I'm a pretty inexperienced writer, but I've had a few ideas for stories that I've saved up and finally decided to do something with. One of them has a more fleshed out plot and is comparitively short, so I thought it'd be a good place to start! (Sorry if this gets a little long.) It's a detective story that takes place on a closed-off island off of the British coast. I'm hoping to turn it into a comic aimed for kids/teens, or people who just like comics, haha. (I have an art background as opposed to a writing one.) I'm just having a bit of trouble with the setting. One of the major plot points/reveals is that the island is actually a safe-haven for criminals. From the surface it looks like a small community of farmers and fishermen, but everyone (or nearly everyone) is a former thief/con artist/whatever that has assumed a new identity. They lead a fake life here as an alternative to facing the sentences for their past crimes. The island itself has its own laws, namely that there is no law enforcement and the residents are allowed to take the things into their own hands. The only unacceptable offense is murder, which can get you banished. I already have some ideas for the history of this place and how it was concieved, but I guess my big hangup is that this concept seems pretty far-fetched, even though it's crucial to the plot as it is now. Since it's a kid-friendly story I can allow a little "cartoon logic," But I can't help feeling like it opens up some major questions. I've been able to come up with answers for some, like, what incentive does the rest of the world have to let this place exist? (Maybe the criminals pay off their respective governments to be allowed to live here.) And, since it's a detective story, what incentive would the criminals have to do crimes here? (Maybe they plan to leave the island eventually, and hide out somewhere else with their spoils.) I might be overthinking this, but I really would appreciate a "fresh pair of eyes" to help identify some of these holes. Before I get super attatched to the concept, I'd really like to be able to patch things up and understand how a community like this could exist in the first place. That, or I could figure out how to rework it in some way. Thanks!!
Societies such as the one you're describing have existed. Tortuga, the hole in the wall, and there have been many fictional creations on this theme as well, "Escape from New York" comes to mind right off the bat. All I can advise is 'Go for It!' Put something on paper and let's see what you come up with.
Funnily enough, I hadn't considered looking up real-world inspirations for this idea! These sorts of places have always seemed weirdly ficticious to me, but I guess Hollywood movies about pirates and cowboys will do that, lol. I'll have to do some reading. (I've never heard of Escape from New York, but it looks fun! At least good for a movie night.)
The problem with parasytes is that they need hosts. If no one is producing anything, there's nothing for the criminals to take. How are they making a living? Who (And why) is bringing all the neccesary stuff to this island? Are they living just like normal folks, fishing and farming their own food? It definetely needs some thought. Maybe there's a "fence" who sails to the island regularly and sells these people all kinds of stuff in exchange for the stolen property that they have.
I have trouble with the idea that the island would also have no law. It sounds like that would be a situation where the island is constantly at war, and where each person would have to have their own private army. I find it much easier to believe that the island doesn't care about crimes committed elsewhere, but it has extremely strict laws within the island's borders. And that would be profitable--the residents would profit from their crimes elsewhere, and pay substantial taxes (or maybe just "dues", because what are the odds that criminals will declare their income?) to the island, in exchange for which they would receive protection and a place where they can have a peaceful retreat between crimes.
Ah, so what I'm getting is that this society works way better as an open one rather than being closed off. ElConesa, I do like the fence idea, especially in tandem with Chickenfreak's idea to let the criminals steal stuff elsewhere. Maybe the island itself is where they come to sell their booty. The villagers on the island (past criminals themselves?) act as the fences. I think the only reason I wanted to close it off in the first place was to give the MC a reason to be stuck there. On the other hand, given that they're a problem-solving type, the mystery surrounding the place alone should be enough reason for them to stay. This is already way more helpful than sitting around and trying to identify this stuff on my own, thank you!
Solar- I haven't heard of it, but it looks up my alley, haha. This definitely draws some inspirations from cozy mystery shows like Grantchester and Rosemary and Thyme. (My guilty pleasures.) With a little Nancy Drew/Tintin mixed in I guess, the MC is supposed to be a child genius or savant of some sort!
You might want to look at Nassau during the time it was controlled by pirates. The code of conduct they used could be particularly helpful to your worldbuilding. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Pirates
Didn't we call that one Australia? It also sounds like some place you could see in Pirates of the Carribean film. Don't fret it, it's been done before and successfully. Just do the story, have fun with it.
In the book Fire Dancer, by Anne Maxwell, there was a society where everything was legal if it was properly licensed. It's been thirty years since I read it, so my memory is a little fuzzy, but I do remember that the MC goes to a casino and wins quite a bit of money in some game with an adversary. He seems upset by it, so she calls the concierge over and purchases a Murderer's License. Without it, if she were to kill someone, the full force of the law would come down on her, but properly licensed? No problems.
You can use information of real world criminal safe havens to help you. There are kleptocracies. Google about them. There are countries that are between kleptocracy and police state. Google about them. There are very corrupted countries. Google. There are warm places that habit huge amount of rich criminals. (Rich Russian criminals are easiest to trail. They swarm.) Google. If off shore banking is the main industry of some country, you are on the track. Google. If some country cultivates more poppy/coca/cannabis than food you are on the trail. Google. If prostitution is among 10 biggest industries, it's one type of what you are looking for. But you must understand one thing: safe haven for criminals is not a safe haven for criminals. It is a safe haven for money. And it is not safe nor haven. Criminals in the administration + police + military +... want to have money that criminals want to keep.
