With every new book release, Angela and I write a bunch of posts that cover various aspects of that topic. We’ve found it useful to collect all of those resources into one handy post so it’s easy for anyone looking for help to find what they need. Now that The Occupation Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Jobs, Vocations, and Careers has made its way into the world, here’s your round-up of posts on how to write character jobs in ways that will enhance your cast and your story.
How Can a Carefully Chosen Career Enhance Your Story? (If you’d prefer a podcast format on this topic, check out this episode.)
Finding the Right Job for Your Character
How Could an Emotional Wound Play into a Character’s Career Choice?
How a Character’s Occupation Can Awaken Unmet Needs
Tying Your Character’s Job to the Story’s Theme
What Can a Job Reveal About a Character?
What Can a Character’s Dislikes or Disappointments with Their Job Tell Readers?
Tips for Writing an Office Romance in the Workplace
Does Compassion Fatigue Play a Role in Your Character”s Career?
BONUS #1! Looking for MORE jobs that aren’t included in The Occupation Thesaurus? Check out this list curated by our readers.
BONUS #2! We’ve uploaded some of the appendix tools from the book to help you narrow down the job search for your characters. Our tools page now contains Career Assessment and Occupation Speed Dating tools, as well as a downloadable template so you can create your own entry for any job.
If you’re curious about The Occupation Thesaurus, you can find more information here, including a free preview, the complete list of jobs included, and a sample entry (Firefighter).
Other Mother Lode Posts
If you found this collection of resources helpful, you might be interested in some of our other compilation posts.
How to Show (Not Tell) Character Emotions
How to Create Phenomenal First Pages
How to Write Conflict that Has Maximum Impact
How to Write about Your Character’s Pain
How to Write about a Character’s Emotional Wounds
How to Choose & Employ Your Character’s Talents and Skills
How to Use Amplifiers to Stress Characters & Elevate Emotion
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.