decrypting uncrackable files spirals while hunting an elusive group of cyber terrorists planning orchestrate a cataclysmic global system crash.
• A rogue special agent once renowned for leading daring capture missions now wages a one man war of vengeance away from oversight battling murderous mercenaries, gun runners, assassins and the corrupt bureaucrats who enabled them.
• A principled CIA analyst has her idealism tested finding herself drawn into the moral grey areas of covert action while uncovering destabilizing secrets hidden in classified documents leaked by an equally radicalized hacker.
• A cunning thief specializing in infiltrating wealthy estates to steal priceless art begins receiving disturbing threats warning she is being targeted by one of her victim’s relatives seeking personal revenge through relentless mind games.
• While investigating her own mentor’s mysterious death in a high tech laboratory explosion, a brilliant chemist makes shocking discoveries revealing his classified research into illegal biochemical weapons funded by corrupt government sources.
• A seasoned hostage negotiator still riddled with PTSD guilt from his last case tries to resolve the volatile standoff peacefully unaware it is a complex trap set up by old rivals manipulating both sides from the shadows.
• An eccentric forensic archaeologist uses unconventional methods to excavate hidden evidence among historical mass disaster sites leading back to the prime suspect in his mentor’s still unsolved strange demise years ago.
• A skilled safecracker gets recruited by INTERPOL to serve reduced prison time helping them investigate a sophisticated network of high stakes thieves specializing in elaborate heists targeting the world’s most secure bank vaults and museums.
• A tenacious journalist risks his life chasing propagated conspiracy theories about seemingly natural disasters actually being cover-ups for catastrophic weapons experiments while powerful forces close in trying to silence him permanently.
• A principled FBI whistleblower implicated in a violent confrontation gone wrong is deemed rogue before he can expose the unsettling classified experiments brainwashing ordinary citizens into unwitting sleeper agents activated to carry out deadly deeds then self-destruct.
• A brilliant analyst’s groundbreaking predictive data models forecasting local crime trends and patterns reveal the seemingly random city violence hides an elaborately choreographed unseen criminal network orchestrating events from behind the scenes via algorithm.
• A resourceful paramedic finds herself entangled in an intricate conspiracy after her brother is assassinated on a rescue call she attended requiring her to take on the mercenaries who have also weaponized the automated emergency alert network to mask murders.
• A skilled arson investigator returns to her rural hometown when a raging wildfire threatens to reach the isolated commune where she endured a troubled childhood only to uncover the shocking truth – her mother radicalized the cult into becoming extremists intentionally setting blazes for a cause.
• A rising nonprofits star fundraiser finds himself uncovering baffling financial crimes hiding amongst the charity galas, donations, and devoted volunteers requiring him to discreetly investigate powerful figures willing to kill to keep their lucrative secrets hidden.
• A cunning antiques thief pockets a vintage music box containing a cryptic treasure map kicking off a thrilling race against rival criminals all desperate to reach the undisclosed locations first and claim the remarkable rewards waiting to be excavated.
• A skilled skip tracer focusing on particularly puzzling people who have disappeared without a trace makes her most bewildering find yet when she locates a prominent CEO living under a false name inexplicably managing a small town diner with no memory of his actual identity.
• An unconventional psychologist known for hypnotizing clients to access repressed memories orchestrates his own disappearance after hinting at dangerous experimental breakthroughs but the investigation reveals more happened in his final sessions than treatment.
• A clever con artist scams grief stricken wealthy widowers by manipulating them during their times of mourning except her latest mark hiding a twisted secret threatens to turn the tables making her the vulnerable target instead.
• A cunning antiquities expert curating a new exhibit centered around the infamous dark legends of eternally cursed ancient artifacts has an alarming accident befall his restoration team forcing him to reluctantly consider if the ominous mythic histories hold truth after all.
• An eccentric private investigator’s seemingly mundane missing person case takes a bizarrely supernatural twist when the spiritualist medium they unwillingly team up with to conjure answers ends up possessed by the very ghost who holds the key to unlocking the mystery disappearance.

We hope you enjoyed our 100 crime fiction writing prompts and that they helped you create some amazing work. We have many other writing prompts on our site that you may find helpful. Leave us a comment below.

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About Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) has worked for literary magazines and literary websites for the last 25 years. He holds degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology and Education. Richard has headed many writing workshops and courses, and he has taught writing and literature for the last 20 years.  

In writing and publishing he has worked with independent, small, medium and large publishers for years connecting publishers to authors. He has also worked as a journalist and editor in both magazine, newspaper and trade publications as well as in the medical publishing industry.   Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page .

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• The Heist Genre Cliche Thread

Author Topic: The Heist Genre Cliche Thread  (Read 1550 times)

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No seriously.... what movie are you thinking of?

How many movies involve the thief having to interact with the target in some nice public event, a ball or something?

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Creative hobbies may greatly benefit mental health

Painting, woodworking, writing: Whatever you turn to creatively, it could equal or exceed work in terms of maintaining mental health, new research shows.

