Designing a Street Gang

        For my story, Deeper into Danger, my main character has a gang chasing after him because he killed one of their members in self-defense. That man also happens to be his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend. After spending a night in jail, Deonte thinks the worst is already over, but it was only just beginning. The gang member warns him that if he doesn’t apologize for what he did to their brother, they will pay him back tenfold. Deonte is a stubborn man and it takes a lot before someone brings him down. His friends and family try to advise him to not retaliate, but Deonte doesn’t listen. He has his own agenda. The thing is, he thinks the gang is getting back at him for killing their brother, but it’s a lot more personal than that.
               
         What is a “gang” anyways? A group of random people? What do they do together? There are varying definitions of what qualifies as a gang. The way I define it is a group of people that have created an organization for a specific purpose. They have rules and regulations. They have initiations and codes. They have loyalty. Whether it’s a motorcycle or street gang, there are similar attributions across the board. For my book, I’m referring to a made-up street gang in Los Angeles, CA. I need to figure out their purpose, their rules, how they operate, and most importantly, a name. Another very crucial part of a gang is a symbol. I see that as their expression. The name is a brand, the symbol is the expression, their advertisement. As a matter of fact, I could almost equate the workings of a gang to a business. There are thousands of gangs in the U.S. and thousands more all over the world. Each of them have different things they focus on like drug trafficking, assault, illegal money-making activities, robberies, homicides, etc.
               
         They are usually in a similar age range and have common interests. I want to design this group as a one contraption. Each person has a particular job, but everyone’s motive is the same. They will be the type of group the police know about, but can never get enough to pin anything big on them. That’s how underground they are. They have disposables, people who will catch the fire from time to time, saving the prominent figures in play. In fact, they may have ties with big businesses, police department, or even the government, who knows. Anything to keep the story exciting.

​         Street gangs use graffiti as a means of communication. Whether it’s marking their territory, warning a rival gang, or sending a threat. Graffiti is defined as, “Writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place.” Oxford Dictionary. Anytime I would see graffiti, I just assumed it was a way to mark territory, but it’s more than that. It makes me want to go out and find some graffiti and see if I can decipher the meanings.

         Okay, I think I came up with a name: Royal Black Dragons. I looked at other gang names and some were simple like a number and location, and others were more elaborate like a name or phrase.
               
         This Saturday, the topic is on writing a trilogy, unless I change it.

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