Character Reference

The Pillsbury company is no doubt very fond of its adorable Poppin' Fresh doughboy mascot, so too the public. The character not only inspires feelings of affection, with that endearing little giggle and cuddly appearance, it encourages brand loyalty. We know we're safe with Pillsbury's products, we certainly trust the doughboy (how could you not?) and this comfortable feeling of reliability and warmth is exactly what the company wants to stir in its consumers. And it does this perfectly and has been doing so since the mid 1960s. Of course Pillsbury is not the only company to use a mascot for the purposes of character branding. Think Tony the Tiger, Ronald McDonald, the Jolly Green Giant and the Michelin Man - all are examples of successful brand imaging. But McDonald's Ronald and his associates are pure invention. In other cases the brand character is one based on reality. Take the friendly face of KFC, Colonel Sanders, for example. No invention here, he was the actual founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken company, Harland David Sanders. By contrast, the UK's Aunt Bessie brand of roast food products uses a fictional character but one that nevertheless chimes in with our idea of the sort of person who would be a fine aunt and a dab hand at good home cooking. That's why we trust the Bessie products and identify them as dependable.

A powerful 'mascot' or character brand marketing campaign can:

Generate publicity and new interest in a company and its products or services.
Engender feelings of goodwill and even affection.
Allow the company to express itself through the mascot's voice and attitudes.
Present associative identification opportunities in the retail world with merchandizing - enhanced point-of-sale potential
Grow a company's potential client bank. Character mascots usually appeal to a fairly wide audience, from children to adults alike.

From a commercial viewpoint it doesn't seem to matter whether the icon is drawn from real life or purely invented. And with mascots that are clearly 'human' like Colonel Sanders and Aunt Bessie, it's hard to say which is factual and which is fictional. Both are equally successful, irrespective of their origins.

Talking tigers, drumming bunnies and happy green men of nephilim proportions, obviously, are the birth things of imaginative ad men and women. Again, whether we like them or not, the brand's image is so strong as a result of them that we know immediately we see them respectively that we're with Frosties, Energizer and Green Giant.

Often it's the larger corporations we associate character branding with, although there is great scope for smaller businesses to embrace elements of a character branding campaign. While this may not necessarily extend to animation of the icon or television advertising, in which the character brand really excels, there's much to said for having a character logo to use in print media or packaging. It's certainly an aspect that can be put to great use in the online environment. Making a character mascot a main feature of a business website creates interest and recognition. And it opens up opportunities to incorporate games or activities that involve the character and the visitor.

Emotional response in the consumer is what a character mascot is designed to create - think of the Pillsbury Doughboy and you'll think 'ah'. On a more analytical psychological note, character mascots are often devised to attract the attention of children. Although kids don't entirely control the purse strings they do have an impact on their parent's purchasing behaviors. If a mascot makes a product a 'must have' in the eyes of the child, then it has done its work. Win the hearts and minds of children and the adult consumer is yours.

Designers given the task of creating character brand icons or mascots on behalf of companies often ask a series of questions in order to build a picture that they can work from.

Is the character to be male or female, or androgynous?
Will the character be recognizable as human?
What are the five main character traits of the character?
Where does it or he or she live, if anywhere?
What is the character's main purpose?

Some writers of fiction often say that they create every possible detail of their invented character's lives prior to writing the story around them. Most of those details are never used and certainly never revealed to the reader of the resultant story. But they provide a point of reference for the writer and consequently the character comes across as more well-rounded and believable. It is much the same with the designing of a brand character. However outlandish the mascot may be it needs to be rooted in some truth or at least have rules it adheres to - even if that truth is invented by designers!

Another technique that is used when conceptualizing is that of envisioning the character in different 'life' situations. As an exercise this allows the designer to see and feel how the character would react and therefore build a deeper understanding of its personality. Again, there may never be call to actually put the character into these situations when representing the company but it serves to give the design team a clearer idea of what the character is about.

In some cases company mascots are afforded a sidekick, and this works well as a way to revamp a company's image. While mascots that have been a round since the dawn of time engender feelings of comfort in an audience, there's a risk of stagnation. Introducing new characters into the company icon's world can have the effect of livening things up and placing new emphasis on the company's image. The Jolly Green Giant, for example, was given a little helper in 1973. Known as Little Green Sprout, his job was to help the giant with the growing of the vegetables in the valley.

But why stick to one character, or even one with a little sidekick, when three can be had? Snap, Crackle and Pop, the elves who have been the mascots for Rice Krispies since 1928 are amongst the most famous in the world. Because there are three of them, this allows for lively interaction between them.

Where camaraderie alone, as in the case of the three aforementioned elves, won't do then adversaries are sometimes called in to create interest. Ronald McDonald is often required to thwart the evil Hamburglar, giving the whole McDonalds character branding campaign a storyline and an 'it's behind you' pantomime feel. In Ronald's world there are many other characters to interact with.

Ronald McDonald Birdie the Early Bird The Hamburglar Grimace Iam Hungry CosMc Fry Kids King Gonga Mayor McCheese Uncle O'Grimacey

Although character branding has been around for a long time, the technological age we live in, which is ever-advancing, takes the concept to a new level. Some mascots actually have their own Facebook and MySpace pages creating further elements of consumer engagement, brand recognition and familiarity.

Previously it was believed that more serious products or companies would not benefit from mascots or icons, however a casual and quirky approach has stood many in good stead. Although insurance is considered a more serious subject or product than say cereals that make a noise or hamburgers, that didn't stop the UK's Churchil Insurance Company using a jowly-looking bulldog as a mascot, and with much success. It's believed that the dog, named Winston, was based on Winston Churchill the Prime Minister who was known as The British Bulldog during the Second World War. Devised to given an impression of dependability, the Winston dog is very much a part of the UK's collective consciousness - good news for the company. This particular mascot proves that serious subject matter can be combined with a supposedly frivolous icon, provided that the icon portrays an underlying feeling of reliability and endurance. Clever stuff.

The neighborhood of corporate mascots is a crowded and bizarre one but there's always room for new kids on the block.

Dennis Moore is Vice President of Little Jimmy's Italian Ice

Moore recently took the idea of expanding his company's Little Jimmy logo to a UK based design team who agreed that he had great possibilities. Previously seen only as a portrait style image, the reworked Jimmy now has a body, a new wardrobe and a greater identity. Jimmy has been representing the company for over 75 years.

For more information about Little Jimmy's Italian Ice, and to see the revamped Jimmy, visit the website now.

Chinese characters seem the most difficult part for foreign friends to learn the Chinese language. In my opinion, the main reason for that may be Chinese characters look very different from their quarter parts in the Roman languages: each character represents not only the pronunciation, but a certain meaning. Many a complaint comes from that Chinese characters are so unlike each other that you have to learn them one by one, and there are so many to memory, and that when encountering a new character, the previous knowledge of other ones helps little, you can neither pronounce it directly nor guess what it means. Actually, there really are some connections between Chinese characters, all composed in a defined way. You are unable to discover that probably because the numbers of the characters you know are too limited, or you didn't learn them in the Chinese perspective.

Chinese characters are the writing system to record the Chinese language. With a history as long as 8,000 years at least, it's perhaps the oldest surviving writing system in the world. An old Chinese legend said that Chinese characters were invented by Cangjie, a historian official under the legendary emperor, Huangdi in 2600 BC. Obviously, the fable cannot possibly be true, for the creation of a great writing system made of so many characters are such a huge project, too huge to be one single person's accomplishment. But perhaps Cangjie really made some contributions in the existing Chinese writing system: instead of the inventor, he might be a collector and collator of scattered Chinese characters in ancient China. Thanks to many a contributor like Cangjie and the common people using and spreading characters, a complete well-developed writing system had finally come to birth. The indisputably evidence is Chinese character inscriptions found on turtle shells dating back to the Shang dynasty (1766-1123 BC), formally called Oracle bone script. Of the 4,600 known Oracle bone logographs, about 1,000 can be identified with later Chinese characters, and the other unidentifiable ones are mostly the names of people, places or clans.

In view of formation, written Chinese is a script of ideograms. Xu Shen, in the Eastern Han Dynasty (121 AD), was a distinguished scholar who had attained unparalleled fame for his etymological dictionary entitled Shuo Wen Jie Zi, whose literal meaning is "explaining written language and parsing words". In Shuo wen, Chinese characters are classified into six categories, namely pictogram, ideograph, logical aggregates, pictophonetic compounds, borrowing and associate transformation. However, the last twos are often omitted, for the characters of these categories have been created before but somehow borrowed to represent another meaning, or detached into separate words. Generally, Chinese characters fall into four categories in view of their origin.

Pictograms (Xiang4 xing2 zi4)
Pictograms are the earliest characters to create, and they usually reflect the shape of physical objects. Examples include the sun, the moon, a woman, fire. From this picture-drawing method, the other character forming principles were subsequently developed. Over a long history, pictograms have evolved from irregular drawing into a definite form, most simplified by losing certain strokes to make ease of writing. Therefore, to see the actual picture of what it represents, you must have a lot of imagination as well as knowledge of the origin of the character and its evolution. However, only a very small portion of Chinese characters falls into this category, not more than 5 percent.

Ideograph (Zhi3 shi4 zi4)
Also called a simple indicative, Ideograph usually describes an abstract concept. It's a combination of indicators, or adds an indicator to a pictograph. For example, a short horizontal bar on top of a circular arc represents an idea of up or on top of. Another example: placing an indicative horizontal bar at the lower part of a pictogram for wood, makes an ideograph for "root". Like pictograms, the number of this category is also small, less than 2 percent.