"Crafting and other artistic activities showed a meaningful effect in predicting people's sense that their life is worthwhile," said study lead author Dr. Helen Keyes , of Anglia Ruskin University in Britain. Advertisement

"Indeed, the impact of crafting was bigger than the impact of being in employment," she added. "Not only does crafting give us a sense of achievement, it is also a meaningful route to self-expression. This is not always the case with employment."

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Folks were asked about their level of participation in cultural, digital and sporting activities.

People were also queried about their levels of loneliness and "sensations of happiness, anxiety and life satisfaction, and to give their impression of whether life is worthwhile," according to a journal news release.

More than a third (37.4%) of respondents said they'd been involved in some kind of arts or crafts activity over the past month. Advertisement

People who engaged in a creative pursuit scored higher in terms of happiness, life satisfaction and the sense that life is worthwhile, compared to folks who weren't involved in arts or crafts, the researchers found.

"The well-being effects were present even after we accounted for things like employment status and level of deprivation," Keyes said in a journal news release. "It seems that crafting can contribute positively to your well-being above and beyond these other aspects of your life."

Perhaps because many arts and crafts are done while alone, engagement didn't seem to affect people's levels of loneliness.

The study was only designed to show associations, so it could not prove cause and effect.

In her own life, Keyes said she's an avid devotee of DIY projects such as painting and decorating.

"There is certainly something immensely satisfying about seeing the results of your work appear before your eyes," she said. "It feels great to focus on one task and engage your mind creatively."

Policymakers might want to take guidance from the new findings, Keyes said.

"Governments and national health services might consider funding and promoting crafting, or even socially prescribing these activities for at-risk populations, as part of a promotion and prevention approach to well-being and mental health," she said. Advertisement

More information

Find out more about the benefits of being creative at the American Psychiatric Association .

Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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Julianne Hough Had an ‘Awakening’ While Writing New Novel, Everything We Never Knew (Exclusive)

"I feel more clarity and understanding of what matters to me and what I want to put out into the world … I feel creative. I feel so in love," Hough tells PEOPLE

Julianne Hough has a story, and she’s ready to share it. 

In 2020, while going through what she calls a “huge transformational period,” Hough asked herself, “How can I create something that I can pour my experiences into without giving all of my details away, but that we'll all be able to relate to?” 

The result — after four years of introspection and writing — is Everything We Never Knew , a novel rooted in the 36-year-old’s life experiences. “What I found, it’s so overused and cliché but it really was an awakening,” Hough tells PEOPLE about writing the book, which comes out on Aug. 13, with author Ellen Goodlett. She adds, “I was starting to feel things and see things and have these really heightened awarenesses and senses activated in a way that I was like, ‘Whoa, this feels like magic and nobody's going to understand this because this is wild’.”

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The Dancing With the Stars host channeled this “magic” into the story of a woman named Lexi who realizes that she can feel other people’s emotions and see into their personal memories. But that ability comes at a cost: she must also confront her past, which she has tried hard to suppress.

“I realized I can use the universal themes that everybody experiences: loss, grief, abandonment, betrayal, violation, all these things that we experience as the human collective,” Hough says. “I've been very, very intentional the last four years of just being as authentic and real as I can and not worrying about the narrative from the outside in, but from the inside out.”

Connecting with the character she was writing meant gaining a better understanding of herself, something Hough admits was not easy to do.

“It just opened this new curiosity up for me, and it started unraveling all the systems of protection that I had put into place for myself to keep me totally fine,” the Safe Haven actress says. “It was not the most easy journey to go through, but it was the one that allowed for all parts of me to exist, come out and then really, truly have a clean slate of who I am and what my intention is in this next phase of life.”

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

As Hough did the work of recognizing “patterns and behaviors that were hiding her from her best, highest self," she had to dig deeper than she originally expected.

“I thought all of my trauma really was from 10 years old to 15, but I've realized, ‘Oh my gosh, I had so much before that’,” Hough recalls. “Our parents do the best job that they know how to do in the moment, so it's not about blaming or shunning or shaming. It's about acknowledging, confronting and then recognizing that we can take ourselves and heal generational wounds.”

Hough says her life now feels like it is in full blossom. “I really feel like a harvest, like an absolute abundance of planting seeds for many years, unraveling things that weren't working before,” she says. “I feel more clarity and understanding of what matters to me and what I want to put out into the world … I feel creative. I feel so in love.”

While the Footloose actress says she is not in love with anyone or anything specifically, she tells PEOPLE she is ready to open her heart again after separating from ex-husband Brooks Laich in 2020 and divorcing in 2022 .

“I needed time for myself. I needed to sit in the uncomfortable stillness of, ‘I feel so alone right now’,” Hough says. “I will say in the last year and a half, my heart has been able to start opening ... I have so much love to give. I cannot wait to pour it out.”

