Have you read any books like this?

[Dirty Hipsters]

I've been thinking about writing a book. So far I've done a preliminary outline and made notes about characters, events, and locations. Before I start writing though I want to figure out if other books like this exist, and if so how many because I don't want to write something that is going to be in an over-saturated genre.

So, the basic premise of the book is that it's a fictional crime story written from the perspective of a bank robber writing after the successful completion of his first heist, and explaining how he's gotten to the point in his life where he feels that crime is the only way through which he can realistically support himself.

I know that members of the escapist are fairly well read, so I was wondering if anyone here has ever read a book similar to this.

 

[Vault101]

I've been thinking about writing a book.

along with everyone else on the internet


[quote/]So far I've done a preliminary outline and made notes about characters, events, and locations. Before I start writing though I want to figure out if other books like this exist[/quote]
I'm just gonna say yes

honestly everything has probably been done one way or another, youre exact outline might not "exist" but elements and everything inbetween most certainly do

its not really something to worry about, I mean if your description was "a young boy finds out he's a wizard and goes off to wizard school" well I'd tell you to maybe mix it up a bit, but otherwise theres really no point owrry about being original (to an extent) cause you just ain't gonna be

In my opinion [b/]ideas are cheap[/b] everyone can have an idea, and you can even try and put your appeal in your idea

[b/]steampunk-zombie-werewolf-mystery-romance-electric boogaloo[/b] but it doesn't mean shit if you can't realise it well...

that's why you get shit like the kardashians having a YA novel ghost written...they don't really deserve much credit...cause again...ideas are merely a seed not a tree

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I've been thinking about writing a book.

along with everyone else on the internet


[quote/]So far I've done a preliminary outline and made notes about characters, events, and locations. Before I start writing though I want to figure out if other books like this exist

I'm just gonna say yes

honestly everything has probably been done one way or another, youre exact outline might not "exist" but elements and everything inbetween most certainly do

its not really something to worry about, I mean if your description was "a young boy finds out he's a wizard and goes off to wizard school" well I'd tell you to maybe mix it up a bit, but otherwise theres really no point owrry about being original (to an extent) cause you just ain't gonna be

In my opinion [b/]ideas are cheap[/b] everyone can have an idea, and you can even try and put your appeal in your idea

[b/]steampunk-zombie-werewolf-mystery-romance-electric boogaloo[/b] but it doesn't mean shit if you can't realise it well...

that's why you get shit like the kardashians having a YA novel ghost written...they don't really deserve much credit...cause again...ideas are merely a seed not a tree[/quote]

Trust me, I realize all of that.

The reason I ask is because I don't read a lot of crime novels in general (because most of them are bullshit written by authors who know nothing about the subject), so I wanted to gauge how original my idea actually is. If I was going to immediately get a bunch of responses about how people just read a book like that a few months ago then I'd probably scrap the idea. Like I said, I don't want to write something for a genre that's over-saturated with the same thing, but if no one can think of a book like this right off the top of their heads then I'll probably move forward.

Now granted, there's a very good chance that just like every other "writer" in existence I'll write 3 chapters, decide that they're crap and give up on the whole affair, but that's not what's important to the topic in question, and the topic in question is whether this idea is original enough to stand out among all the other dreck that populates crime fiction.

 

[Vault101]

[
The reason I ask is because I don't read a lot of crime novels in general (because most of them are bullshit written by authors who know nothing about the subject), so I wanted to gauge how original my idea actually is. If I was going to immediately get a bunch of responses about how people just read a book like that a few months ago then I'd probably scrap the idea. Like I said, I don't want to write something for a genre that's over-saturated with the same thing, but if no one can think of a book like this right off the top of their heads then I'll probably move forward.
.

I honestly don't think that's grounds for scrapping the idea....


the "perspective of one guy after the event" type thing is broad enough that I don't think originality is an issue...as I understand most crime novels are "Detective with emotional baggae must go after wiz-bang new murderer" but then I don't read many either

 

[Little Woodsman]

I can safely say that I've never read a book like that. And I've read a lot of books.

