Character Reference

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.

Linkedin instructs you to only invite people you know well and who know you.   This practice leads to quality contacts; people who already know you and could connect you to someone through an introduction.  There is an advantage of having quality contacts, but how quickly can you increase your connections if you only connect to people that you already know?  

I'm only four months old in the social networking arena, and I admit that I've become less inhibited about requesting connections on Linkedin than when I started. I believe my Facebook participation has made me believe that anyone should be approachable. However, I do see the value in the Linkedin guidelines because it's more of a business oriented site. FB is driven by social etiquette, and Linkedin is driven by business etiquette.

Because of the business etiquette on Linkedin, I ignore the invitations from people who look like they are mass marketers. I think they are using the wrong networking service. Facebook has built more of a culture on quantity, and I like that you can follow anyone...ANYONE; your favorite author, your favorite tennis player, favorite artist (as a fan.) It appears to break down any barriers and brings the world together. Finding new people to connect with and reading their profiles, comments, etc is addicting too, but is it worse than vegging in front of a TV for hours?

I teach workshops that help people understand and acquire business networking skills. I start by defining stages of relationship building, and add that according to our research (Contacts Count program; 17 years of research) it takes about six contacts to get to know someone's character and competence. Hopefully this is done in person, but social networking sites can help us get to know someone....Help. We wouldn't want to substitute online communication with person to person communication, I hope. There is research from the Stanford University's Shyness Center that shows Americans are getting more shy- will the networking sites feed this trend by encouraging people to hide behind the computer screen?

Who would I recommend, or not recommend from a Linkedin contact? If I have never met someone in person, I might be able to see online activity that shows a sense of honesty, intelligence, politeness, and consideration (expressions used in writing, interests, work history, and how they contribute and help others.) Good character and competence are characteristics that I would think any hiring manager would like to see in a candidate.  Interview questions can predict future behavior based on answers which show historical behavior, right? So wouldn't there be a good value attached to seeing someone on Linkedin who is proving to be a good source of information in their field? How quickly could I really learn about their character and competence and begin to trust them enough to go out on a limb and recommend them? It would depend on geography, groups and associations in common; frequency of contacts. Is meeting someone in person the deal breaker? Can I recommend someone based on their showing good character online rather than actually working with them? Can I assume the "all or nothing rule- if they succeed in their personal life they will succeed in their work life." Last point to make- if we network by teaching and giving, we can develop relationships both online and in person. Thanks for the first contact.
Susan

It appears that HTML entities can cause RSS/syndication readers to fail when trying to read WordPress comment RSS feeds. Fortunately, a plugin has been written to resolve the issue. Entity 2NCR has a confusing name, but has a purpose that is easy to understand which is to convert various HTML Character Entities to their numeric equivalents.

HTML Explained

The Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is a simple markup language used to create hypertext documents that are platform independent. HTML documents are SGML documents with generic semantics appropriate for representing information from a wide range of domains. It can represent hypertext news, mail, documentation and hypermedia as well as menus of options, database query results and simple structured documents with in-line graphics. It can likewise represent hypertext views of existing bodies of information.

The World Wide Web (WWW) has been using HTML since 1990, making it one if the most widely used computer languages in the world. The WWW, in turn, is most commonly used for HTML whose popularity is due to the fact that it is the coding technology used to publish content on the Internet or the web. Programmers were quick to recognize HTML's user friendliness due to the ease of learning it.

This ease of coding was significantly contributory to the proliferation of web sites. However, HTML is not a complete programming language because it lacks conditional tests and flow control statements. There are implementations that may offer extensions to the HTML language in order to accomplish these functions but are not actually part of the HTML standards. By embedding some suitable programming language code inside HTML, the power of real programming language is realized.

A character entity can be written in two ways in HTML. One is called the symbolic reference while the other is the numeric reference. Symbolic references start with an ampersand and ends with a semi colon. The description of the symbol which is generally a shortened version of the full expression, can be found between these two. The letters in the middle are case sensitive and are usually lower cased, though there are exceptions.

Numeric references also start with an ampersand and finish with a semi colon, but between them is a number preceded by a hash. These are less memorable than symbolic references but correspond only to just a single byte of data. This can be very useful if one is trying to optimize pages for minimum download time. Symbolic references are sometimes referred to as entity references while numeric references are also called decimal references.

Most unusual characters can be directly entered without any problem. However, HTML character entities can be used in case one does encounter a problem. Lines and paragraph are automatically recognized. A couple of blank lines are added when paragraphs are not recognized.

A character entity is a method used to display special characters normally reserved for use in HTML. For instance, the less than () are used as part of the HTML tag structure, thus both symbols are reserved for the use. If there is a need to display these symbols on one's site, character entities can be used.

Problems

Many WordPress users are running afoul of character entities appearing in their comment RSS feeds, which many RSS/syndication readers fail on. The WordPress Plugin - Entity 2NCR seeks to resolve this by converting various HTML character entities such as », &, © and so on to their numeric equivalents. This plugin is for RSS output, but can also be adapted to posts if the user so wishes.

