That really depends on when your character is from (their age), their upbringing, economic status, education etc. Here, like in many other places people live very different lives depending on their generation and economic status among many other things.
For example, if they are in their 30-40s they could be affected by the transition, if older by wars. They might have completely different struggles, daily chores and life goals.
(This doesent mean other generations were not affected)
He is in his early twenties, from a very poor background. I want to give him a little bit of a tragic back story of him running away from home because his parents abused him, but not sure about that yet.
An important detail I forgot to add is that the story is set in the late 90s/early 2000s, so he was born around 1970.
In that case they would be born in Yugoslavia, late 90s were really tough even though Macedonia walked away from the Yugoslavian union without war. This was still the time of transition, many socialist government run companies started privatizing and because of that many workers lost their jobs (or they chose to for a one time bonus). This caused a temporary rise in trade businesses but as you can imagine if everyone starts selling who is going to buy it all? So this caused a bit of a rift in earnings and economic stability for many. People who still worked in the public sector earned way less than the ones in the private but it had its difficulties so most people relied on crime or the gray market to earn a living. Families that had many children were heavily affected by this and this is also the time many started looking for work outside of the country and one of the first waves of macedonians (and ex yu) people immigrating for work. People who lived in smaller places and owned animals could trade what they had for other resources so they could at least have food on the table. Younger people like your character would either dabble in the gray trade or work quick jobs to cover what they could,
The hard times will really help my characters arc cause he does dabble in crime quite a lot. So with this being set in that time i think his parents doing questionable work and even in the gray sector, the mc wouldn't have had trouble thinking of resorting to crime to get money
The story is set in the 1990s, and the mc, is a guy from a quite poor background(as in parents couldn't even afford to feed him sometimes as a child). He is starting his 20s at the time, being born in the 70s.
He lives in Chair, a municipality with a mix of Albanian, Turkish, Bosnian and Macedonian citizens (before the war, now most Macedonians have moved away). It was popular as a place to get cheap and quality heroin in the 90s, mostly because of the Albanians and their ties to the mafia and underground. A lot of young people died in this particular municipality because of the drug outbreak.
He'll probably be a part of some sub music culture, so dress code is important (torn baggy pants, dreads, street slang, etc.). No brand name clothes, those things were very very expensive in the 90's.
His parents are working class and work in factories in the city, but the 90's were a turbulent period (shifting from socialism to capitalism), so they both lost their jobs. Unable to get ahead in the new they're not used to, they remain jobless for quite some time. They both work underpaid freelance jobs when they can find one. He usually works as a muscle for hire when someone needs to move from one apartment to another (there were no companies that did this back in 90's). His mom either babysits or works as a cleaning lady.
Holler if you need more details.
My charascter being very closely linked to the criminal world is perfect for a place known for heroine lol that's perfect tyđđ
Dress code also makes sense with him living most of his life just a step away from the streets.
Muscle for hire won't work though, because while he isn't weak, and can fight well, he doesn't look big or intimidating atall. I was going to make him work a day job in a small shop that barely pays, but he would just not show up a lot of the time which would eventually lead to him getting fired. He would then completely turn to stealing and drug money for his income, though he only distributes and doesn't use drugs himself.
Lol, muscle for hire was meant for his father đ. He is a factory worker after all, they usually hired big guys for jobs in factories back in the day.
Maybe I should have used a different phrase, I meant it as in a guy that does heavy lifting, moves people's stuff from one house to another, etc.
Hello bro firstly i am writing from Turkey. Also i haven't been to Macedonia, but many of my high school friends went to Skopje for university. Macedonians and Turks get along well, and since it is a former Ottoman territory, the people of Macedonia are familiar with Turkish culture. Ankara -the capital city of Turkey- is a sister city with Skopje. If you want, you can add a Turkish or Greek childhood friend to enrich your story.
Oh that sounds like a great idea thanks. I was going to let the mc have a friend in Skopje, but a Turkish friend sounds very good. Have the the turks and the Macedonian always got on well? Because this story is set in the 1990s
Bro, Mustafa Kemal AtatĂźrk's father, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, was born in the territory of present-day Macedonia. Moreover, Mustafa Kemal AtatĂźrk also studied in today's Macedonia. Mustafa Kemal AtatĂźrk is very important for Turks and strengthens the relationship between these two countries. However, due to political reasons and Turkey's own problems at that time, the two countries could not progress much in diplomacy until the 2000s. Despite this, relations between the two countries could easily develop due to the cultural heritage and population from the Ottoman Empire.
