I'm writing a novel, and I'm doing some research for

>>1601224
diplomat?

>>1601224
when is the story set?

>not royalty, not from a political dynasty, not from an industrial or commercial family
that pretty much leaves only the clergy (which is equally public).

i don't know what you want. he shouldn't come from an upper class family, he should not be in the public eye, but somehow be upper class himself? most self-made millionaires are pretty public figures, and traditionally the label "upper class" is given to a lavish public lifestyle and political influence. sitting at home in your basement hardly screams "upper class".

>>1601224
le day-trader NEET

>>1601231
This is good, but the only diplomatic position I understand is ambassador, which is just about public. It's a similar profile to being a mayor. I'd like him to be part of the wallpaper, so to speak.

>>1601245
Present day, more or less.

When I say he shouldn't be from an industrial or commercial family, I only mean he shouldn't be Krupp or Rockefeller.

When I say he shouldn't be royalty, it only means that. He could be a Count von Dreckendorff who wears jeans, but not a von Hapsburg.

It's kind of hard to conceptualize these sub-elite types, because they're not high profile. It's not easy to just extract a stereotype from pop culture and run with it, which is why I'm especially interested in this type. I like things that aren't obvious.

He's not self-made. His family has been loitering on the fringes of the top tier for at least a century.
The setting is sort of international, so I don't know his nationality yet. Likely northwestern european, but if an east coast american type interests me enough, I might go with that.

>>1601224
Why is his social class important?

Do you read much Vanity Fair? go through the archives, there's tonnes of Jetset people you have never heard of and never appear in the media who are profiled in there.

>What sort of economic and social background do people like that have? How would you describe their lives in material terms?
Depends if it's selfmade or not.
A lot of people in my family had well over one million dollar networths, but they all started doing manual labor and never went to college.
>Immigrants man

>>1601268
Reminds me of the character Chuck Bass

>>1601273
>Why is his social class important?
I want to represent different perspectives, and the perspective of someone with no material needs is bound to be unusual.

>Do you read much Vanity Fair? go through the archives, there's tonnes of Jetset people you have never heard of and never appear in the media who are profiled in there.
I'll check it out.

>>1601277
Interesting. Seems a tad flashy, tho

>>1601224
Owner of a successful dental practice. Whenever I hear stuff like, "That house is owned by a Taylor Swift, and that one is owned by Larry Ellison, and that one is owned by just some guy," "some guy" is always a dentist. I think Chris Rock even made a joke about it.

>>1601245
>>1601224
>he's not royalty, not from a political dynasty, not from an industrial or commercial family, etc.
>that pretty much leaves only the clergy (which is equally public).

Landownership is the most default, classic upper class background with no extra strings attached.

Of course the American mind might get lost at this concept and consider that real estate = commercial.

>>1601367
*It also scales seamlessly from middle class to the very top echelons of society so you can take your pick.

>>1601367
Well, this is a European mind getting lost at the concept. Farmers are almost never considered upper class. But owners of large tracts of farmland almost universally have a noble or religious background. Those are still the remnants of the feudal system. And if it's residential properties we're talking - yeah, that's typically a commercial activity in my mind.

Do you know of examples of upper class families simply by virtue of land ownership? How did they acquire said land in the first place?

>>1601268
Hey you should watch season 2 episode 11 in mad men. It shows a decadent European royal family that lives in California and just kinda fucks around. That's what your looking for I think.

Mr. Big in sex and the city

>>1601224

How you uh, how you comin' on that novel you're working on? Huh? Gotta a big, uh, big stack of papers there? Gotta, gotta nice litte story you're working on there? Your big novel you've been working on for 3 years? Huh? Gotta, gotta compelling protaganist? Yeah? Gotta obstacle for him to overcome? Huh? Gotta story brewing there? Working on, working on that for quite some time? Huh? Yea, talking about that 3 years ago. Been working on that the whole time? Nice little narrative? Beginning, middle, and end? Some friends become enemies, some enemies become friends? At the end your main character is richer from the experience? Yeah? Yeah? No, no, you deserve some time off.

Programmer that made a shitty app that got Viral. No body really cares about the creator. Or submitted a patent that Google bought for a few million. Won the lottery, took the money anonymously and didn't blow it all yet.

>>1601248
This
But seriously whats the novel about? Why arent you writing about something you know? The best art is created honestly in my completely subjective opinion

>>1601317
Go for a paparazzo or someone who writes for a vanity fair type of magazine. The guy evolves within this elite but is not part of it. Or a doctor.

>>1601317
>I want to represent different perspectives, and the perspective of someone with no material needs is bound to be unusual.


You want a "remittance man"

>>1601461
I remember that one. Yeah, similar atmosphere of "who /is/ this guy?"

>>1602006
If good writers really "write what they know," then the only good books would be autobiographies. I don't hold to that.

>>1602009
Could be a good protagonist, but this guy of mine is seen from the outside.

(I'm not going to write his life story, but I need to know the iceberg so that I can show the tip of it believably. So to speak.)

>>1602064
Interesting. I'll take a look at these types and see what I can find.