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Q&A Good idea to describe the heist place before the heist begins?

In many movies and novels there is a scene where the heist is planned. Bankrobbers don't usually spontaneously draw their guns when they pass a bank on their way to the supermarket. They have to ha...

posted 11y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T03:14:52Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/9701
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T03:14:52Z (almost 5 years ago)
In many movies and novels there is a **scene where the heist is planned**. Bankrobbers don't usually spontaneously draw their guns when they pass a bank on their way to the supermarket. They have to have a pretty good idea of who will be where at what time, if the heist is supposed to work. So they plan. And this planning phase can be used to describe the (neccessary particulars of – see my other answer) the location.

This is a perfect method, because it keeps the action scene free of non-action elements. The reader already knows the location, so you can run him through it at full speed.

And it creates a riddle/solution scene (or however you play the planning) that can be entertaining and exciting in itself.

Finally, it allows you to play the actual events against the "blueprint", showing how the action deviates from the plan, how the characters are creative or fail.

A planning scene, of course, only makes sense, if the heist is complicated enough to make witnessing the planning entertaining. If all you need is a long corridor, that is something you can throw in when the person runs through it.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2013-12-12T12:33:19Z (almost 11 years ago)
Original score: 3