Logical aggregates (Hui4 yi4 zi1)
It is a combination of pictograms to represent a meaning, rather like telling a little story. A pictograph for person on the left with a pictogram for wood on the right makes a aggregate for "rest". This story-telling formation is relatively easier to learn, yet most of aggregates have been reformed into phonetic compounds, or just replaced by them.

Pictophonetic compounds (Xing2 sheng1 zi4)
Also called semantic-phonetic compounds, just as the name implies, it combines a semantic element with a phonetic element, taking the meaning from one and the phonetics from the other. For instance, the character for ocean with a pronunciation of yang2 is a combination of a semantic classifier which means "water" with the phonetic component yang2, referring to goat or sheep on its own. This last group of characters is the largest in modern Chinese, making up around 90% of all Chinese characters.
The superiority of phonetic-compounds over the first three categories lies in its unique phonetic components, for many an object and concept are hard to express through photographs or ideograms, and its association with the character pronunciation helps Chinese vocabulary extends much faster than logical aggregates. Therefore, most newly created characters take this more scientific formation approach.
However, over the centuries evolution, the Chinese language has undertaken such a great change, that most pictophonetic compounds don't pronounce as its phonetic elements any longer, and the semantic components appear even not relevant to its current meaning. Only when knowing the origin and evolution of the character, you can understand its formation. For example, the phonetic-compound for cargo or goods takes the character for shell as the semantic element, and that's because shells used to be a medium of exchange in ancient China, like the currency.

I do hope the above information can be of some help in your study of Chinese characters. Please tell me what you think about it, so I could be a better help in the future writing. Thank you!

References are an important part of the job hiring process. If the interviewer starts contacting your references it usually means they are considering you for the short list or even the job. That is why it is so important that you know what your references are going to say about you. You cannot just assume that they will give you a good review.

You should never use a person as a reference unless you first get permission. If a person is willing to be your reference, then ask him/her what his/her views are of you and your work history. You may think that there were no problems at your last place of work but your former supervisor or boss might be of a different mindset. Remember, you do not have to use this person as a reference if they give you less than a glowing endorsement.

The first step in selecting your reference is to make a list of suitable people. After you have selected these people, contact them and see if they are willing to be a reference. You must make sure that their contact information has not changed. Are they still working for the same company? Do they have the same contact number? If a person has moved on to another company, you may still use him/her for a reference as long as you can locate this person and ask his/her permission.

You must not assume that a person will remember you or the work you did for them and it is okay to remind them. Ask them if they are comfortable providing you with a favourable reference and if there is any feedback they have for you. If you are comfortable talking to this person you can flat out ask how they felt about your time working with them and what they would say about you if someone called to ask. If, however, you do not know this person very well, it might be better not to be so forward.

You do not need to provide a former supervisor or boss as a reference. You are free to use other employees who hold a supervisory position. Don't forget the people you have worked with on projects. They are also well suited to serve as references. If you are applying for your first job and you have no references, you will have to settle for personal references. These should be non-family members who can vouch for your good character.

Getting a job is never easy and you should be fully prepared with a quality resume, good references and knowledge of how to give a great interview. Learn how you can put all these together at http://www.seeking-employment.com.

When it comes to screening candidates for the right nanny or babysitter, you need more than an applicant's credentials to make the right decision. You also need to know more about the candidate's character and her attitude towards work. A lot of babysitters and nannies come with degrees in child development and have even gone through a lot of specialized nanny training. But there are only a few of them who can really practice what they have learned and those who are truly adept at handling children and catering to their needs.

Learning more about a candidate's character

The only way to find out how a nanny or babysitter would perform given the set of responsibilities that you present is by finding out how she coped in previous jobs. This is why character references are important. You can, of course, ask the applicant what she thought of her previous jobs and the things that she liked or disliked about them.

But it is also a good idea to look into the other side of the coin and find out what her previous employers, clients and colleagues have thought about her performance. Contacting character references will help you know more about the candidate's personality and whether or not she has the right disposition to handle the challenge that you have in store.

Types of character references

Most of the seasoned babysitters and nannies are more than ready to furnish their prospective employers with a list of character references. If the applicant does not volunteer this information, you have the right to ask for it. Candidates who take offense on this request might not be suitable for the job at all.

References can be previous employers, a supervisor, professor or anyone who can vouch for the applicant's character and work ethic. You will want to get references to her last two employers. It's also important to get the dates when the candidate has worked for them. In case you notice a substantial gap in the dates, you want to find out why this is so. It would also be a good idea to ask her about the gap and why she chose to leave each employer (or why she was let go).

What to ask the references

You need to take the time to contact the candidate's references, particularly her previous employers. Here are some of the many questions that you may want to ask each individual. 1. How long has the candidate been working for you? 2. Is she still taking care of your kids? 3. How old were your children when you employed the candidate's services? 4. How many hours did she work and what was her schedule if it was a regular arrangement? 5. What were the caregiver's weaknesses from your perspective? 6. How did she interact with your children? 7. What types of activities did she do with your kids? 8. Did she ever encounter emergencies while taking care of the children? How did she handle them? 9. How was the candidate compared with all other babysitters that they might have had?

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One of the most common forms of background check performed by companies hiring new employees is the reference check. They typically request that candidates provide them with three names of previous bosses. If you don't have three former bosses, then provide co-workers, teachers, college professors and/or professional colleagues as character references.

The first thing you should do is develop your list of potential references and then contact each one. Explain that you're applying for a job, describe the type of work and the company, and ask if they would feel comfortable giving you a good recommendation. If they have any hesitation, do not include them as a reference. You goal is to have three strong references who can help you land the job.

Be sure to verify their contact information.

Don't list these references on your resume, but have them handy during an interview. Put the names, titles, phone numbers, mailing addresses andemail addresses of your references on a single sheet of paper and take it to your interview.

After the interview, if this seems like a job you'd enjoy, go ahead and hand them this list of references along with any other "leave-behind" materials that are appropriate, such as a portfolio with samples of your work (this depends on the type of job, of course).

Here's a step most people forget -- after you land the job, contact your references, tell them what happened, and thank them for their help!

Bonnie Lowe is author of the popular Job Interview Success System and free information-packed ezine, "Career-Life Times." Find those and other powerful career-building resources and tips at her website: http://www.best-interview-strategies.com.

Have you ever been asked to write a letter of reference for a co-worker, employee or former employee? Generally, a letter of reference is used to help obtain employment, apply for higher education, or as a character reference for those seeking a government position. This is an important request, as a well-written letter can be the reason the candidate receives the offer he or she is hoping for.
In all likelihood, you won't be asked to write a letter of reference for someone you don't know or get along with very well. But, if you have any doubts about writing a recommendation for this person, you should decline the offer and suggest they ask another person. Only write a letter for someone whom you would truly recommend.
A letter of reference doesn't need to be long and wordy. In the first few sentences, explain how you know this person (co-worker, neighbor, business acquaintance) and for how long. Mention any shared any experiences such as coaching the same basketball team, singing in the church choir or working on a project together at the office.
Think of two or three major character traits to describe this person that would be pertinent to the reason you are writing the reference. Are they honest and dependable? Do they always finish what they start? While Mike may be the best guitar player you know and can recite lyrics from songs written twenty years ago, chances are these are not reasons he'll get that job offer. Think of what you would say if you were asked to make a toast to this person during a special occasion.
A short anecdote describing how this person handled a difficult situation will make your letter stand out from the rest. Think of an incident that made you see this person in a new light. Finally, add a short statement that draws the letter to a close.
Here's a sample letter of reference.
To Whom It May Concern:
I am pleased to write this Letter of Reference for Mike Smith. I have lived next door to Mike for ten years, and we both have served on the XYZ Neighborhood Watch Committee for the past three years.
Mike is a pleasure to work with on this committee. His drive and determination to make our neighborhood a safer place was the catalyst in getting our local government to install a traffic light at a busy intersection in our community. Once, during a power outage in rush hour, and risking life and limb, Mike took the initiative to direct traffic himself rather than risk an accident at this intersection.
Mike's perseverance and genuine concern for his fellow citizen are perfect examples of why it is my privilege to recommend him for a position with your company. I feel confident he will be an asset to your organization and will add to your continued success.
Kathy Swann has worked as the Human Resource Manager for a consulting company in Baltimore. She freelances as a bookkeeper for several clients and is the author of "How to Win When You Lose Your Job: A Handbook for Those Soon to Be Unemployed" now available at http://www.loseyourjob.net

In order to learn how to set up the format for a reference letter in today's litigious culture, many important factors must be taken into consideration. If you approach it from the stand point that anything you write may end up in a court of law, you'll write an excellent sample reference letter.
You've been asked to write a letter of reference letter for an employee. This person values your opinion, and you're glad to be of help. The problem is you're unsure how to format for a reference letter.
Reference letters are generally written for prospective employers, scholarship applications, and character reference.
An effective reference letter will contain the following:
• You must know enough about the person's skills, abilities, and their character to write clearly and truthfully.
• You should know whether your organization allows you to write a letter of reference. Some don't!
• State your title, position, and any other pertinent information.
• State the person's title, position, primary responsibilities and professional associations. Also include dates of employment.
• Use a business-like but courteous and warm tone.
• Don't make vague statements like, "he was respected among his coworkers." But rather say, "James led the way in increasing production by 20% over the last year."
• Describe certain instances where James really shined. You could mention that James stayed late to complete a critical project. Also that he worked diligently to help a customer make a product decision.
• Say how James is a keen observer and he knows how to make customers eventually buy. He stays with them every step of the way if they have questions. As you write, give a true, in-depth knowledge of the type of person James is.
• When completed, print five of these sample reference letters on company stationery and give them to James. This gives him additional letters for any other positions that he may apply for in the future. It saves you from having to write them again.
• If you know it, put the address of the company to whom the letter is being sent, as well as the name of the person who will be collecting these reference letters. A personalized greeting is far better than a general "To Whom It May Concern" salutation.
• Leave the address area blank in the other four copies, so that the employee can use them for other job opportunities that may arise.
If you're stuck on what to write, ask James to write a letter about himself in his own words. Use this letter to jog your memory or to give you starters if you're stuck. This is a great time-saver if you're struggling to put the right words on paper.
Make sure the reference letter shows James how much you value him. It will help him feel more confident when he moves on to the next step.
Using this format for a reference letter will help tremendously. This is a well rounded approach. For excellent help writing a sample reference letter these people are simply the best. They almost write it for you. Grab their link here!