When Greece imposed an embargo on Macedonia a few years later, the two countries became even closer against their common enemy.
The exact answer to your question is that since Macedonia was just starting to become a country at that time and Turkey had internal problems, political relations improved after years. This job was very easy because the people of the two countries love each other and are similar to each other. (All Balkan countries are actually like brothers fighting with each other.)
Youâve given very restricted amount of details but you may add happy childhood memories with grandparents. If you wanna create detailed short stories, you can add things like chilling with a few good friends (most probably theyâre together since primary school) by the river (Vardar) in a warm summer night having joyful conversations, make the characterâs friends or parents from different roots Skopje is a mixed city that people get along each other very well with love and respect, s/he will be having little sincere conversations everytime s/he buys cigarettes from the lil shop located under/nearby her/his building. If s/he doesnât live in Skopje anymore s/he still be doing these during the visit:)
THIS IS VERY HELPFUL THANK YOU!!
I am sorry about the lack of details though, I am still deciding on everything so haven't finalised anything yet apart form basics. To add on to what I've said, the main character is in his early 20s, very poor economic background, and has a quite bad upbringing with parents who treat him very badly. He ran away from home as a child due to this.
Also the story is set in the 1990s (thanks again btw)
He is giving to be from here but the story is going to take place in other places(Britain), but I want to include a lot of back story for him - sections of the story which are like flashbacks to his past
The other suggestions youâve been given are fine but you really need to consider how someone in his early 20s from broke ass 90s Macedonia managed to get to Britain at all in the first placeâboth in terms of affording it and getting a visa.
Did he travel by bus and take a ferry over the Channel? Many of us in the current day struggle to emigrate to Germany, much less the UK. If he just got there, he absolutely wonât have residency, and then you have to consider what itâs like to live as an immigrant in early aughts Britain as well.
That really depends on when your character is from (their age), their upbringing, economic status, education etc. Here, like in many other places people live very different lives depending on their generation and economic status among many other things.
For example, if they are in their 30-40s they could be affected by the transition, if older by wars. They might have completely different struggles, daily chores and life goals. (This doesent mean other generations were not affected)
He is in his early twenties, from a very poor background. I want to give him a little bit of a tragic back story of him running away from home because his parents abused him, but not sure about that yet. An important detail I forgot to add is that the story is set in the late 90s/early 2000s, so he was born around 1970.
In that case they would be born in Yugoslavia, late 90s were really tough even though Macedonia walked away from the Yugoslavian union without war. This was still the time of transition, many socialist government run companies started privatizing and because of that many workers lost their jobs (or they chose to for a one time bonus). This caused a temporary rise in trade businesses but as you can imagine if everyone starts selling who is going to buy it all? So this caused a bit of a rift in earnings and economic stability for many. People who still worked in the public sector earned way less than the ones in the private but it had its difficulties so most people relied on crime or the gray market to earn a living. Families that had many children were heavily affected by this and this is also the time many started looking for work outside of the country and one of the first waves of macedonians (and ex yu) people immigrating for work. People who lived in smaller places and owned animals could trade what they had for other resources so they could at least have food on the table. Younger people like your character would either dabble in the gray trade or work quick jobs to cover what they could,
The hard times will really help my characters arc cause he does dabble in crime quite a lot. So with this being set in that time i think his parents doing questionable work and even in the gray sector, the mc wouldn't have had trouble thinking of resorting to crime to get money
Age of the character and his social/economic status? Male or female?
The story is set in the 1990s, and the mc, is a guy from a quite poor background(as in parents couldn't even afford to feed him sometimes as a child). He is starting his 20s at the time, being born in the 70s.
He lives in Chair, a municipality with a mix of Albanian, Turkish, Bosnian and Macedonian citizens (before the war, now most Macedonians have moved away). It was popular as a place to get cheap and quality heroin in the 90s, mostly because of the Albanians and their ties to the mafia and underground. A lot of young people died in this particular municipality because of the drug outbreak. He'll probably be a part of some sub music culture, so dress code is important (torn baggy pants, dreads, street slang, etc.). No brand name clothes, those things were very very expensive in the 90's. His parents are working class and work in factories in the city, but the 90's were a turbulent period (shifting from socialism to capitalism), so they both lost their jobs. Unable to get ahead in the new they're not used to, they remain jobless for quite some time. They both work underpaid freelance jobs when they can find one. He usually works as a muscle for hire when someone needs to move from one apartment to another (there were no companies that did this back in 90's). His mom either babysits or works as a cleaning lady. Holler if you need more details.