As to whether it is 'original enough'-- I don't think it matters. If this is what you are inspired to write, write it. At the worst it can be seen as an exercise to hone your writing skills.

 

[Vault101]

As to whether it is 'original enough'-- I don't think it matters. If this is what you are inspired to write, write it. At the worst it can be seen as an exercise to hone your writing skills.

yeah people get to hung up on originality or think that if they come up with an awesome "idea" that that is enough even though they don't write well on a technical level and barely read books themselves

not saying thr OP is like this...its just people tend to think writing is easyer than it is

[sub/]like that OTHER thread that...was really weird[/sub]

 

[StormShaun]

Snip

I believe not Dirty Hipster. It seems pretty original, but hey, all of us haven't read all the books in the world. Although if you do write it, and send it in, your editor should be able to support you well. Heck, even if it is similar to something out there, you can easily tweak it ... well depending on the person I guess. As I just said, your publisher, editor, and even more people will be there to support you!


To me though (An aspiring writer also, who is doing a professional writing major) it seems pretty good, especially considering I would read it. To be honest, it is just as Woodsman said, if your inspired to write it, why the hell not? If you wanna write, you write. Write whatever the hell you want! I should say though, that there is more to being a Writer/Author than just writing. Trying to find a publisher, talking to the editor, sub-editor, meetings, and everything before/after!


Just believe in yourself.
If you have faith in your work, it should all go well.

Overall, that sounds like an original realistic book. The whole bank robber POV sounds interesting, I mean I have never read anything like it before. (Which needs to be corrected at one point. So many books, so little time.)
Compare it to my idea, about an action-romance cyberpunk theme, all set in future Italy. I haven't even got to the part about a war between the Earth and Moon settlers.

There is a whole lot more, but ... I haven't exactly started writing. My problem is actually trying to write it. >.<

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Reminds me of a number of character recollections in Mario Puzo's books explaining how a cop or politician became corrupt or how a Sicilian immigrant rose to prominence as a Don, but of course these were all set many years before the present day so your causes may be different.

What kind of heist is it? Bonnie and Clyde or Ocean's Eleven? I guess my main tip would be don't be afraid to make them flawed- it feels like a copout (ha) if it was all 100% 'society's fault'. All of the characters in the books I mentioned got that way at least partly due to their own greed, or a particular blind spot in their character that gets them in trouble. Al Neri was a cop who can't agree to disagree with anyone, unable to put up with UN officials breaking the rules in his city and that got him into a vicious cycle where his boss would demote him and he would do something rash in his boiling anger over that. Rinse and repeat until he was assigned to the most dangerous neighbourhoods in Harlem (and he is racist like a lot of cops back then due to large numbers of bad experiences with African-Americans in their career). If the character's flaw is inability to admit fault you can bring that across, but make it clear no one else shares his view.

 

[Fdzzaigl]

"Criminal reflecting on his past mistakes", has definitely been done before. Quite a lot in fact.

If I were you, I wouldn't focus on whether or not the rough lines of the plot have been done before. Instead try to make the difference with the characters, the creative use of language etc.
It's simply so that most things have been done before in one way or the other.

Also prepare for disappointment when you contact potential publishers, but keep trying nonetheless.

 

[leviticusd]

The only thing similar that I can think of is the Great Train Robbery by Michael Creighton. It's the account of the robbers at their trial. They go over how they did it, what there reasoning is and all that stuff. I have some deep seated issues on how that author approached writing in general, but I did enjoy the perspective. Isn't quite like what you had in mind, but the best I could think of.

 

[DoPo]

So, the basic premise of the book is that it's a fictional crime story written from the perspective of a bank robber writing after the successful completion of his first heist, and explaining how he's gotten to the point in his life where he feels that crime is the only way through which he can realistically support himself.

I know that members of the escapist are fairly well read, so I was wondering if anyone here has ever read a book similar to this.

