In a post on Writers Helping Writers, Becca Puglisi says you can use your character’s career to support your story’s theme. “Writing theme into a story can be tricky,” Puglisi says. Too subtle, and your readers may miss it. Too obvious, and you can sound preachy. “So how do we incorporate theme into our story with just the right amount of touch? One surprisingly effective way is to use the character’s job.”
Puglisi examines the film Up in the Air, in which the protagonist’s job requires him to travel extensively to fire people in remote locations. He travels so much, he has very little time to connect with friends, family, or romantic partners, and he likes it that way.
“Ryan’s job highlights the theme of isolation on a number of levels,” Puglisi notes. Firing people for a living makes him an agent of isolation, as he literally pushes people away from their jobs. Because he travels so much, his own home is not much more than another hotel room. And because he visits job sites only to fire people, he doesn’t make meaningful connections on the ground.
So how can you do it? Puglisi suggests a few ways:
- Identify Your Theme. Naturally.
- Choose a Job for Your Character That Relates to Your Theme. “For instance, if obstacles is a theme in your story, your protagonist could be a truck driver or outdoor guide who encounters physical roadblocks in their day-to-day life,” Puglisi says. “Or they might be a therapist whose patients are constantly dealing with emotional or mental barricades.” The job doesn’t have to belong to your main character. A supporting character’s career can provide the same reinforcement of your theme.
- Experiment with Contrast. Sometimes your theme will suggest occupations that are too obvious. Instead, consider giving your protagonist a job that highlights the opposite of your theme.