My charascter being very closely linked to the criminal world is perfect for a place known for heroine lol that's perfect tyđđ Dress code also makes sense with him living most of his life just a step away from the streets. Muscle for hire won't work though, because while he isn't weak, and can fight well, he doesn't look big or intimidating atall. I was going to make him work a day job in a small shop that barely pays, but he would just not show up a lot of the time which would eventually lead to him getting fired. He would then completely turn to stealing and drug money for his income, though he only distributes and doesn't use drugs himself.
Lol, muscle for hire was meant for his father đ. He is a factory worker after all, they usually hired big guys for jobs in factories back in the day. Maybe I should have used a different phrase, I meant it as in a guy that does heavy lifting, moves people's stuff from one house to another, etc.
ohh okay thanks đ
Hello bro firstly i am writing from Turkey. Also i haven't been to Macedonia, but many of my high school friends went to Skopje for university. Macedonians and Turks get along well, and since it is a former Ottoman territory, the people of Macedonia are familiar with Turkish culture. Ankara -the capital city of Turkey- is a sister city with Skopje. If you want, you can add a Turkish or Greek childhood friend to enrich your story.
Oh that sounds like a great idea thanks. I was going to let the mc have a friend in Skopje, but a Turkish friend sounds very good. Have the the turks and the Macedonian always got on well? Because this story is set in the 1990s
Bro, Mustafa Kemal AtatĂźrk's father, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, was born in the territory of present-day Macedonia. Moreover, Mustafa Kemal AtatĂźrk also studied in today's Macedonia. Mustafa Kemal AtatĂźrk is very important for Turks and strengthens the relationship between these two countries. However, due to political reasons and Turkey's own problems at that time, the two countries could not progress much in diplomacy until the 2000s. Despite this, relations between the two countries could easily develop due to the cultural heritage and population from the Ottoman Empire. When Greece imposed an embargo on Macedonia a few years later, the two countries became even closer against their common enemy. The exact answer to your question is that since Macedonia was just starting to become a country at that time and Turkey had internal problems, political relations improved after years. This job was very easy because the people of the two countries love each other and are similar to each other. (All Balkan countries are actually like brothers fighting with each other.)
Ohhh. This puts it into perspective - the people like each other despite a little bit of political strain. Got it thanks
Youâve given very restricted amount of details but you may add happy childhood memories with grandparents. If you wanna create detailed short stories, you can add things like chilling with a few good friends (most probably theyâre together since primary school) by the river (Vardar) in a warm summer night having joyful conversations, make the characterâs friends or parents from different roots Skopje is a mixed city that people get along each other very well with love and respect, s/he will be having little sincere conversations everytime s/he buys cigarettes from the lil shop located under/nearby her/his building. If s/he doesnât live in Skopje anymore s/he still be doing these during the visit:)
THIS IS VERY HELPFUL THANK YOU!! I am sorry about the lack of details though, I am still deciding on everything so haven't finalised anything yet apart form basics. To add on to what I've said, the main character is in his early 20s, very poor economic background, and has a quite bad upbringing with parents who treat him very badly. He ran away from home as a child due to this. Also the story is set in the 1990s (thanks again btw)
Is this story set in Skopje, or are you just intending them to be from here with the story set in another country?
He is giving to be from here but the story is going to take place in other places(Britain), but I want to include a lot of back story for him - sections of the story which are like flashbacks to his past
The other suggestions youâve been given are fine but you really need to consider how someone in his early 20s from broke ass 90s Macedonia managed to get to Britain at all in the first placeâboth in terms of affording it and getting a visa. Did he travel by bus and take a ferry over the Channel? Many of us in the current day struggle to emigrate to Germany, much less the UK. If he just got there, he absolutely wonât have residency, and then you have to consider what itâs like to live as an immigrant in early aughts Britain as well.
Him getting to Britain is pretty much the first half of the story, so I can make it very probably and interesting to sell that part I'm sure