I know I continue to come up with random story ideas, I can’t make up my mind. This is the next fictional idea I have come up with. I want to write a story about an Ivy League Professor in NYC who specializes in dermapathology or neurosurgery. He earns a massive salary of $5 million/year , and prefers the luxuries of life (e.g., he’s got a black American Express card and has expensive liquor in his multi-million dollar apartment). How would I reference this in the story properly? I can’t seem to come up with any kind of plot at the moment either.
By the hoary Hosts of Hoggoth! On a more serious note, since by your own words you haven't been able to link any other kind of plot details to the story as of yet, the initial idea could really fall into just about any kind of genre imaginable until you have the finer details of the plot going. Crime drama, mock-biography, hell even some kind of dystopian novel might fall under the purview of that concept until you've actually gotten something off the ground. I'd recommend trying to build a world around that character first so you can pinpoint exactly what you want to do with the story.
Developing the world will be a bit difficult but I will try. More character details: -He’s rarely seen around the university or in public -he’s known within his field as an expert, but is unknown outside of that
So, from what I'm gathering, you're looking at something akin to a character drama, something like 'The Great Gatsby' or 'A Beautiful Mind.' If that IS the case, however, is your story being told from HIS point of view like A Beautiful Mind, or an outside point of view like The Great Gatsby?
Definitely outside POV, though I’m still having trouble defining a plot and the genre. I’ll add that he’s older (in his 60s or 70s) Some more details (may be completely useless)- -As I Said Above, he’s fairly hidden from society. He’s rarely seen. In turn, he shops at expensive stores to purchase clothing and other every day items.
The point is, this is just a character outline. What actually HAPPENS to, or involving him? If he has to solve a murder, it's a crime drama. If he meets a unicorn, it's fantasy. If he gets scared by a ghost, it's horror. If you're just writing about his day to day life, it's general fiction.
Well, character drama should be your starting point, since you seem to place a lot of emphasis on the identity (or lack thereof) of this character you've created, but where you go from there will of course depend on how you want the plot points to progress. The outside point of view is also a good place to build, since an outsider looking in on the life of this man will naturally breed drama through interaction.
Here’s the article that inspired this idea https://thebestschools.org/magazine/highest-paid-college-professors-america/
Here’s an idea I had on my way home-the Professor gets tangled up with the mafia based on NYC -OR- gets in a bind with some Wall Street elites. I could have both involved.
For him to earn that much, he has to have done some amazing things. This sort of contradicts your idea that he's going to keep to himself a lot and be a bit of a shut in. I also had to read the link you provided because $5 million a year seemed ridiculous to me. And you are placing your character where he would be the highest paid professor in the country. I'm not sure I would go that high. If you do, you're going to need to create an impressive CV for him to have landed such a high paying position. Still, I think the salary you're giving him could be hard to hold up in a story. It's just not the norm for professors to make so much. You are going to have to convince readers that this makes sense in your story. And you're going to need a story. I don't think genre matters too much. Once you have a story, you tend to have a genre.
Good post. The reason for the great salary is because I kind of wanted this character to be based on the #1 guy on the list. And you’re right, there will have to be a way to back it up for it to make sense. I’ll have a lot of background work to do.
Here’s an interesting piece I found. One of the highest paid Professors on that list made over $7 million in 2016. That’s as much as many highly paid college football coaches. The highest paid college football coaches can make $8 to 12 million a year. https://cornellsun.com/2019/01/31/weill-cornell-medicine-physicians-among-highest-paid-cornell-employees/
It's interesting. I think you just have to make it believable in the story. Sort of explain or show how he got that high salary. You've got to make it work for the story if that makes sense. You've got to somehow make it part of the story if it's going to be in there. I hope that makes sense because you could have something good with this if you do it the right way. I wish you luck with it, my friend.
This isn't a story idea, it's a character sketch. So (as @Naomasa298 said above) it fits any genre. What's the story idea?