So I need a little hand, I am trying to write a story about a man who needs redemption. He finds his guide to said redemption in a homeless man. What I am struggling with is to find a unique redemption story for this character and a job for him. I have been though several thoughts but always seem to gravitate towards the journalist who is down on his luck and struggling with his family, and that is a horrid cliché.
Ask yourself more questions about what story it is you desire to tell. An occupation and a task do not make a story.
You could also write about something you already know a lot about. If you want a person down on his luck, that could happen in any occupation. And even if it felt like a cliché at first, you can always put a new spin to it.
This is very true. Depending on why he needs redemption, you should be able to find a more suitable occupation for this man, or you may find out that a journalist is just fine. Ask yourself this. Is it just because of his family, or is it because of something else as well? Life is a horrid cliché. Adding your own characteristics to this man will help a lot, as will having your own writing style, and setting, and other characters, and the way the story begins, and the way the story ends, and the way you talk about the story in the middle, and... You get the idea. Everyone has a clichéd life, but everyone comes from a different background and has a different story to tell. So do you, and so does this man. Get to know him, and you'll get to know your story.
how is the journalist scenario 'cliché'?... 'horrid' or even just 'plain'?... how often have you actually seen that in fiction? in any case, everything's been done, so all you need do is find a new twist, or a new 'voice' in developing a fresh new version...
Well, what is the history of this man? He can't have a redemption if he's done nothing 'wrong'. Try writing a backstory for him! He could have been a war correspondent and helped with a cover-up; or maybe he was a white-collar criminal, and now being a journalist is his redemption, bringing truth to the public about the corruption of today. The homeless man can be worked into those scenarios very easily. Those are just two ideas off the top of my head. Don't focus on him redeeming himself, write his past first and then you will understand why he needs redemption.
How about a man who cheated on his wife and his family turned his back on him. Or a father who feels a huge amount of guilt for abandoning a child out of wedlock. Or a rich man who lost his job. A gangster.