When it comes to screening candidates for the right nanny or babysitter, you need more than an applicant's credentials to make the right decision. You also need to know more about the candidate's character and her attitude towards work. A lot of babysitters and nannies come with degrees in child development and have even gone through a lot of specialized nanny training. But there are only a few of them who can really practice what they have learned and those who are truly adept at handling children and catering to their needs.

Learning more about a candidate's character

The only way to find out how a nanny or babysitter would perform given the set of responsibilities that you present is by finding out how she coped in previous jobs. This is why character references are important. You can, of course, ask the applicant what she thought of her previous jobs and the things that she liked or disliked about them.

But it is also a good idea to look into the other side of the coin and find out what her previous employers, clients and colleagues have thought about her performance. Contacting character references will help you know more about the candidate's personality and whether or not she has the right disposition to handle the challenge that you have in store.

Types of character references

Most of the seasoned babysitters and nannies are more than ready to furnish their prospective employers with a list of character references. If the applicant does not volunteer this information, you have the right to ask for it. Candidates who take offense on this request might not be suitable for the job at all.

References can be previous employers, a supervisor, professor or anyone who can vouch for the applicant's character and work ethic. You will want to get references to her last two employers. It's also important to get the dates when the candidate has worked for them. In case you notice a substantial gap in the dates, you want to find out why this is so. It would also be a good idea to ask her about the gap and why she chose to leave each employer (or why she was let go).

What to ask the references

You need to take the time to contact the candidate's references, particularly her previous employers. Here are some of the many questions that you may want to ask each individual.

1. How long has the candidate been working for you?
2. Is she still taking care of your kids?
3. How old were your children when you employed the candidate's services?
4. How many hours did she work and what was her schedule if it was a regular arrangement?
5. What were the caregiver's weaknesses from your perspective?
6. How did she interact with your children?
7. What types of activities did she do with your kids?
8. Did she ever encounter emergencies while taking care of the children? How did she handle them?
9. How was the candidate compared with all other babysitters that they might have had?



Get instant access to thousands of qualified babysitters around your area now by visiting http://www.hireasitternow.com

Copyright ฉ Shaun R. Fawcett

In addition to standard letter-writing dos and don'ts, there are a number of basic guidelines that apply specifically to most situations related to the writing of letters of reference. These are usually more "situational" than "how-to" in nature.

These reference letter guidelines are important to both note and apply, since writing letters of reference is always a somewhat tricky and delicate matter. That's because they almost always affect the reputation and future of the writer or that of another person.

The following tips and strategies apply primarily to the writing of letters of reference in their various forms (i.e. reference letters, character reference letters, employment reference letters, college reference letters, and general reference letters).

Write It Only If You Want To
If you are asked by someone to write a reference letter about them, you don't have to say "yes" automatically. If it's someone you respect for their work, and you have mostly positive things to say, by all means write the letter.

There is no point saying "yes" and then writing a letter that says nothing good about the person, or worse still, concocting a misleading positive assessment of someone.

So, whatever you do, don't get sucked into writing a reference inappropriately out of feelings of guilt or obligation.

If You Must Refuse, Do It Right Up Front
On the other hand, if someone asks you to write a reference letter for them, and you know you'll be hard-pressed to keep it positive, say "no" right away.

There is no point in hesitating and leading the person on to believe that the answer might eventually be "yes".

A gentle but firm "no" will usually get the message across to the person. Explain that you don't think that you are the best (or most qualified) person to do it.

Suggest Someone Else
If you feel you should refuse, for whatever reason, it may be helpful for you to suggest someone else who you think might have a more positive and/or accurate assessment of the person.

That other person may be in a better position to do the assessment. Usually there are a number of possible candidates, and you may not actually be the best one.

In fact, I have seen a number of cases over the years in which people requesting reference letters have not requested the letter from the obvious or logical choice. This usually happens when the requestor doesn't like the person who is the obvious choice, and/or they are worried about what that person will say about them.

Write It As You See It
Writing a less than honest letter of reference does no one a favor in the end. It is likely to backfire on you, the person being recommended, and the new employer.

Also, many employers and head-hunting agencies check references these days.

How would you like to be called up and have to mislead people due to questionable things you may have written in a reference letter?

Be Honest, Fair, and Balanced
Honesty is always the best policy when it comes to writing reference letters. At the same time, try to be fair and balanced in your approach.

If in your estimation, a person has five strengths and one glaring weakness, but that weakness really bothers you, make sure you don't over-emphasize the weak point in the letter based on your personal bias. Just mention it in passing as a weakness and then move on.

Balanced Is Best
An overall balanced approach is the best one for a letter of reference. Even if your letter generally raves about how excellent the person is, some balance on the other side of the ledger will make it more credible. After all, nobody's perfect.

There must be some area where the person being recommended needs to improve. A bit of constructive criticism never hurts and it will make your letter more objective in nature.

Bottom Line:
The most important point to take away from the above tips and strategies is that it is your choice as to whether, and how, you will write a letter of reference.

It's an important type of letter that will have a definite impact on the future of the person about whom it is being written, so don't agree to write one unless you are willing to give it your utmost attention and effort.

Copyright ฉ Shaun R. Fawcett

As I point out on the main page of my Web site, recommendation-reference-central.com, there is a great deal of general confusion about the differences and similarities between letters of reference and letters of recommendation. For instance; which is which, and why? How are they different? In what ways are they similar?

It's confusing enough for the average person who only has to write one of these letters every once in a while. However, when you look into it in-depth as I have, and realize that many of the so-called "experts" don't even know the differences between a reference letter and a recommendation letter, the general state of confusion is very understandable.

Based on extensive research into the subject, I define a "letter of reference" as one that is normally more general in nature than a letter of recommendation and IS NOT addressed to a specific requestor. Typically, "letters of reference" are addressed as; "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear Sir/Madam".

The most common letters of reference are:

• Employment-related - general reference letter
• College-related - general reference letter
• Character reference letter - general-purpose personal reference
• General reference letter - various subjects

EMPLOYMENT-RELATED Reference Letter
These are more general letters that are often requested by employees when they leave the employ of an organization. Normally factual in nature, they are usually addressed, "To Whom It May Concern" and provide basic information such as: work history, dates of employment, positions held, educational credentials, etc.

These reference letters sometimes contain a general statement (as long as a positive one can be made), about the employee's work record with the company that they are leaving. Employees often submit these letters with job applications in the hope that the letter will reflect favorably on their chances for the new position.

COLLEGE-RELATED Reference Letter
These letters are very similar to college-related letters of recommendation, EXCEPT that they are not addressed to a specific individual or requestor. In the college and university context they are typically addressed to officials such as: Director, Admissions or Chairman, Scholarship Selection Committee, etc.

These college-related letters can be as specific as a recommendation letter when it comes to describing the subject/person about which the letter is written, but they are more general/generic in terms of targeted addressees. That's because at the time they are written it is often not clear exactly to which businesses or institutions they will be sent. For example, a person plans to apply to a number of colleges but when the letter is written, the specific colleges are unknown.

CHARACTER-RELATED Reference Letter
Character reference letters are always written about a specific person by someone who knows them fairly well, and usually focus on a person's general personality characteristics. They are often used in business and community service situations. Typically, a person will ask for a general character reference letter when they are leaving a company or service organization.

The focus of character reference letters are such personality characteristics as: honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, dependability, work ethic, values, community service, and other widely accepted indicators of individual character attributes. These letters are almost always used by people who provide personal and domestic services, where trust is an important factor.

These letters are typically addressed in a general way using "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear Sir/Madam".

GENERAL PURPOSE Reference Letters
These reference letters deal with general situations that are not covered by the other reference letters described above. Typically, they address special situations such as tenant to landlord letters, business customer references, pet owner testimonials, etc. These letters are always addressed in a general way using "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear Sir/Madam".

Watch Out…
Over the years, the line between "letters of reference" and "letters of recommendation" has become quite blurred, and many people and institutions now use the two terms interchangeably. As far as those organizations are concerned, both letters are exactly the same thing.

