Why is education so important?

Once you’ve figured out age and ethnicity, as I explained in the last blog, it would be a good idea to decide on their education. If the character is only seventeen, it’s a pretty safe bet that they only have high school behind them. However, some seventeen year olds have already graduated,, whether by being a genius or by taking a GED, and many high school students are already taking college courses in high school. A number of my friends at that age were spending more time at the colleges as part time students than they were at my high school taking courses. Here is probably also a good place to decide on how “smart” your character is. Is she book smart or street smart? Does he prefer art classes over math or music over science? Is she a genius musician that needs a tutor for history or is he a mathlete that avoids art class and public speaking? Is your character very political and good at speeches but unable to hold a funny conversation or is she an awesome researcher that can’t stand up in public? Remember as far as school goes everyone has a favorite subject and there’s always one they hate. Then again, your character may never have graduated into high school if they were needed to support the family or they may have dropped out of high school to join a gang, pursue fame, or become a mechanic. Or maybe they became a lawyer that would have preferred to be a mechanic. Knowing how they did in school is often an indicator of future interests or current pressures. They may love dance or they may hate it but excel in it because their mother makes them practice three hours a day outside of class. All these things can help develop a character and indicate things like who their friends are, who they want to be, even hint at experiences they may have had with friends.