brazenJobOpportunitiesTM: Secure Employment Here

Strap in, folks! Let's cut the crap and get right to the point. Please, for the love of all things writing, stop giving us main characters who are writers, playwrights, or struggling artists. Sure, some stories nail it like Adaptation, Misery, or Syncedoche, New York. But, c'mon, let's be real here.

Readers - seen those people with an assortment of jobs? The ones far more interesting than being a writer? That's who you want in your stories, not some poet scribbling away in a coffee shop.

Simply put, writing about a writer is lazy unless the story is so mind-blowingly brilliant that only a writer could've told it. And even then, it'd be a stretch.

When you're watching a rom-com or reading a novel, give us something different - something to make our jaws drop and our hearts race. Something that makes us forget we're trapped in our mundane lives, typing away at our keyboards, dreaming up fantasies.

Now, I see this nonsense all the time. Reading contest submissions lets me peek into thousands of unpublished story ideas. Way too many of them center around writers. Even my own daughter, a therapist, can't stand it. She's on a mission to read 50 books this year, and you don't wanna be the reason she hurls that book across the room in frustration.

So, what kind of jobs make for interesting characters and plot opportunities? You're in luck. I've got a book to help - Working by Studs Terkel. It's filled with interviews with a cast of characters you never thought you'd see as protagonists - from gravediggers to studio heads, policemen to piano tuners, and everything in between.

Ever wondered about a gravedigger's life? Me neither... until I found myself surrounded by writers at ThrillerFest, desperate to learn all about it. Suddenly, I was way more interesting than just being a writer.

But how to choose? First, decide where your story takes place, then see what types of jobs might be specific to that location. Or do the opposite and find a cool job for your hero, then decide where to set your story. If you're in the brainstorming stage, just looking at a list of unusual jobs can spark ideas for a compelling plot.

Take Alaska, for instance. Giving your character a job as a theme park designer wouldn't fly there. But maybe they're a frustrated designer with no place to put their dream park. Imagine the conflicts!

Characters, ya gotta love 'em. I live for crawling inside their heads and analyzing their motives. The career one chooses says so much about them. Whether they fell into it like taking over a family business or not, it shapes who they are.

So, give your readers something unexpected. Let them live vicariously through your characters, even if they'll never jump out of a plane or run a funeral home. HBO does it right. Six Feet Under plunged us into the depths of a family funeral home business, offering a blend of family drama and dark humor.

And don't forget Tony Soprano. Even an Italian like me was stunned at the layers the writers were able to create for this complex mobster. One moment, you're appalled by his crimes; the next, you're rooting for him to overcome the emotional turmoil caused by his mother.

Take your readers on a journey they've never been on. Introduce them to a life they're unfamiliar with but can get behind. Give them a goal they ache for your hero to achieve. Just make sure it doesn't involve watching them struggle to write.

Bottom line: Find your protagonist a job that's way more interesting than being a writer. My daughter will thank you.

Instead of creating writers as protagonists, consider characters with more intriguing jobs to captivate readers' attention.
To escape the mundane lives of writers, let's introduce characters from unconventional professions, like gravediggers or studio heads, in our stories.
Reading works like Studs Terkel's Working can provide a wealth of unique characters and their professions for your stories.
Set your story in a location that matches your character's profession for a more authentic adventure, or choose an unusual job for your character and set the story accordingly.
In Alaska, for instance, a theme park designer would be out of place, but could provide ample conflict and opportunities for an engaging plot.
Characters' careers reflect their personalities and indicate their journey in life, so selecting an engaging and unusual career can make for stronger, more compelling characters.
HBO shows, like Six Feet Under and The Sopranos, demonstrate how introducing characters from intriguing careers can offer fresh perspectives and memorable narratives.
By avoiding protagonists who are writers and instead focusing on characters with interesting jobs, your readers can discover a world they've never experienced before, even if it's as remote as a home-and-garden magazine editor or a lifestyle coach.