Accordingly, many colleges and universities, as well as some companies and institutions, use the terms "reference letters" and/or "letters of reference" when referring to exactly the same thing as what many other colleges, universities, companies and institutions call "recommendation letter" and/or "letter of recommendation".

So, when dealing with these types of organizations or institutions, MAKE SURE that you use whichever term they use in the same way that they use it. DON'T try to convert them to your terminology. That will just confuse things and you will pay the price.

As a result of my time in business, I have had many excellent Examples of a Character Reference Letter. A good character reference letter is priceless to some. The people who guard well the things they say and the things they do will always get a great character reference letter.
What I've found over the years is that those who can stand upright in the face of scrutiny have an abundance of integrity. They know what it means to say no in the face of everyone else crying yes. That's not an easy thing to do.
I've also found that many of those who make the most noise draw the biggest crowd. That is unfortunate because those with character and integrity should really be the ones leading. Their decisions will always be wise decisions.
I have taught my 7 year old grandson to make sure that the things that you do in the dark will always be able to stand up in the glare of daylight. He understands that he is the victor when he turns his back on folly.
"Words my son" is what I tell him, "your words must be screened, filtered and then weighed before you send them out to work for you."
We laugh because he teases me sometimes. "Keep your guard up" he'll mock. "Protect yourself at all times son." We laugh some more.
We're reading a doubleday book by Peter Schweizer called "Do As I Say (Not As I Do). It's a short book of about 250 pages. Schweizer begins the book by thanking the celebrities "for living such inconsistent lives."
We thought that to be a bit on the comical side. However, when you get to reading the book, it's not so funny. The people are well-known and well liked. They say they espouse certain beliefs, but they live contrary to those beliefs.
At the end of the day, the easiest letter for me to write has been for people who have been living Examples of a Character Reference Letter.
Conversely, the most difficult letter for me to write has been for people who have been hypocritical Examples of a Character Reference Letter.
Those who are living Examples of a Character Reference Letter certainly make good role models. My grandson Smallman and I have put our heads together (two are better than one I think) and written a special report on character. The special report is FREE! Yes, you read correctly. Examples of a Character Reference Letter

Your reason for using Letter Samples for Character References comes down to this... to make things easier for yourself. Not only will you shave hours off of trying to come up with solid well written letters, but you'll also be able to give the reference seekers letters that they can be proud of.

One sample letter can be the difference between finding the right words for the right situations and being frustrated out of your mind, getting a job or not and writing letters quick and effortlessly or toiling endless hours and still not being able to come up with a satisfactory letter.

Ultimately there comes a time when writing character reference letters where you have to seek any help you can get. Family and friends look up to you and place a lot of importance on a reference letter from you. Of course you can't let them down, but because you're not in the habit of writing reference letters you struggle to write letters that they deserve.

So, what can you do? Well, it happens to be the point of this article...one of the easiest things you can do is use sample character reference letters as templates for writing your own.

In many instances all you have to do is a little bit of editing; add or replace your name, insert the reference seeker's name, personalize it with a specific example or two unique to them and you're done.

Does this sound simple? It is. Sample reference letters makes it quick and easy to create interesting and compelling reference letters without stressing over the right words.

Writing good, compelling letters is hard work and takes up a lot of time, but if you're anything like me you barely have enough time in the day to take care of the things that you need to do for yourself.

However, when you start with character reference letter samples not only will you shave hours off of trying to come up with solid letters, you'll also feel good about the quality of the letter you give the reference letter seekers - letters that they'll be proud of.

So, we've come full circle and are right back where we started. When writing reference and recommendation letters you want to make things easier for yourself - and starting with letter samples for character references can help you do just that! Now, you too can write attention getting character reference letters with ease.

Want to learn more about how letter samples for character references can make your reference letter writing needs easier? Then click http://www.by-the-letter.com/letter-samples-for-character-references.html right now for more information.

July 8, 2004 -- Movie Outline 1.0 - Screenplay Outlining Software



Attention Screenwriters:

We are pleased to announce that a new selection of Reference Plugins are now available from our web store for only $6-95 each:



Spider-Man (2002) Fantasy Action-Thriller

Seven (1995) Crime Thriller

Ghost (1990) Supernatural Thriller

Pretty Woman (1990) Romantic Comedy

The Terminator (1984) Sci-Fi Action-Thriller

Dead Poets Society (1989) Drama



These Plugins are ONLY viewable through Movie Outline Software.

http://www.movieoutline.com/



What is Movie Outline?

Movie Outline is an innovative Screenplay Outlining Application for both the Amateur and Professional Screenwriter, allowing for simple planning from scene to scene with flexible reorganization of scene order and simultaneous reference to successful Movies of all genres.



By streamlining the creation process of each scene and the outline structure as a whole, Movie Outline gives the Screenwriter the space to think and view the full outline of their story while simultaneously working on individual scenes.



The unique Reference Outline facility gives the Screenwriter the added advantage of assessing their own structure and story pacing in comparison to successful movies in the same genre.



What do the Pros think?

"I've tried various other story planning software but none of them did the trick. Mainly because they weren't designed specifically for the screenwriting process and it felt as if they were constructed by mathematicians with over-complicated unuser-friendly interfaces that only added to the clutter of my mind. All I wanted was a simple way to plan my story structure and organize my creative thoughts. Movie Outline was the solution." Daniel Bronzite - Screenwriter / Director



About Reference Outline Plugins

Different genres of movies require different amounts of scenes. Dramas are typically around 35-40 scenes because they usually have longer scenes than Thrillers, Comedies and Action and Adventure movies which are normally around 45 scenes with more action and less dialogue.



To help plan out your project, Movie Outline allows you to simultaneously refer to produced feature film outline analyses and gauge the progress of your own story in contrast to some of the most successful Hollywood movies. So if you get stuck on scene 15 and wonder if your structure is working, simply select your movie Reference Outline and see what happens at the same time in this example.



By comparing your own character arcs, escalating conflicts, plot points and three act structure with the pros, you will be able to amend mistakes in your own pacing and successfully produce a well-structured screen story!



Key Features

* Simple, user-friendly interface

* Movie Reference Plugins for Simultaneous Comparison




6 Genres Included:

- Die Hard

- Good Will Hunting

- Scream

- There's Something About Mary

- True Romance

- When Harry Met Sally



* Easy Scene Reordering & Organization

* PDF / RTF / TXT Export

* Styled Text & Printing

* Notes Field

* Unlimited Undo / Redo

* Find & Replace

* Spell Check (130,000 word database)

* Tip of the Day - Practical Screenwriting Advice



System Requirements

* Microsoft Windowsยฎ 98/Me/NT/2000/XP operating system.

* 23 MB of free hard disk space.

* 200 MHz CPU or higher.

* Intel Pentium/Celeron Compatible Processor.

* 32 MB of RAM.

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* Internet Connection for Download and Product Activation.



Availability

Movie Outline 1.0 is available now and may be downloaded through our

Website at http://www.movieoutline.com/.

Do you love cartoons and animated films? Well, I do and they are my favorite means of entertainment. When I was young, I would always rush home from school to see my favorite animation character on TV. In this modern day and age, animation is much more sophisticated. The painstakingly hand drawings of the last decade has been replaced by computer aided images. Nevertheless, I still like everything whether is the lush colors of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves or the latest state of the art Pixar creation. The creative invention of the animation character is the important thing for me. I like characters that are presented well with good characterization and story.

Top Cat, Yogi Bear, Popeye and other shows gripped my imagination when I was young. The animation character of Top Cat, or TC, as he was known to his friends, is one of my favorites. He ruled over his alleyway, was the king of his gang and ran rings round the local cops. Top Cat introduced me to the concept of anarchy. However, my mother was disappointed when my devotion to Popeye did not lead to a love of spinach.

Tom and Jerry still plays today and is probably the most enduring of the old cartoons. The slapstick that characterizes this show translates into any language. Adults seem to like this sort of animation character as much as the kids do. I also loved the Pink Panther series because he was such a cool dude, and I liked the jazz score that played on his show.

The type of animation character that went against authority, the rebel or anti-hero was my favorite. They were a contrast to the goody two shoes that usually filled a Disney film. However, Disney had great villains too, such as the wonderful Cruella da Ville from 101 Dalmatians. She has got to be the greatest baddie cartoon character of all time. Small children today are still probably afraid of her character.

There are also some great TV animated series around in the present day and age. For example, the Simpsons is an amazing success story. It is remarkable that it has maintained its high standard over many years. Its cultural and political references are entertaining and I think adults get more out of it than kids.

There are animation character shows that are openly aimed at an adult audience. The Family Guy and King of the Hill are good examples. These adult oriented shows have a lot to say about American society. Animators can do a lot of satire with an animation character. They can also make them say things that real people wouldn't dare to say.

