The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

Creating Fictional
Characters

•;Don’t;resort;to;stereotypes.;Give characters unique hobbies, personalities, and appearances. At the same time, however, avoid the obviously strange. Characters should be original but believable.

• Give characters real, relatable struggles. The best heroes are flawed, and even the most sick, twisted villains may have inner motivations that they see as just or praiseworthy. The greatest protagonists and antagonists have both strengths and weaknesses.

• Give characters a motivation. Motivation drives a story. Once a character is driven to accomplish something, simply add obstacles to turn it into a story.

•;Create;a;past;for;characters,;even if only small snippets of a hero’s past appear in the final text. The character’s previous experiences shaped who he is now. It’s crucial for an author to know not only who his or her character is but also how he became this way.

impossible hopes soaring somewhere deep inside. Writing allows those hopes to take flight; it gives a voice and an outlet to emotions and convictions.

Some ideas are more unrealistic— concepts of war against malevolent dragons or exploration of alien planets—but many hopes are far more practical than we realize. Throughout history, written arguments have sparked change that rapidly grew to become consuming fires. Writing has fed revolution. It has

Our children’s entire
futures will be affected
by whether or not
they can write.

redirected culture. It has informed the structure of society. It has changed the hearts of individuals. Our students are striving to carve a place for themselves in the world, and one of the most potent ways to do that is with words. Words can reach across oceans, thanks to the power of the Internet. Words can change people’s perspectives. Words can reach beyond the hand that pens them to affect countless people.

Writing isn’t something that students will outgrow. No one will ever outgrow convictions. No one will ever outgrow the desire to change the circumstances of the world around him. No one will ever outgrow the private place in the back of his mind that still believes in fantasy. As C. S. Lewis aptly put it, “Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” 3

As we seek to raise our children to be productive adults, we can’t afford to forsake teaching the skill of writing. It’s our responsibility. The forgotten sword hasn’t faded yet, but with time, we may find that writing was sacrificed somewhere along the road of education—that is, unless we do something to keep it alive.

It’s time to unsheathe the sword—and equip our children to use it.

Laura Genn lives in Pennsylvania with her 13-year-old sister Hannah. They are taught by their mother, but Dad has been

Encouraging
Students to Write

• Purchase a book of writing prompts, or find some that are available online for free. This works especially well for holiday themes.

•;Allow;younger;children;to;dictate stories to a parent who will serve as a “scribe.” This creates an early curiosity that may eventually translate into an enduring interest.

•;Allow;students;to;choose;a;topic that interests them—whether it’s a foreign country, a historical event, or a philosophy—and have them construct research papers on the subjects of their choice.

•;Encourage;students;to;write;their own stories based on books that they enjoy. The technical name for such work is “fan fiction.” If the parent gives consent, students can post fan fiction on various online websites, allowing them to receive feedback from others, both younger and older.

labeled “the principal.” Laura enjoys everything from church youth group to video games to debate tournaments, but writing is her primary pursuit. She pens fan fiction in her spare time and intends to publish an original novel in the near future.