(There would be a picture here, but Blogger is giving me grief with the pic posting - yes, it could be user error, but I'm all for blaming Blogger, because I can.)
I am trying to give my MC a job. She has moved to a small town. By small, I'm talking approximately two blocks of businesses. It's similar to the town I grew up in Montana.
Here's the thing about small town businesses, they don't last. Correction; unless it's the only grocery, a church or a bar, it won't last. Us small towners have priorities, you know.
Which leaves me wondering what job my MC can do. I want her next to the bar, but I don't want her working there. I was thinking an antique shop, but well, it's been done a few hundred times and the local one in my hometown has changed ownership oh...a few dozen times. I guess it will have to be the drugstore...but I could have her working at another storefront, this won't be a series so I shouldn't worry about the longevity of the business, right?
How do you pick your character's job? If I hadn't grown up in a small town, I may have had my MC working at a coffee shop. Out in Western Washington that isn't so far fetched. But for a tiny town in Montana, it's not the norm. People gather for plain coffee at the local cafe.
Just thought I'd share my thought process. I would love to hear other ideas on what you look for to fit your character and the setting when picking jobs.
2 comments:
Barber shop? What about the local cafe you mentioned? Could she be a waitress? Short-order cook?
Good luck!
Both my mom and my mother-in-law live in tiny towns. Neither has a bar, but both have churches, groceries, drugstores, antique/thrift stores, and gas stations. Other storefronts have come and gone, but these are the businesses with longevity.
Gas stations give the possibility of multiple hours of the day and contact with *everyone*. Antique stores have more standard 'office hours' but invite the opportunity to meet folks who straggle in from out of town.
HTH!
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