I know I've read a short story similar to that but I can't remember name or author. Here is a summary of what I remember

Spoiler

A guy is holed up in a (abandoned?) church along with lots of guns and the church is surrounded by the police. Since he knew he wasn't going to make it, he was writing a letter/diary/something to explain how he got to there as he wasn't originally a criminal.

 

[Queen Michael]

It's not exactly the kind of idea that only you could ever think up, but it seems like a decent enough book idea. One good thing about it is that it doesn't seem like the kind of book idea that you do because you feel it'll practically write itself.

 

[happyninja42]

I've been thinking about writing a book. So far I've done a preliminary outline and made notes about characters, events, and locations. Before I start writing though I want to figure out if other books like this exist, and if so how many because I don't want to write something that is going to be in an over-saturated genre.

So, the basic premise of the book is that it's a fictional crime story written from the perspective of a bank robber writing after the successful completion of his first heist, and explaining how he's gotten to the point in his life where he feels that crime is the only way through which he can realistically support himself.

I know that members of the escapist are fairly well read, so I was wondering if anyone here has ever read a book similar to this.

Sounds a lot like "Soon I Shall Be Invincible", a novel written from the point of view of a comic book super villain, and how he got to where he was at that point in his life. Explaining his justifications for things, and the rationale for what he did.

So, under the general umbrella of an idea classified as "criminal tells his lifestory in a prolonged flashback" plot structure, I would say that yes, yes it has been done before. But that doesn't really matter. Because your story will likely be different from the super villain one, and thus it's own story.

I had an idea for a book once, and down to the title too. It was going to be something like "12 Rounds", or whatever the number of rounds a 9mm could hold at maximum. And it was going to be a zombie survival story, told from the point of this guy, and as he slowly went through his collection of bullets, each one being more precious than the last, as they were the last rounds he had. And when I was working in a bookstore, what did I see on the shelf? But a book with the EXACT title I had come up with, that was about pretty much the exact same premise. I don't think that book was a zombie survival, but the premise was about a protagonist, who had a finite number of bullets, and had to ration them out against the threats presented against him. So yeah, there is redundancy in storytelling, but don't let that inhibit you from writing your story.

Part of the sign of a good writer, is their ability to tell a story that we all know, but tell it in a fresh and new way that is enjoyable to the reader.

 

[carnex]

I've been thinking about writing a book. So far I've done a preliminary outline and made notes about characters, events, and locations. Before I start writing though I want to figure out if other books like this exist, and if so how many because I don't want to write something that is going to be in an over-saturated genre.

So, the basic premise of the book is that it's a fictional crime story written from the perspective of a bank robber writing after the successful completion of his first heist, and explaining how he's gotten to the point in his life where he feels that crime is the only way through which he can realistically support himself.

I know that members of the escapist are fairly well read, so I was wondering if anyone here has ever read a book similar to this.

Reminds me of greatest, most comic book style insane bank robbery ever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tee10zRay28

Not even remotely same thing but never the less reminds me of this

 

[Blow_Pop]

The closest I've read (and I haven't really read it yet aside from just reading the blurb about it which made me buy it) is about a girl who is trying to leave the criminal world behind for education and more legitimate and legal jobs and gets pulled into another heist to help some gangsters figure out who stole from them.

So as far as your idea I'd say I personally haven't seen a similar book to it as most books in the genre tend to be the other side of the coin. That said, it sounds interesting enough and if you need proof readers I'll volunteer. (Speaking from the person who owns over 750 books and has read well more than that many)

 

[zedcavalry]

As far as it goes, the fact of whether "it has been done" is probably a question you don't want to be asking, because most of the time, the answer is going to be "yes". Personally, good writing to me is about the delivery. Since it seems you have some grounding for a good idea, I suggest you focus your energy on how you're going to deliver this tale.

In terms of this idea specifically, then, not really. I've only ever read a few books in the same boat. Perhaps most notably, the Montmorency series by Eleanor Updale.

But yeah, just develop your ideas well, deliver it in a way which is comfortable, engaging and stylistically appropriate, and over-saturation in a genre shouldn't be an issue.