It's probably me who should be apologizing. 'Insulting' was a little harsh. My real point, however poorly I made it, was that there aren't really any new ideas, and excessive worrying about one's story being stolen has paralyzed more than one writer into never writing at all. It isn't the idea for your story that sells it - it's how well you tell it.
Snatch is a good movie to watch if you want a varied array of (mostly British) thugs to draw inspiration from.
It sounds like ethnicity is not of interest to you since you would've just asked if that's what you were after. To show that they are thugs, you would want to show the reader their values, interests, the contrast between the lacking social skills of the followers to the sophistication of the leader, and so on. The element of slang and grammar should be an afterthought in editing after the gang has been adequately portrayed. Perhaps use urbandictionary.com for synonyms, but remember who they are should show in the dialogue more than through their diction and grammar. There is no right or wrong way to characterize their speech since there are so many different varieties of gang members -- just go with your gut about what is believable for the world your story takes place in. Probably the most famous story of gangs, A Clockwork Orange, uses invented and unfamiliar language, so it's fairly open.
Good point. I think the most likely thing to find in a thugs speech wouldn't be any particular slang, but a touch of aggressiveness. Maybe not all thugs, but certainly the stereotypical ones.
Okay. Just so I am certain I am understanding all of you; The reader with interpret the accent in which the thugs speak Focus on the thugs' actions, interests, and social skill level (when compared to the leader), and mess up the grammar afterward Make the thugs' speech aggressive. Have I covered everything or is there something else I'm missing?
Pretty much, people's imagination will add accent to how they think these thugs talk. Maybe make up some dialogue and we can give feedback.
Sorry, the reason there's no dialogue is I haven't thought of a suitable place where to put some gang dialogue. I will continue writing my story and put some gang dialogue in so i have something to post.
Starting to (finally) work on the gang section, so should be up later today or sometime tomorrow. But that last post with it's spelling mistake, it bugs me SO much that I can't fix it due to the 25 minute editing time limit. XD Is that weird?
Yes, Yes and maybe. The character(s) do not need to speak or act aggressive all the time. What detail makes the leader pissed off? The sound of chewing gum? When it has just rained outside and the leader is wearing a favorite pair of boots because he was just at a meeting and does not want to get mud on them? A member cannot stand when another member talks over him/her? A thug can be at peace, but what makes him/her tick can spark up some really heavy action. Take Goodfella's as an example. (Warning Explicit Language) Here is a Scene from American Gangster. Good movie.(Warning Explicit Language)
Okay, that has me thinking about what makes the gang's leader tick. Thanks for the advice. And I'll have to watch the videos later tonight, as I am at school and don't know what I''l be doing for lunch.
Organized crime cartels and nation-states are similar. Think about class and all those interesting social constructs we get to play around with in fiction.
I wouldn't try to reproduce pronunciation. Grammar and word choice, go for it. But phonetic pronunciation is maddening for the reader. Edited to add: Oops. Semi-zombie thread.