Chinese characters seem the most difficult part for foreign friends to learn the Chinese language. In my opinion, the main reason for that may be Chinese characters look very different from their quarter parts in the Roman languages: each character represents not only the pronunciation, but a certain meaning. Many a complaint comes from that Chinese characters are so unlike each other that you have to learn them one by one, and there are so many to memory, and that when encountering a new character, the previous knowledge of other ones helps little, you can neither pronounce it directly nor guess what it means. Actually, there really are some connections between Chinese characters, all composed in a defined way. You are unable to discover that probably because the numbers of the characters you know are too limited, or you didn't learn them in the Chinese perspective.
Chinese characters are the writing system to record the Chinese language. With a history as long as 8,000 years at least, it's perhaps the oldest surviving writing system in the world. An old Chinese legend said that Chinese characters were invented by Cangjie, a historian official under the legendary emperor, Huangdi in 2600 BC. Obviously, the fable cannot possibly be true, for the creation of a great writing system made of so many characters are such a huge project, too huge to be one single person's accomplishment. But perhaps Cangjie really made some contributions in the existing Chinese writing system: instead of the inventor, he might be a collector and collator of scattered Chinese characters in ancient China. Thanks to many a contributor like Cangjie and the common people using and spreading characters, a complete well-developed writing system had finally come to birth. The indisputably evidence is Chinese character inscriptions found on turtle shells dating back to the Shang dynasty (1766-1123 BC), formally called Oracle bone script. Of the 4,600 known Oracle bone logographs, about 1,000 can be identified with later Chinese characters, and the other unidentifiable ones are mostly the names of people, places or clans.
In view of formation, written Chinese is a script of ideograms. Xu Shen, in the Eastern Han Dynasty (121 AD), was a distinguished scholar who had attained unparalleled fame for his etymological dictionary entitled Shuo Wen Jie Zi, whose literal meaning is "explaining written language and parsing words". In Shuo wen, Chinese characters are classified into six categories, namely pictogram, ideograph, logical aggregates, pictophonetic compounds, borrowing and associate transformation. However, the last twos are often omitted, for the characters of these categories have been created before but somehow borrowed to represent another meaning, or detached into separate words. Generally, Chinese characters fall into four categories in view of their origin.
Pictograms (Xiang4 xing2 zi4)
Pictograms are the earliest characters to create, and they usually reflect the shape of physical objects. Examples include the sun, the moon, a woman, fire. From this picture-drawing method, the other character forming principles were subsequently developed. Over a long history, pictograms have evolved from irregular drawing into a definite form, most simplified by losing certain strokes to make ease of writing. Therefore, to see the actual picture of what it represents, you must have a lot of imagination as well as knowledge of the origin of the character and its evolution. However, only a very small portion of Chinese characters falls into this category, not more than 5 percent.
Ideograph (Zhi3 shi4 zi4)
Also called a simple indicative, Ideograph usually describes an abstract concept. It's a combination of indicators, or adds an indicator to a pictograph. For example, a short horizontal bar on top of a circular arc represents an idea of up or on top of. Another example: placing an indicative horizontal bar at the lower part of a pictogram for wood, makes an ideograph for "root". Like pictograms, the number of this category is also small, less than 2 percent.
Logical aggregates (Hui4 yi4 zi1)
It is a combination of pictograms to represent a meaning, rather like telling a little story. A pictograph for person on the left with a pictogram for wood on the right makes a aggregate for "rest". This story-telling formation is relatively easier to learn, yet most of aggregates have been reformed into phonetic compounds, or just replaced by them.
Pictophonetic compounds (Xing2 sheng1 zi4)
Also called semantic-phonetic compounds, just as the name implies, it combines a semantic element with a phonetic element, taking the meaning from one and the phonetics from the other. For instance, the character for ocean with a pronunciation of yang2 is a combination of a semantic classifier which means "water" with the phonetic component yang2, referring to goat or sheep on its own. This last group of characters is the largest in modern Chinese, making up around 90% of all Chinese characters. The superiority of phonetic-compounds over the first three categories lies in its unique phonetic components, for many an object and concept are hard to express through photographs or ideograms, and its association with the character pronunciation helps Chinese vocabulary extends much faster than logical aggregates. Therefore, most newly created characters take this more scientific formation approach.
However, over the centuries evolution, the Chinese language has undertaken such a great change, that most pictophonetic compounds don't pronounce as its phonetic elements any longer, and the semantic components appear even not relevant to its current meaning. Only when knowing the origin and evolution of the character, you can understand its formation. For example, the phonetic-compound for cargo or goods takes the character for shell as the semantic element, and that's because shells used to be a medium of exchange in ancient China, like the currency.
I do hope the above information can be of some help in your study of Chinese characters. Please tell me what you think about it, so I could be a better help in the future writing. Thank you!
Lily Chao is the author of EaseChinese.com at http://www.easechinese.com, a website providing a collection of reviews and recommendations of Chinese language learning resources, and more. She is also a would-be TCSL (Teaching Chinese as a Second Language) teacher, living and studying in Beijing, China.

There are many budding animators and aspiring cartoonists out in the world. These people have different ideas about the characters that inhabit their minds. This includes any person who desires to animate anime characters. While there are many devices that can help you to draw your animated characters you will still need to know how to draw anime characters which will capture the imaginations of your audience.

In order to get good results when you are learning how to draw anime you should have a number of sheets of paper handy. You will also need different types of pencils – which are in a varying state of sharpness – on hand. The final items that you will need when you are practicing how to draw anime are a good eraser and some anime reference material.

Once you have gathered all of these items you need to understand that the reference material and any guidelines that you have found are merely the beginnings in your adventure into drawing anime. The first that you will need to do when you are learning how to draw anime is to think of one image that you want to draw.

Once you have this figure captured clearly in your mind you will need to start drawing a rough sketch. The first step in your learning how to draw anime figures is to draw the outline of the body. At this stage don't worry about defining the figure characteristics. One you have gotten the body shape outline you can start getting the head, arms and legs drawn and attached to the body.

These areas too should be roughly drawn so that you can figure out the exact shape that you want the figure to take. Once you have this shape chosen you will need to slowly create the right body form. Once you are satisfied with this form – just the outline shape – you will need to erase the extra unwanted lines from the anime body.

This step in your how to draw anime learning completed, you will need to shape the arms and the legs so that they resemble the final version of your drawing. As with the body you will need to erase any lines that are not part of the needed anime figure.

Once the outlines to the body and appendages have been neatened, you can start the process of making the figure look more "lifelike". This is accomplished by adding the various features which distinguish a 3 dimensional figure from a 2 dimensional one. After you are satisfied with how the body looks you can start the process of getting the head and the neck into an anime style look and shape.

The final aspect that you will need to learn when you are learning how to draw anime is that of the features. These features are necessary as they are the hallmark of any anime figure. With all of these tools at your disposal you are ready to take on the world of anime.

Coded character set, also known as character set refers to a group or set of characters used by an encoding system. It refers to the mapping from a group of integers to a group of characters. The mapping is generally bijective (i.e. 1:1). There are many standard coded character sets used by programmers in every software application development enterprise. The most widely used is ASCII, with Unicode becoming more common nowadays.
A coded character set generally includes digits, letters, control codes, punctuation and various typographic and mathematical symbols and other characters. Each character in the set is denoted by a unique character code, also called as "code position". For example, the character "A" is denoted by the character code 65. Let us learn more about ASCII and Unicode character set.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange):
It is a coding standard used for interchanging information. It has definition for 128 characters of which 94 are printable characters 33 are obsolete, non-printing characters that affect text processing. The rapid spread of computer technology throughout the world resulted in development of variations of ASCII, mostly classed as "ASCII extensions".
Unicode:
From a simple offshore software development company to industry leaders like IBM, HP and Microsoft, every enterprise is well-versed with the term Unicode. It is a computer industry standard that provides a unique number for every character, no matter what the language, platform or program is. It is always required by modern programming standards such as JavaScript, XML, CORBA, WML etc. most operating systems and almost all modern browsers support Unicode.
When you outsource software development to a software development company, always make sure that it incorporates Unicode into its applications. Software development services in India take much care about this aspect. It incorporates Unicode into its multi-tiered applications, thereby reducing costs in development of software. Unicode also helps companies to target a single software product across multiple platforms, languages and countries without the need of any re-engineering.

When building almost anything, you need resources like blueprints, 3D models, textures and 3D tutorials. These resources can be found separately on many websites online. But wouldn't it be nice to rely on one site for all these needs? It sure would save you a lot of time and aggravation! Well you're in luck because they do exist! These websites offer resources for people interested in 3D modeling, Animations, Graphics and Designs of any kind. Here are a few examples of the topics I've found in each category on one website in particular.

Tutorials - By definition, a tutorial is a computer assisted instruction, usually divided into sections, on how to use a certain piece of software or another type of process such as design, building, or cooking to name a few

- Animation
- Basics
- Character set up
- Effects
- Lighting
- Materials
- Modeling
- Rendering

Blueprints - A blueprint is usually a paper based production of a technical drawing documenting an architecture or engineering design but they can also be based online as well

- Helicopters
- Modern Aircraft
- Old Era Aircraft
- Cars
- Ships
- Sports Cars
- Tracked Vehicles

Models - A model represents the way in which a construction is built

- Bathrooms
- Casino
- Furniture
- Kitchen Equipment
- Movie Art
- Structures
- Doors

Textures - The feel or look of a surface or a fabric

- Brick
- Buildings
- Nature
- Roads
- Fabric

With all these different facets available on one website you wouldn't need to go anywhere else, you could spend your time more efficiently and allow yourself to find whatever you wanted without opening a bunch of different windows/tabs. Obviously since these websites offer all the options above, it would also make it easier if they had a search engine right on the site, and they do!

These search engines will most likely allow you to search within whatever category you want. For example, if your searching for a blueprint of a Shelby Mustang then you simply enter Shelby Mustang into the search engine on the site, select blueprints, press submit and your results will show up. This is entirely too easy! Most of these sites offer so many different subcategories within the categories that you literally wouldn't have to go anywhere else for anything else. And thats exactly what these sites were designed for!

