Character Development Sheet

For creative writing class I assigned a character development sheet.  The purpose of this assignment was to begin developing a character he will use in a future writing project.  This is meant to get him to think about his characters before he builds the story.  So he knows what motivates them to react to things and situations.  What motivates them to do something?

A good story is built on the foundation of good characters.   Think about the books you have read.  The characters you fell in love with.   Sometimes we relate to a character in a very emotional way when reading a piece of literature.  Millions of young ladies and women found something in Edward Cullen they wanted in their lives.  Or Jacob.  These young men came alive on the page for the readers.  They had clear motivations.  They behaved according to their personality.   Harry Potter, beloved by millions, changed and grew gradually over the course of his series.  He continued to work on the side of good in the age old battle of good versus evil but along the way there were times he wondered where he truly stood.   Where those around him stood.  He grew up and matured but retained his core values.

These are the characters every writer wants to build.  These are the characters we have to teach young writers how to build.  To help with this I have created a resource called the Character Development Sheet.  I have shared this and will give the link to download a printable version, it is a word file.

A quick look at what this sheet is:

Creative Writing

Character Development Sheet

Name of character:

Age of character:

Physical Description (be specific: hair color, length, eye color, skin tone, facial marks such as freckles, height, weight)

Personality (funny, sad, talkative, etc):

History of character:

Dreams, Desires, Goals of character:

How would this character express/feel happy?       

Sad?

Mad?

Surprise?

Click here to download and print this worksheet

Preparing For the New Year

Where oh where did our summer go?
It seems like the time has flown by this summer and we really didn't go anywhere big or do anything spectacular this summer.  We mostly chilled at home and welcomed some guests for the 4th.  Went to places and events close to home and yet, here we are facing the start of a new school year.

Anyone else procrastinate?
I know the prepared home school parent has already checked their curriculum needs off on the list, ordered their supplies, and probably outlined the first few months.   I was going to do those things.  I really was.  Except I didn't.  I did do a shop earlier this summer and collected some more books to add to my potential curriculum pile, does that count for early bird preparation?  I also made sure I grabbed some of the hot school supply deals locally and we are in no danger of not being able to find a pencil or pen in the morning.

The rest of it?
I plan as I go would be the best way to describe it.  I know where we left off at the beginning of the summer.  I know which road we are taking in each course.  I have a rough road map.  So the first few days I will be faking it.  I will pretend I have outlined our year's worth of courses, books, materials, and learning supplies.  I will pretend I know exactly how we're going to get everything done by the end of year.  I will pretend I know already what we have to cover, what is optional, and what is just for fun.  

This post was to?
This post was to encourage all parents that are home schooling this year.  It doesn't matter how much you have organized or not organized, school is approaching quickly.  You will be ready.  You will smile.  You will laugh.  You will enjoy your children.  You will get the important things done.  Don't stress.  Don't worry.  Just enjoy these last few moments before the craziness of the new school year and impending deadlines take over.   There's still time (especially if you know you are terrible at preparing and are an Amazon Prime subscriber - 2 day shipping! See I DO know how to plan ahead!)