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This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
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This will be a blog for my writing, maybe with (too much) personal thrown in. I am hoping it will be a little more interactive, with me answering questions, helping out and whatnot. It follows on from the old one, which is now full. An index of topics from old and new can be found here: "Writing Blog No.2 Index"  Feel free to comment and interact. And to suggest topics! |
| Character Jobs Your hero is an everyman type. They go about their lives like everyone else. They are not a millionaire, they are not a famous person, a musician, a writer, a self-employed clog-threeper. They have a job, earn a paycheck and live like everyone else. Then the story happens to them. What happens to their job? Do they get time off? Take sick leave? Take annual leave? Just not turn up? Get fired? How do they then get money for food, petrol, getting away from the Big Bad, helping the romantic interest? Okay, it’s fiction, what does it matter? Well, these little details can help with immersion. It was something that a review of Invasive Species said was a positive of that book – she was a snake-catcher and he was a teacher, and they continued to work throughout the events of the story. Their real lives, their jobs were impacted by the goings on, but they continued. Most of our stories are about real people with real lives, and they need real jobs… And it will also affect their personality. A Starbucks barista could be highly strung because they are dealing with morons who want everything so prescribed it’s like the barista needs a chemistry set. A road-worker is going to be exhausted. A truck-driver is going to have lower back and buttocks pain. A teacher is going to be confident speaking in front of others, but also might have different expectations of behaviour and be more rigid. It is more than just earning money; it is life changing. This is not only the main characters, but the secondary characters as well, and the tertiary ones. They need some sort of living that impacts their lives to make them more relatable. If you do character sheets, then include occupation, work times, work skills on it. Make it like a mini-CV. The worst genre for this, by the way, is traditional fantasy (as opposed to urban or magical realism). How do the heroes make a living? Heroing is not a particularly lucrative occupation. Gold-hunting, robbery, sure, but just out-and-out heroing? Not really. Oh, they belong to an army? Great! So they’re AWOL. Mercenaries, then. Who is paying them and for what? Some thought might have to be put into this. How did they earn a living before going adventuring? Now, I have mentioned before that serfs would have their families punished for just leaving, but also remember there were no banks, so all their valuables would have to be carried with them. And do they have valuables? Is there money? What about bartering? And that’s a whole different story. So take care when looking at the jobs your characters have. It’s not throw-away; it is a part of who they are. |
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