If you would like to find the sites that are "one stop shops" please visit the following sites:

Auto Desk
Blueprints
Sketch up
Wikipedia
Surrland

Good luck in your search and your project as well!

One facet of a well devised website is its colour scheme. Colour selection is vital in creating the look that the site's owner wants to portray. If the look of the site does not meet the users expectations, then they will leave and most likely never go back to the site. This is time and again the reason why a web site is not doing as well as it should be.

Knowing about colour conception may make life a whole lot easier when deciding on a colour scheme for a site. Knowing which colours may irritate and which could calm is important in giving the user the right impression and experience of the site. Why would you crave to anger a user when you thirst for them to buy from your web-site?

Colour contrast and antithesis is another technique to be aware of. It can be used to point users attention to desired pages of regions within the site.

Below is a list of the most notorious, colours and their emotional connotations.

Green is associated with the environment, peace and jealousy. It is also a very relaxing colour and is gratifying to use for a calming effect.

The colour white conjures up senses of purity, simplicity, emptiness and innocence. If used as the major colour in a web site, it creates a clean and simple feel.

Blue is a colour is greater commonly associated with corporate web-sites as it is a strong colour that is associated with confidence, coldness, depression, water and peace.

The colour red is a very evocative colour and it conjures up images of hell, treasure, fire and warning. It is expediently the better colour to use to lure attention.

White could be used to create contrast by being used as a background colour. The spaces of white in between components of a web page are referred to as negative space. White is linked to cleanliness, peace and light.

Black is a strong colour and is associated with sexiness, intensity and elegance. It is a very popular colour on photography web sites, as black creates heightened contrast with colours within photographs.

Grey can be connected to respect, humility, decay and boredom. It is used a lot to create shiny gradients in web design to give a slick, present-day feel to a web site.

Orange is strongly related to spirituality and healing. It is the colour that symbolises Buddhism and it has a healing punch about it. It is a bold colour that is not as bright as yellow yet not a deep as red.

Brown, especially the lighter shades may be very calming. Beige is also a accepted colour in website design as it gives an earthy and relaxed feel. It may also intimate tradition, poverty and mother earth.

Grey may be linked to elegance, innovation and the future. The lighter side is similar to white in that it is a glorious colour to use on the background of a web-site to create a anticipation of space and modernism.

The psychology of colour can play a massive role in creating a successful web-site. To subliminally create an expectation amongst the end user can be a powerful sales tool. Choosing colours without thought could inadvertently put users off the site. Creating colour combinations that guidebook users to an end goal can generate more sales and make the whole user experience stress free.

My daily routine when I was a young kid at school was to go home and watch the cartoons before it was time for supper. This was usually Popeye, Yogi Bear, Tom and Jerry, Roadrunner or Top Cat. I would laugh myself silly, and it was the perfect way to relax after a double lesson of math. My favorite animation character then was Top Cat. Inspired by the Sergeant Bilko TV series with Phil Silvers, TC ran his alley and gang of alley cats with cunning and style. I knew I would never be as cool as him.

I have retained a fondness for the animation character heroes of my youth, and love to watch the replays. Cartoons, on TV and in movies, are still my favorite things to watch. I'm sure I'm not alone in this, and I think adults gain as much enjoyment from Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles as children do. In fact, adults probably appreciate them more, because the best story involving an animation character works on two levels. There is the story which appeals to the kids and there are the inside adult jokes going on too.

The animation character has evolved over the years, from the first monochrome squiggles to the computer produced images we see today. The Walt Disney Studio made the major contribution in the early years, creating the iconic animation character of Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Goofy and Donald Duck. Walt Disney had a flair for knowing what the audience wanted and he wasn't afraid to try new things. The movie industry was skeptical when Disney released the first full-length feature film for the animation character, with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was a success and the studio went from strength to strength, ending up with an empire of production companies and nine theme parks.

There is a huge industry surrounding the animation character, with merchandise and DVD's. Just as there are rows upon rows of action figures of Buzz Lightyear in the film of Toy Story, so there are real figures of Buzz Lightyear in the shops. The Disney theme parks give fans the chance to see their favorite animation character up close and personal. Children are thrilled when Mickey Mouse walks right up to them and says hello.

The biggest television animated hit of recent times is of course, The Simpson's. This dysfunctional family has captured the imagination of fans around the world. Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and baby Maggie are well thought out examples of an animation character, appealing to adults and children alike. The kids like the antics of Bart and can sympathize with Lisa. There are lots of cultural references in the programme for the adults to enjoy, and guests queue up to be immortalized as an animation character. They include Paul McCartney, Sonic Youth and The Who.

After a long day at work I was looking forward to a nice drink in peace. I opened the door and heard Fred's voice booming. All hope for a nice quiet drink was gone. Fred had apparently heard yet another incorrect reference to Japanese people writing Chinese characters and he was going off like the 4th of July, expressing his annoyance at people who were unaware of how different the characters were.

"When I write English," he asked, "What alphabet do I use?"

Somebody foolishly tried to answer, not understanding that all Fred's questions were rhetorical unless Fred wanted information about a train schedule or what time some place opened. Ignoring the poor fool who tried to answer, Fred continue, "I use the modern English alphabet. It may be a Latin-based alphabet, but it certainly is not what the Romans used. You can call it the Roman alphabet or the Latin alphabet or whatever you like, but it has changed."

I was not sure exactly where Fred was going with this, but I thought I knew where he was going. "The Japanese characters are the same. Although the characters, named after the Han dynasty, were once Chinese, they are not any more. In the years since Japanese writing embraced characters and added two Japanese syllaburies, times have changed. The Japanese government instituted character reform after World War II. And let's not forget China. Chinese writing has certainly not stood still in the hundreds of years since Japan first started to borrow Chinese characters. This is Japanese writing now and they are Japanese characters. They may have originated in China and they may have been Chinese in the past, but they are not any more. They are Japanese characters!"

Fred tended to repeat himself when he got worked up. I wonder if it was time to ask Fred if he had any problems with the word Chinese. After Fred slammed his glass down on the bar, I knew he had finished. So, I asked him if he had any problems with the word Chinese. He responded immediately with a loud "No!" He then continued, "Chinese is a perfectly good word, but it does not apply to things Japanese. Take a look at ramen. The Japanese call ramen Chinese noodles. They definitely were Chinese characters once, but they are very Japanese now. I don't know why Japanese love to preface things with Chinese when they are no longer Chinese. It just doesn't make sense."

And as usual, Fred was right. What once were Chinese characters are now Japanese characters.

As a child did you ever dream of getting a letter from your favorite holiday character? Ever dream of getting a personalized letter from Santa, congratulating you on being a good child all through the year and promising a special gift for Christmas? For sure all of us have gone through it, be it Santa Clause, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy or even the Great Pumpkin! Any child would be fascinated and excited to receive a letter from their favorite character. Now with the character letter business, you can fulfill a child's dream and expand his/her imagination!

Character letter business is a personalized venture where you would be writing letters to children (or maybe even to a few adults) on behalf of their favorite character. The letter writing doesn't have to be restricted to a given holiday season, you can continue it all year around. Children love getting a letter or a postcard in the mail, just imagine the amount of joy it would bring when they receive a personalized letter from their favorite character for the holiday season, for their birthday or for whatever the occasion maybe. The letters are keepsake treasures for them.

All you need to start off in this business is some creativity and a big dose of imagination. If you are a child at heart, love children and love the holiday seasons and the magical wonder it brings, this business is for you. You would need to market your services to the parents, grand-parents, aunts, uncles or anyone who has a special child in their life. When you receive the information and fun facts about the child, you can incorporate it to the letter. For example their favorite color, favorite snack, the pets name, favorite game, etc. To formulate more excitement, you can even add fun trinkets to your letters. Maybe some easy holiday recipes, fun craft projects or even holiday stories.

The character letter business is fun and exciting! You are getting paid for doing something that you love. There are many advantages in this venture. You would be working from the comfort of your own home, which provides you with more time to spend with your family. It provides you with more flexibility. In addition you can have the satisfaction of your achievements and owning your own business.

Before starting off you should decide which characters you would bring into play for your venture. Would you be only using holiday characters like Santa Clause, Easter Bunny, and The Nice Witch? Would you be using year round characters such as The Tooth Fairy, or a special Friendship character? Or would you rather create your own characters? The choice is up to you. Depending on the time and energy you can commit to the business, decide the number of characters that you would use. It is always better to start off with a few characters and add new ones as your business gets more established.

The basic equipment required for this business is a reliable computer and a printer. Depending on the characters that you have selected for your business, you can select the stationary that would be required. And then select the best trinkets that you can include with these character letters.

Even though you are starting off with a small home business, it is very important to have a business plan. A business plan should be considered as a map for your business. As your business grows and expands you can refer to it to manage your growth and change. Deciding on a name and licensing your business is the next step. Once everything is sorted out, you should market your business. Having a solid marketing strategy is the key to a flourishing business. With your best effort and lots of imagination, you can make your business successful.

Part One: Desire and Fear

Creating convincing characters that are believable takes time and discipline. Creating dynamically real individuals without imposing your own thoughts and impressions upon them is not easy to do, but this step is often the difference between a novel or screenplay that sits in a closet and one that finds its way around town and into the hands of audiences. Spend time with character development - building your characters before they enter the world of your story - and you turn the process of writing your manuscript into an easier and more enjoyable ride. You also get the added reward of a finished product that agents, publishers, producers and readers can truly be excited by.

