Welcome to Our Crafting Fiction Homeschool Language Arts Course

Course Sample for Our Crafting Fiction Homeschool Language Arts Course

Week 1

Day 1: Characters

In this homeschool language arts course, we’re going to write fiction narratives. A narrative is simply a story, and most stories share some basic elements that we will cover as you begin to put together your own story.

Every story is about at least one person, a character. Interesting characters don’t have to be super mysterious or from another time period or world. In fact, some of the most interesting characters could be based upon people you’ve met during your life. The elderly lady who works as a cashier at the grocery store. The man who sells balloons at the fair. The teenage girl who works at a local ice cream shop. The middle-aged man who spends hours working in his garden.

Stories can and usually do have more than one character, but if you look carefully, they often have one main character. This character should have a problem (the conflict) that needs to be solved (we’ll get into conflict later), and by the end of the story, the main character should usually change or grow somehow, even if that change is to learn something.

Characters that change in a story are called dynamic characters. Characters that don’t change or change very little are called static characters.

But before we jump too far ahead, I want you to come up with some of your own characters. To come up with characters, start by considering what you know. However, because we’re going to be working with fiction, don’t come up with a character that is exactly like someone you know. Branch out a little and be creative.

Answer the following questions about yourself to help you think of some characters:

1. Who are some people you see every day or almost every day? ____________________________ ______________________________________________________________________
2. Who are some people you have some things in common with? ____________________________ _______________________________________________________________________
3. What do you have in common? _________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________
4. Is there anyone you would like to be more like? ______________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________
5. How would you like to be more like that person? _____________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________
6. What are some problems that kids you know could have? ________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

Now make a list in the space given of possible characters that are similar, but not the same (definitely not the same name!) to the people you thought of. Feel free to add other characters that might be inspired by places you’ve been or even places you’ve wanted to visit. The list could include kids or adults. Here’s an example:

1. A boy who plays soccer
2. A girl who wants to do gymnastics
3. A Sunday school teacher who won’t stop teaching
4. A nanny who gets hired to watch three spoiled kids
5. A baker
6. A woman who wants to travel but doesn’t have the money
7. A girl who is going to camp
8. A boy who is going to a piano competition

To view a full sample of this class, click here.