• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
    • About WHW
    • Press Kit
    • Resident Writing Coaches
    • Contact Us
    • Podcasts & Interviews
    • Master Storytelling Newsletter
    • Guest Post Guidelines
    • Privacy Policy
    • Charities & Support
  • Bookstore
    • Bookstore
    • Foreign Editions
    • Book Reviews
    • Free Thesaurus Sampler
  • Blog
  • Software
  • Workshops
  • Resources
    • List of Resources
    • Recommended Writing Books
    • WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection
    • Free Tools & Worksheets
    • Grab A Free Show-Dont-Tell Pro Pack
  • WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Fundraiser

December 15, 2018 by BECCA PUGLISI

Jobs are as important for our characters as they are for real people. A character’s career might be their dream job or one they’ve chosen due to necessity. In your story, they might be trying to get that job or are already working in the field. Whatever the situation, as with any defining aspect for your character, you’ll need to do the proper research to be able to write that career knowledgeably.

Enter the Occupation Thesaurus. Here, you’ll find important background information on a variety of career options for your character. In addition to the basics, we’ll also be covering related info that relates to character arc and story planning, such as sources of conflict (internal and external) and how the job might impact basic human needs, thereby affecting the character’s goals. It’s our hope that this thesaurus will share some of your research burden while also giving you ideas about your character’s occupation that you might not have considered before.

Below is a sample version of this entry to help you see how an occupation can reveal your character’s beliefs, history, goals, and more.

To view the full entry, visit One Stop for Writers where it resides within the largest fiction-based descriptive database ever created. (Free Trial available.)

Occupation: Fundraiser

Overview: Fundraisers are hired by businesses, organizations, and non-profits to raise money on their behalf. Their job duties can include organizing fundraising campaigns and events, training volunteers, using social media to raise money, contacting potential donors or sponsors…

Necessary Training: Some clients and firms prefer that their fundraisers have a bachelor’s degree—preferably in business, public relations, public administration or a similar area—while others are…

Useful Skills, Talents, or Abilities: A knack for making money, charm, empathy, exceptional memory, gaining the trust of others, good listening skills…

Helpful Character Traits:

POSITIVE: Adaptable, analytical, calm, charming, cooperative, courteous, creative, diplomatic, efficient, empathetic, enthusiastic, extroverted…

Sources of Friction: A big event flopping, donors promising money and not following through, failing to meet a campaign goal, clients who don’t clearly communicate their goals, clients with unrealistic expectations, micro-managing clients, taking on a client whose cause is socially unacceptable and will make fundraising difficult, secrets from a client’s or business’s past becoming public during a campaign…

People They Might Interact With: nonprofit and business owners, administrative staff, volunteers, other fundraisers and bosses at a consulting firm…

How This Occupation Might Impact One’s Basic Needs:

  • Self-Actualization: Fundraisers are often passionate about their work and the good they’re able to do. Those who are unable to work with their preferred organizations or are assigned to clients they don’t respect may feel…
  • Esteem and Recognition: If a fundraiser’s failure or shortcomings keep a worthwhile organization from receiving much-needed funds, she may begin to doubt her abilities. Esteem can also be impacted if…
  • Love and Belonging: A fundraiser’s passion to help others may drive her to work too hard, putting a strain on family relationships…
  • Safety and Security: If the client has high-profile or radical enemies who don’t want them to succeed, these people may seek to sabotage…

Common Work-Related Settings: Airport, art gallery, ballroom, big city street, black-tie event, boardroom, community center, elevator, golf course, gymnasium, hotel room, limousine, museum, newsroom, office cubicle, parking garage, parking lot, performing arts theater, public restroom, upscale hotel lobby, waiting room, winery,  yacht

Twisting the Fictional Stereotype: Fictional fundraisers are typically associated with glitzy events for wealthy clients. But even small businesses and non-profits need money, and fundraisers need to start somewhere. What if your character started out raising funds for a local charity or cause—maybe a no-kill shelter, a health clinic, or after-school program for kids?

Visit the other Occupations in our collection HERE.

How will your character’s occupation help reveal their innermost layers?

Much of your character’s life will revolve around their work, and whether they love it or hate it, their job is a great way to show, not tell, their personality traits, skills, work ethic, worldview and beliefs, and more, so we should choose it with care.

Want access to this resource?

The Occupation Thesaurus is at One Stop for Writers, a game-changing creative portal to one-of-a-kind storytelling tools. Give our FREE TRIAL a spin and then level up your writing career by choosing one of our affordable plans. 

Or, buy the book! 

You can find this bestselling thesaurus writing guide in Print, eBook, and PDF. 

Find out why this descriptive series is a fan favorite with writers all over the world. 

“It’s like I fed my imagination Red Bull…” ~ Tracy Perkins

“The Occupation Thesaurus is yet another priceless author resource released in this series…” ~ Brandi MacCurdy

Read more reviews

BECCA PUGLISI
BECCA PUGLISI

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.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dawn Simon says

    December 15, 2018 at 7:59 pm

    The Occupation Thesaurus! Ooh, I can totally see how that could be so helpful to writers! Congratulations on another book! 🙂

Primary Sidebar


Welcome!

Writing is hard. Angela & Becca make it easier. Get ready to level up your fiction with game-changing tools, resources, and advice.

Follow Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe to the Blog

Check your inbox to confirm! If gremlins tried to eat it, you might have to check your spam folder.

Read by Category

Grab Our Button

Writers Helping Writers

Software that Will Change the Writing Game

One Stop for Writers

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS® · Copyright © 2023 · WEBSITE DESIGN BY LAUGH EAT LEARN

Cookies are delicious and ours help make your experience here better. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with our cookie use. Cookie settingsGOT IT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. More on our Privacy Policy here.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...