How do I write a Mafia story? Because I’m genuinely lost when it comes to research. I can’t find the information I’m looking for about the way it works and the positions! All I’m getting are famous mafias and guys with jersey accents. If it’s to much work for you, please don’t bother. I was just curious.
Hi :)
I do not have the time to really research it more than on a basis level, but when I was younger I had a phase where I loved to read non-fiction books about the mafia and so I’ll try to get you some information I remember.
How to write the Mafia
What is the mafia?
Plot twist: there is no the mafia anymore
it used to be exclusively about a criminal secret society in Sicily
other mafias are usually called by their region or country of origin (Japanese Mafia, Russian Mafia, etc.)
but they call themselves by their own terms (Cosa Nostra, Yakuza, etc.)
mafia describes a highly organized criminal network, often with international connections to other criminal networks and their own chapters in a lot of different countries
to go from a simple gang to a mafia, they have to be very powerful in their region and resourceful
they managed to infiltrate the political system in their region and became an economic player that shouldn’t be underestimated
the characteristics of most mafias are: a boss that stands over everyone, an initiation ritual before someone becomes part of the mafia, probably for life, a code of honor that says that members have to be silence when they get captured, and protection racket as their main form of criminal business
often the protection they pressure business owners into paying them for, is from themselves and they guarantee that they won’t attack the business or the owner’s family
this often happens in places where the police do not have the upper hand or cannot be trusted either
other types of criminal activities they are involved in: human trafficking, prostitution, gambling, loan sharking, drug-trafficking, fraud
How to write it?
decide on a specific mafia and become familiar with their hierarchies, their special rituals, their main business, their code of honor, what happens if they break it, etc.
if you want to have more creative freedom with your writing, establish your own mafia or create a new chapter to an existing one
but keep in mind that they need the characteristics from above
Characters
decide on who is the boss and how involved he still is (it’s mostly a boy’s club)
pick your main characters and decide on their position in the organization
what is their role, in what part are they involved?
who are the other members they mostly interact with?
do they have a lot of people they have to answer to?
how did they get into the group?
what are their motives?
how do they feel about the crimes they commit?
do their beliefs and morals still align with those of the group?
do they try to have a life outside of the group?
to give your life to a criminal network that functions as a family does not make life easy and you should show the highs and lows of being a professional criminal
think about the side characters
family plays an important part in the mafia, so make sure to include these people and show the dynamics between them
it’s important to give your characters their own personalities and individuality, so they become three-dimensional characters and not gangster clichés
Research
when it comes to writing a real, existing organization research is really important
do your research on the specific mafia you decide on, their rituals, businesses, modus operandi, etc.
all the groups have some things in common with each other, some form of organization, but they differ a lot in the way they operate and what they focus on
a story about criminals practically needs law enforcement
research the laws of the country your story takes place in, a lot of countries have their own laws for organized crimes, often just the affiliation with a criminal organization is a crime
for how it works exactly and the different positions inside the organization, I would take a look at Google Scholar, there are a lot of free books and articles that talk about those things in depth (you can just put in the specific mafia you’re searching for and some catchwords and you can even decide the period of time it was published to not use outdated info)
It’s not that in-depth, but I hope it still helps a little :)
- Jana
