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Engineers.

colddiesel said:
Why are Engineers so rarely the heroes or heroines of Lit stories? I read a lot here and the stars are often Doctors, Lawyers, IT nerds etc - but rarely Engineers. My late wife defined Engineers (admiringly) as guys "who do stuff." I think she meant doers rather than talkers.

Or is it just that writers don't know much about guys that "do stuff."

Come to think of it there are one or two other no-no occupations for heroes, Farmers for example - and I have never read a story where the main man was a butcher.

Any thoughts ?
Click to expand...

I guess I really hadn't noticed a lack of engineers on Lit. Most of my friends in college were engineering majors. It's a profession I admire; I wish I could do the math. I have seven stories here on Lit, and most of them have engineer-like characters. Michael is a mechanical engineer, Andy is a structural engineer, Leslie is a materials engineering student, and Jones is a technician.

Granted, Jones is the only one who does any real engineering in his story. For the rest, the title "engineer" is just short hand to describe the characters as educated, urban, white collar professionals. My stories are mostly about engineers getting laid, not doing engineering.
 
NotWise said:
I've never known what it would be like to work as an Engineer in a big corporate structure. Life is different there, I guess. Rather Dilbert-like. I don't think that's the sort of Engineer that the OP's wife was thinking about.

Years ago (as many of my memories go) an engineer with the US Army Corp of Engineers became a celebrity in New Orleans. The Mississippi River flow was historically low and salt water from the gulf was moving up-river toward the City's water supply intake. He built a plan and mobilized machinery. He built a high spot in the river bed that kept salt water from moving up to New Orleans, and he was a hero.

Later than that, we drilled some wells in the Texas Panhandle and estimated their potential production. The Engineer spec'd a huge pump and a super-charged V-12 diesel to run it.

He was giddy when I talked to him. When that engine powered up it sounded like a jet taking off (his words). The well proved to be the biggest producer in the history of the Panhandle, and possibly the biggest producer anywhere in the High Plains aquifer.

Why wouldn't you make these people the character in your story? Is there something about doing things and succeeding that is somehow not sexy?
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Very Dilbert-like.

I guess that's why the Engineers I write don't do Engineering in the story. My job largely consists of troubleshooting at all hours of the day and night. I get satisfaction from problem solving, but it would be lost on people who don't get off on "keeping the lights on".
 
Quite a lot of my characters in my stories have engineering/science type occupations. For example:

Adam in 'My Best Friend's Crazy Fat Sister' is an IT Engineer, his wife Emily a geologist

Jane in 'Leanne the Lusty Lifeguard' is an engineering student

Savannah in 'Sexy Savannah From Number 9' is a cartographer

Jessie from 'Take Cover From Tracy' is a Navy Officer who holds a science degree

Melissa from 'The Mystery of Melissa' is a former kids TV show presenter who became a remote sensing specialist

Matthew, a minor character in 'The PTA Queen Bee & the Teen Rebel' is a scientist

Kirsty, a minor character seen in 'Trailer Trash Teen Hates Rules' is a scientist
 
TANSTAAFL58 said:
Very Dilbert-like.

I guess that's why the Engineers I write don't do Engineering in the story. My job largely consists of troubleshooting at all hours of the day and night. I get satisfaction from problem solving, but it would be lost on people who don't get off on "keeping the lights on".
Click to expand...

I wouldn't see any problem with getting into the details of engineering, provided that it serves the story.

My story with an engineer protagonist does get into the goings-on at work. But then, it's a co-worker hook up story. I don't know how well I did in the execution, but my intent was to use their shared work to develop their respect and admiration for one another's skills, as well as physical attraction and emotional connection.

Every now and then, I read about a field, industry, or job, and find myself fascinated by the minutiae of it, how the details come together and how theose involved make them work... or don't make them work, as the case may be. There are a lot of brilliant stories to be made out of shared triumph, tragedy, hope, and despair, whatever the scale.
 
Polyacrylate said:
I wouldn't see any problem with getting into the details of engineering, provided that it serves the story.

My story with an engineer protagonist does get into the goings-on at work. But then, it's a co-worker hook up story. I don't know how well I did in the execution, but my intent was to use their shared work to develop their respect and admiration for one another's skills, as well as physical attraction and emotional connection.

Every now and then, I read about a field, industry, or job, and find myself fascinated by the minutiae of it, how the details come together and how theose involved make them work... or don't make them work, as the case may be. There are a lot of brilliant stories to be made out of shared triumph, tragedy, hope, and despair, whatever the scale.
Click to expand...

I have two geology degrees and one chemical engineering degree. I "identify" as a geologist, despite being a PE in as many states as would have me. A Dilbert cartoon once defined geology as "alcohol and guessing". Story writing could be described similarly.

My stories usually involve people in some sort of professional role. I've done stories relating to my chosen fields and they have a higher level of detail, but if you know a little about everything, you can write a character that does any technical field, you just have to be careful what you write about. I've got multiple friends that are doctors and nurses. I'm not qualified to describe neurosurgery, but I can describe that their life and the constant ups and downs that go with job. That goes a long way to establishing credibility with a reader.
 
colddiesel said:
Why are Engineers so rarely the heroes or heroines of Lit stories?

Come to think of it there are one or two other no-no occupations for heroes, Farmers for example - and I have never read a story where the main man was a butcher.

Any thoughts ?
Click to expand...

My last story was about a mechanical engineer who took over the family farm when his parents were killed. So maybe your research is insufficient.

I'm a mechanical engineer (motorcycles, autos), but not a farmer. I could design a vibrator that would send women into low Earth orbit, though.
rj
 
rjordan said:
My last story was about a mechanical engineer who took over the family farm when his parents were killed. So maybe your research is insufficient.

I'm a mechanical engineer (motorcycles, autos), but not a farmer. I could design a vibrator that would send women into low Earth orbit, though.
rj
Click to expand...

Have you ever seen a film called "Hysteria" ?
Well worth it.
 
I'm an electrical engineer and an amateur musician.

The protagonists in my stories share those same interests, but it is only the subtext for the story's plot. I suppose their technical bent blinds them to interpersonal relationship subtleties. They manage to get laid in spite of themselves. lol

Technical topics do allow for literary allusions, however. That's true for both male and female characters. It's a fun way to develop characters.
 
The hero in my current story is an engineer. Coincidentally, I'm an engineer too.
 
rjordan said:
My last story was about a mechanical engineer who took over the family farm when his parents were killed. So maybe your research is insufficient.

I'm a mechanical engineer (motorcycles, autos), but not a farmer. I could design a vibrator that would send women into low Earth orbit, though.
rj
Click to expand...

An automotive engineer and a mechanical engineer is like comparing Howard Hughes with the Wright Brothers.
 
Handley_Page said:
You lack of familiarity with the modern Tech. Manual is very apparent
[unless this really is some kind of joke ?]:)
Click to expand...

That's based on the Giant Tortoise Sex Manual:

In.

Wait five minutes.

Out.

Wait five minutes.

Repeat for ten or twelve hours.

No wonder they live so long.
 
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