There is no magic to character development. You can create living, breathing people, monsters, animals and settings by following a few, simple steps. In the end, you will have created three-dimensionality that breathes life into your story.

As a former executive with LA Film Lab Entertainment (a literary development and production company), I have learned that good writing isn't a gift. Talent equals discipline multiplied by time, and you must practice (daily) the art of development to master your craft.

Here is a proven framework to assist you in creating rich and complex characters. The complexity that you desire comes through:

1) Labeling their desire essences

2) Labeling their fear essences

3) Getting specific about their past

4) Labeling their behavior

5) Raising their stakes

6) Not meddling in their lives

7) Letting them play.

Ask provoking questions in line with these steps, answer them thoroughly, and then repeat the process to provide constant individual growth in your characters that mirrors life.

In this series of articles, I will guide you through the seven steps to successful character development. In this first part, we'll work through the first two steps: your characters' desires and fears.

1) Label the Desire Essences of each of your main characters

The first key to deepening your work comes from finding the major motivators in the lives of your characters. What drives their actions and reactions? Do their desires stem from specific experiences? We all have deep-seeded aspirations that spur our choices, thoughts, acts, and responses. These stimuli are what differentiate us from one another and we will refer to them as "Desire Essences." Some examples of Desire Essences are the desire to: be intellectually brilliant; be socially famous; hide from the world; belong to a group; be loved; party wildly; or end your suffering and die.

Desire is at the core of every being. We naturally aspire to be, do, or possess something that is just beyond our reach. Desire can be simple or deeply passionate. Write down the ten most important desire essences of each character! Once you have explored this component of your character's psyche, you are on your way to mastering their voice.

2) Label the Fear Essences of each of your main characters

What lies at the root of each of your characters' darker sides? For every desire they possess, they should also exhibit the antithetical fear of failing at attaining that desire. These fears will battle their aspirations for control over their behavior. Understand and then label the darker sides of your characters. This step is imperative to creating the dimensional and imperfect characters you are after. Some examples of Fear Essences are the fear of being: stupid; ordinary; socially exposed; rejected by a group; loathed; boring; or having to face life. Write down the ten most important fear essences of each character.

In the next installment of this four-part series, we'll work on developing the backstory behind these essences that creates the foundation for your characters' present lives. We'll also delve into their behavior and explore ways to build characters that are exciting, dynamic, and unique.

In the meantime writers, keep your rear in the chair, your fingers on the keys, and your writing reaching for the stars.

The use of a main character is neccessary in any story, so that one may have a point of view for basis. This point of view allows the reader to be more knowledgeable about what is going on in the character's head. It gives insight to thoughts and feelings of the character and lets the reader know when the character is feeling pain or is just plain exhausted. It would be unnecessary to have more than two main characters to be used as reference and it is really more difficult for the reader to be able to distinguish between the thoughts of more than one person, let alone more than two.

Readers must be able to locate a happy medium when reading and writers have to be able to provide that happy medium. In classic detective writing, it is important to create a main character, the detective. The detective can be formal or informal but it is important to establish his attitudes and morals. The character is almost as important as the story that it helps to tell. If a character was produced that had no background, the reader would not understand completely why the character did what he did. Common phrases of the character are also helpful to have on hand because that is a trademark of the character. Think of Sherlock Holmes, what is one phrase that is best remembered of Doyle's oh so popular detective? "Elementary, my dear Watson, elementary." People commonly use that phrase even now, in this day and age, in a kind of silent homage to the character. Despite the fact that Doyle never actually had Holmes utter that phrase.

This detective can be crazy or just a little off in the head. It doesn't matter as long as the character is well brought out and foreshadowed. Such characters must be able to be imagined by the reader so that they may hold the reader's attention during even the slowest period in the book or short story. There is no supernatural power that can be used by the character because that is completely against the rules in the classic detective story. These stories are modest, simple tales of crimes that have been committed by someone unknown. The crime must be solved and the detective must be the hero at the end of the story. The detective cannot, however, commit the crime that is being investigated. No matter how interesting it may seem to put that into the story, again, it is against the rules of the classic detective fiction story. The character must be winning, genuine, and have minor quirks that normal or slightly abnormal individuals have. Make the character as real as it can be.

If the writer chooses to make a second main character, this character should be able to flow evenly with the other main character. Such is the use of Watson in Doyle's tales of Sherlock Holmes. Although Watson may not be a main character exactly, he is definitely a main supporting character whose thoughts and feelings are aware to the reader.If one can effectively create a winning character and a winning storyline, the rest will be history.

Board games very often are about a particular story and feature different characters that we all have come to know and love. There are very few of us who wouldn't recognize Rich Uncle Pennybags from Monopoly, some of the beloved faces from the children's game Candy Land, or any of the iconic characters from the classic detective game Clue. The characters featured with a game are often extremely valuable to enhance the mood and theme of the game, and because of the intense popularity of these games, these characters have become a lasting part of today's pop culture.

The mascot of Monopoly, now referred to as Mr. Monopoly instead of Rich Uncle Pennybags, has been widely used and featured with nearly every incarnation of the game since 1946, when he made his first appearance on that edition's game lid. We have seen him around frequently since then, and although he is not a playable character within the game, seeing Rich Uncle Pennybags brings a response of familiarity out of most people. Whenever a board game character becomes referenced in outside media, we can be assured that they have become a part of typical pop culture. Rich Uncle Pennybags has been referenced in everything from The Simpsons to Ace Ventura and that character belongs to the world now.

The Candy Land characters also provide us with a familiar sight. The game has been popular since 1949, when faces such as King Kandy, Gramma Nutt, Lord Licorice, and Mr. Mint became a part of board game canon. Their familiar faces are learned by young children, who grow up to associate good times with the game and those characters. You would probably have a difficult time to find anyone who wouldn't recognize any of those characters and be able to associate at least one of them with Candy Land.

Clue, however, provides some of the most memorable characters in the most lasting way. With Clue, players play the game as the characters themselves, compared to these other games in which the characters are just a feature in the game. In this classic detective game, six memorable suspects take the center stage, in which they try to figure out which of them committed the murder of poor Mr. Boddy, who is a pretty memorable character himself, despite never making an appearance himself. Miss Scarlet, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, and Professor Plum constitute these iconic suspects, and by playing as one of them during the game, their place in today's culture becomes affirmed.

One of the interesting things about Clue, however, is the multiple editions that it has produced and the ways that the characters change slightly in each. Since its conception in 1949, each edition has produced a makeover of both the game board and the characters, giving them a slightly different appearance each time. The story behind each of the characters changes as well. The game adopts a situation that can fit many different particular stories and because of this, the characters in the game can be rich and lasting, able to survive through shifts in culture and popular view. The characters have done this, however, for it is pretty safe to assume that any of us who have ever accused "Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Lead Pipe," has known what they were talking about.

If your readers don't care about your characters, you're sunk. Readers don't necessarily have to like all of your characters, but they have to care about what happens to your main character, or there's no reason for them to keep reading.

Which means you have to care about your characters, and you have to know them, maybe even better than you know yourself. To create characters that live and breathe on the page, you must first create characters that live in breathe in your psyche. This is why you need to know much more about them than you'll ever have to include in your completed story.

One way to achieve this authentic character history is to put your main character(s) in as many real-life situations as possible. And because thinking is only the first stage and can only get you so far, write these situations out, considering all sorts of details.

When you can imagine your character in different places and with different people, beyond people and places your story requires, you make your fictional people exponentially more realistic within the confines of your own story.

Start by deciding on the basics: your main character's date of birth and favorite things (such as food, color, activity, place, song, movie, book, friend, family member, possession, game, animal/pet, amusement park ride, season). Remember: these are details you'll want to work out, even though they may never need to be discussed in your story.

The basics is great place to start, but to create the most vivid, memorable characters, you'll need to stretch your imagination and go beyond the basics.

The following exercises will get you started in developing rich, believable, interesting characters. Choose the exercises you're most drawn to, and really let yourself go—don't worry about polished sentences or grammar or mechanics. (You can't plumb the depths of your imagination when you're worried about comma placement.)

STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: List emotional, intellectual, and physical strengths and weaknesses for your character. Include any special talents or aptitudes. Get your hands on an IQ test and take it from your character's perspective, not yours. (Tricky, but fun and worthwhile.)

DINNER AT OUR HOUSE: Imagine a family meal at your main character's dinner table. Write a short descriptive scene revealing the average evening meal at your main character's house.

Now revisit that meal scene and add tension. (After all, tension makes fiction go 'round.) Perhaps the school principal called Mom that afternoon and therefore Mom has some serious lecturing to do (or some serious disappointment to relate). Or maybe Dad lost his job that day and -- over meatloaf and green beans -- tells the family that they'll have to be uprooted (again). Perhaps the teen daughter brings home a dinner date who only Mom (an undercover detective) recognizes as a convicted felon.

The point is: think of an emotionally-charged piece of information that will make this meal very different from the one above. Write this scene, paying attention to specifics.

WHAT WOULD S/HE DO? Imagine an ethical dilemma that your character finds himself/herself in. Maybe your character was offered a job promotion or a large bonus based on a task s/he didn't carry out alone. Does s/he tell the truth and share the credit with the colleague or keep quiet about it and bask in the glory solo? Choose a moral quandary, plunk your character it in, and write a short, thorough, descriptive scene. Be sure to tap into your character's thoughts, fears, conflicts, and ultimately how s/he arrived at the final decision.