As she looks ahead to her book release, Hough is excited for people to connect with the story. “My experiences from this book, Lexi's experiences in this book, I don't think that they are unique to individuals,” she says. “I think that everybody has the ability to tap into these spiritual senses, and it's all about timing. It's about openness, curiosity and willingness to surrender to what's possible.”

Never miss a story — sign up for  PEOPLE's free daily newsletter  to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

As for the next chapter in her life story, Hough is taking her own advice and welcoming whatever comes next. “I want to just be in a place that feels really easy, calm and vibrant, and allow things to come in that are supposed to be for me,” she says. “The fear of change has turned into the joy of transformation.”

Everything We Never Knew  is out Aug. 13 from Sourcebooks Landmark and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.

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Discussions about the writing craft.

Wanted to try a ‘heist’ story by misleading the audience.

The title isn’t supposed to make sense at first but it’s called “A Book of Meaningless Conversation” and it follows several mostly sardonic and over the top short stories.

Each one covers a new character as they attempt to do some sort of crime, the first one being a gas station robbery where they bother the cops several times before actually robbing the place in order to ensure they don’t come back, and several other stories where characters do unconventional methods of committing different crimes.

They seem totally unrelated, but by the final chapter I reveal that they’re all part of a team that’s going to rob a high end establishment for the finale, only for it to fail miserably as the reality of their antics sets in.

Best way I can sum it up is if you took the self narration aspect of fight club and combined it with a goofy heist flick. How interesting does it sound?

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Creative Writing doctoral student Abhijit Sarmah named for the second consecutive year as finalist for major poetry fellowship

For the second year in a row, UGA doctoral student Abhijit Sarmah is among 12 finalists for the  2024 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships . The five Fellowship recipients, who were announced today , will each receive $27,000 and an invitation to publish in  Poetry magazine . All 12 finalists will receive a stipend to attend a professional development opportunity of their choice.

The Poetry Foundation awards five Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships annually. Among the largest awards offered to young poets in the US, the prize is intended to support exceptional US poets between 21 and 31 years of age. The fellowships were established in 1989 by the Indianapolis philanthropist Ruth Lilly and expanded in 2013 with a gift from the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Fund.

“Being named a finalist for the prestigious Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship is really an honor. I am deeply grateful to Professor LeAnne Howe, Professor Barbara McCaskill, Professor Andrew Zawacki and Professor Aruni Kashyap for their support and guidance throughout the application process for this fellowship and beyond. Their faith in my work inspires me to keep achieving bigger milestones. Also heartfelt thanks to the wonderful folks at Willson Center— especially Professor Nicholas Allen, Winnie Smith and Dave Marr— who provide opportunities to interact with prominent poets like A.E. Stallings and Stephen Sexton. Those interactions have taught me a lot, including how to navigate the literary world and edit my own work.” -Abhijit Sarmah

A UGA Arts Lab Graduate Fellow and Ruth Pack Scholar, Sarmah is working on a hybrid memoir and a poetry collection, tentatively titled  Potential Insurgent . Apart from his scholarly and creative work, he volunteers for various events and organizations at UGA, and was a selection committee member for Backlight Student Film Festival, a planning committee member for the International Street Festival and social chair for the English Graduate Organisation. He was awarded a 2024 Michael G. Moran Graduate Student Award by the Department of English at UGA. Currently, he is serving as the guest editor of poetry for  The Headlight Review (Kennesaw State University). 

"I have worked with Abhijit Sarmah for two years at the University of Georgia. A son of Assam, India, Sarmah's poetry is a kaleidoscope of emotions and images provoked by the Indian army’s indiscriminate violence in Assam. Sarmah writes from the experiences of a young man whose friends must flee to survive, violence against his loved ones at the hands of Indian soldiers and numerous events that made many around him take arms against their own country. Yet, Abhijit's poetry is not just an exploration of Indian army's cruelty against the Assamese, it's also a vehicle for memories of a brother's laughter, his sister's experiments in cooking, adventures with boyhood friends, and the community of townspeople he grew up with. His work blisters the heart." -LeAnne Howe  Eidson Distinguished Professor of American Literature &  Director of the Institute of Native American Studies

“This honor speaks to the strength of Abhijit’s work. We are very proud to have him as a student in our PhD program!” -Magdalena Zurawski  Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing &  Director of Creative Writing

Abhijit Sarmah

Abhijit Sarmah is a poet and researcher specializing in Indigenous literatures. He holds a Master of Philosophy (MPhil.) degree from Dibrugarh University, India and is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Georgia in Athens GA, USA. He is also a UGA Arts Lab Graduate Fellow (2022-25) and has received such honors as the Ruth Pack Scholarship from the Institute of Native American Studies and Michael G. Moran Graduate Student Award from the Department of English at UGA. His work has been published in a range of print and online journals, including Poetry , The Margins , Lunch Ticket , Glassworks Magazine , Porter House Review , and The Lincoln Review . Sarmah was a finalist for the prestigious Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships for two consecutive years (2023 and 2024) and has received nominations for the Best of the Net and The Pushcart Prize.

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