Choosing Your Character's Career

Choosing your character's career should never be a slapdash decision, made on the fly and based on little more than impulse. Author Elizabeth George says she tries to give my characters either a job or a sideline that gives the readers a hint as to who they are. Force yourself to look beyond the obvious and don't always settle for the first notion that pops into mind. Instead of a doctor, why not a prosthetics manufacturer? Instead of a stockbroker, why notA debt collector? Keep eyes open for interesting business signs as you drive through town.