DEAR DIARY: Write three diary/journal entries from your main character's point of view, fully in his/her voice and in his/her head. Make the entries occur on different days and have them deal with different events and emotions. Try to include a whole range of feelings -- joy, sorrow, rage, uncertainty, anxiety, to name a few.

DOCTOR, DOCTOR: Write up your character's last physical exam report, as it would be written by the family physician. Include all relevant details, along with any physical complaints the character might mention.

Then write up some clinical notes from a psychologist who has been seeing your character in therapy. Perhaps your character has discussed his/her worst fear with the doctor. Reveal as much background to that fear as you can: when and why it began, how it's manifested, how your character struggles to cope with it.

DEAR AUTHOR: Your character writes you (the author) a letter, instructing you quite specifically in how s/he wants to be portrayed in the book. Make your character's personality come through loud and clear in this letter. Try to set yourself aside as you write it.

JOB APPLICATION: Get your hands on a job application (or create one of your own), and fill it out from your character's point of view. Include work history, schooling, references, as well as the character's statement explaining why s/he would be perfect for the job.

Always remember to have fun with these. The minute you're not having fun, stop. The looser and more relaxed you are when you try these exercises, the more you'll get from them. You'll discover things about your character you never thought you knew, which translates to a more fully realized, believable person alive in your story.

To discover additional ways to make your writing habit more enjoyable, satisfying and productive, visit http://ManuscriptRx.com and sign up for "Write Through It," the FREE monthly e-newsletter that offers practical writing advice and anecdotal wisdom.

Creating characters that are believable takes time and discipline. Creating dynamically real individuals and not imposing your own thoughts and impressions upon them is not easy to do, and is often the difference between a novel or screenplay that sits in a closet and one that finds its way around town and into the hands of audiences. Spending your time building your characters before they enter the world of your story makes the process of writing an easier and more enjoyable ride, and creates a finished product that agents, publishers, producers and readers can truly be excited by.

You must first agree to operate from the understanding that the three-dimensionality of your characters is not created magically. Talent equals discipline multiplied by time and you must practice (daily) the art of developing your characters. As a development executive with LA Film Lab Entertainment (a literary development and production company), I have developed a framework to assist you in creating rich and complex characters. The complexity that you desire comes through 1) labeling their desire essences, 2) labeling their fear essences, 3) getting specific about their past, 4) labeling their behavior, 5) raising their stakes, 6) not meddling in their lives, and 7) letting them play. Asking provoking questions in line with these steps, answering them thoroughly, and then repeating the process, provides constant individual growth in your characters that mirrors life. Now let's take each step in turn:

1. Label the Desire Essences of each of your main characters: The first key to deepening your work is finding the major motivators in the lives of your characters that drive their actions. We all have deep aspirations that drive our choices, our thoughts, our actions and reactions. These needs are what differentiate us from one another and we will refer to them as "Desire Essences." Some examples of DESIRE ESSENCES are: the desire to be intellectually brilliant; the desire to be socially famous; the desire to hide from the world; the desire to belong to a group; the desire to be loved; the desire to party; the desire to die.

2. Label the Fear Essences of each of your main characters: What is at the root of each of your characters' darker sides? For every desire they have they should also exhibit the antithetical fear of failing at that desire. These fears will battle their aspirations for control over their behavior. Labeling and understanding the darker sides of your characters is imperative to creating the dimensional and imperfect characters you are after. Some examples of FEAR ESSENCES are: the fear of being stupid; the fear of being ordinary; the fear of being socially exposed; the fear of being rejected by a group; the fear of being loathed; the fear of being boring; the fear of having to face life.

3. Get specific with your Backstory: Human behavior is made up of a string of moments and reactions to those moments. A character's current behavior is a battle between fear and desire and their immediate choices are made based on very specific (yet unconscious) experiences from their past - experiences that leave imprints much like DNA. Though your characters should be unconscious of these past experiences that are influencing them, you the writer must create these in your preparation of their backstory be fully aware of them. Here is an example of what won't benefit you vs. what will when getting specific with backstory:

Bad example of getting specific: Rachel is a pretty girl who thinks she is unattractive. She prefers to live in her books as opposed to being with friends or family. Her father has abused her sexually throughout her youth. She hates attention.

Better example of getting specific: On her graduation day, at a party her Mother is throwing for her, Rachel's sexually abusive father shows up drunk and congratulates her, hugging her too closely, grabbing her rear end with both hands, and calling her pretty in front of a room full of her friends and family. She runs away humiliated and hides in her room, escaping into one of her fantasy books. That night she moves out to stay with a friend and doesn't tell her friends where she is going. Two weeks later she finds out through another friend that her father died in a car accident. He had been drunk.

In the better example of getting specific, the reader can have a visceral reaction to the words. This is caused by the detail. The generality of the bad reaction is logical, but lifeless. In the better example it is easy to determine what the essences of our leading lady might be: desire to hide, maybe even desire to die, desire to live in her books, desire to be valued for her intellect instead of her body, fear of loneliness, fear of her appearance, fear of the opposite sex, fear of losing a loved one, fear of being abandoned.

4. Describe their Current Behavior: Take the essences and the specific examples you have now created and determine what kind of behavior your characters might exhibit as a result. Don't limit yourself with these, but rather excite yourself with the possibilities.

Simple examples from our leading lady - a woman who: hides her body; avoids friends from her past; mistrusts anyone who comments favorably on her appearance; desires to control her education and her intellect; avoids alcohol.

5. Raise the stakes: Emotions are extreme. Play in the realm of this extreme when dealing with the fears and ambitions of your characters. These essences are all encompassing; meaning that we spend our lifetimes with them. Don't cheat your characters by being afraid to raise the stakes as high as you can. Needing to find a precious stone to sell to an art dealer by midnight to raise the financing to save your character's mother's house before the bank takes it away from her tomorrow is exciting! Look back at your own life and think of how seriously you take your essences - when your essences are threatened will you fight to extremes to defend them, just as when they are fulfilled, do you enjoy some of your greatest moments in life? Play in the realm of the extreme. Raise the stakes. Your essences are life and death to you - let them be that way to your characters.

6. Don't meddle: Of course you might be saying to yourself, "How do I not meddle - I'm the writer!" But a truthful story is going to grow from your willingness to let your characters make their own decisions based on how you have defined them (which after these exercises will be in great depth). As their parent, you have to let your children go; this is the point at which your story truly begins. DO NOT MEDDLE IN THEIR LIVES. Continually remind yourself - it's not about you. You just serve the story. Let your characters make their own decisions. If you ever find yourself not knowing what decision they might make - question your homework and rework their essences, behaviors and stakes until their choice becomes obvious.

7. Let your characters play: Once you have developed several characters by labeling their essences, getting specific, defining their behavior, and raising the stakes, you are ready to begin to let them interact. It's like the first day at a new school; ripe with possibility. When properly developed, there is no way to predict how your characters will behave in any given situation, but they are so full of life and their own agendas that they are ready to interact with other characters who have been developed to the same level. If you have done the work to get to this place - this is where your characters will begin to write themselves.

Follow these steps to create the richer characters you want to be writing.

Find the Essences:

To find the essences of your characters, you have to look to their history and their genetics. Just like real people, your characters' current behavior is defined by their DNA combined with experiences you create in their past. We all have the basic fears and ambitions of survival, shelter, and food, so when working on these essences focus on the ones that really drive each character. Consider ethnicity, religious beliefs, and major life events. Address sex, drugs, music, parents, siblings, education, appearance and intelligence for sure.

Start by writing out twenty DESIRE ESSENCES that feel right for each main character. Then determine one polar opposite of each DESIRE to create your twenty FEAR ESSENCES. Go back and toss the ones that you now feel less attached to. Repeat and refine the process until you have at least ten of each for each character that really excite you.

Get specific about Backstory:

Get specific about how your character's essences have come to be. Create definitive moments in your characters' lives that detail when these fears and desires were initiated. Come up with five supporting examples of moments in their lives when each of these essences was tested and eventually vindicated in the name of the fear or in the name of the desire. Failure vindicates the fear and success vindicates the desire. Write at least one half page of text supporting each -Yes that will give you a total of twenty-five pages of essence work. Do the work.

10 Essences (a desire and a fear for each) x 5 samples for each = 50 descriptions (each a half page)

Label the Current Behavior:

Using their essences and their specific past, come up with ten sample behaviors for each character. Simple example: a character who has a desire to hide and a fear of being publicly humiliated, has a specific past incident of continually having their pants pulled down in public by a sibling. The current behavior - they might always wear a belt, or might always look behind themselves in a very specific attempt to never be humiliated again.

Raise the stakes:

After looking over your newly created examples, it should be easy to determine some issues that might be going on in their lives that would increase or decrease their stress. A decrease in stress generally excites people to take greater chances, while an increase in stress tends to shorten people's fuses.

List five possible increases or decreases in your characters stress level.

Don't meddle and let them play:

Now put two of your fully developed characters into the same room. Implement two or three increases in stress to one character and two or three decreases in stress to the other character and let them bounce off of one another. Go into this exercise with no preconceived notions of what might happen. If you have done your homework, they should affect one another.*

*If you need a jumpstart - add an element that one needs from the other and give the other a strong reason for not wanting to provide what that character needs. Could be tangible or emotional.