Installation of the Entity2NCR is not needed if a user is running WordPress 1.5.1 and above. It will only result to problems due to the plugin's function having the same name in the WordPress core. Upgrading to the most recent version is recommended since the plugin is already incorporated. The Entity2NCR should first be deactivated from the Plugin Admin before the installation of 1.5.1. The user should likewise delete its file from the WP-contents/plugins directory since it will just unnecessarily take up space.

The Entity2NCR is installed by downloading the zip file, extracting http://Entity2NCR.php from it and uploading this to the WP-content/plugins/directory and activating the plugin in WordPress. Entity2NCR hits the standard assortment of HTML character entities plus some of the more unusual and obscure ones as well. While this plugin primarily focuses on RSS output, both from posts and comments, it can also convert character entities in the regular content on one's blog as well. At the end of the plugin for the add-filter lines, the user is to remove the comment for any WordPress function he/she would want Entity2NCR to work on.

The RSS 2.0 spec is too vague although it can produce feeds that are valid, accurate and useful. This means that the contents of the feed should reflect the best possible representation of the article content. The spec does not say however, what to do if an article title contains HTML code or entities. It also doesn't say a lot of other things. In fact, an entire industry has sprung around the service of interpreting and fixing the various semantic differences between feeds. RSS application developers need to agree on some basic answers to fundamental questions instead of making endless conflicting discussions that do not help in any way.

Attribute Values

An HTML author should always put attribute values into quotes in HTML, although the formal rules allow the omission of the quotes in some cases. SGML requires that all attribute values are delimited using either double quotation marks or single quotation marks. Single quote marks can be included within the attribute values when the value is delimited by double quote marks and vice versa. Authors can also use numeric character references to represent double quotes and single quotes or use the character entity reference " for double quotes. There are cases that the values of an attribute may be specified without any quotation marks. The attribute value may contain letters, digits, hyphens and periods. It is highly recommended to use quotation marks even when it is possible to eliminate them.

There are several reasons to always use quotes around attribute values. It is much easier since there is no need to memorize and recall the rules for allowable omission. Another thing is that quotes are always required in XML. When one's HTML file is later edited, it may easily be forgotten to add the quotes in attribute value that is edited in a manner which makes the quotes mandatory. One drawback of doing this is the effort of typing and extra storage and transmission time required which are quite minor issues anyway. Quotes constitute just a small fraction of an HTML file.

Have you ever experienced writing a letter of reference and not knowing what to write? Has anyone approached you requesting a letter of reference and you felt you had to say no? Have you ever wondered how to write a letter of reference?

This letter is generally meant to help someone obtain employment. They are also used when applying for college. There are employers who would require this letter from their employees and regard this letter as a character reference. Often, the purpose for which a letter of reference is intended is huge. This is why it is important to learn how to write a letter of reference especially if you seem to have a lot of people requesting this letter from you.

In almost all cases, only people who know you will request this letter from you. You need not wonder how to write a letter of reference. It's easy but it's easier to write a letter if you are at least familiar with the person; otherwise, you wouldn't even know where you would begin. It is advisable to decline the request and promptly suggest that the person seek for it elsewhere. It is also not advisable to write a recommendation letter if you don't feel like creating one for a particular individual, although you may know of him or her. This kind of letter only works well if you know you can actually recommend the person.

Learning how to write a letter of reference is not that difficult. It doesn't even have to be wordy or long. You only need to explain how the person is related or known to you. Is he your neighbor? Is he a co-worker or a business acquaintance? Is he your student? You also need to put down how long you have known the person. This would determine how well you know the person. A letter of recommendation for someone you have known only known for two days is not really credible.

Aside from mentioning the length of time you have known the person, you also need to mention your shared experiences with the person if there are any. This would give the recipient of the letter a clue as to how trustworthy your claims and recommendations are.

Many people do not know how to write a letter of reference because they do not simply know what to say. Basically, you need to mention of three traits that the person requesting the letter possesses. Is the person honest? Is he dependable? Is he the kind of person that you would want to have on your team? What are his skills?

You need to carefully think of the things you have to say before you actually start writing the letter. Make a draft if necessary. Add an anecdote if you feel like it would help. Just make sure that the person will stand out.

Once you have learned how to write a letter of reference, you wouldn't have difficulty phrasing the words and sentences that will help the person achieve the purpose for which your letter is intended.

Landlords give their property on rent to get additional finance. They provide facilities to the tenant and in return tenants pay monthly rent to the landlord. It is important to check carefully whether tenants are good or bad renters for the sake of getting finance on time. It is necessary for the tenant to place all information about their personal details along with previous residence address in the landlord reference letter. 

Rental applications ask a lot of questions that should be constructed in order to gather enough information about a prospective tenant to avoid any problems. This application would play a decisive role whether he or she is a potential renter or not.

The landlords always think of reducing the risk of losing income by renting his property to the good renters more often than bad renters. Landlords may ask for character reference letter if they are looking for good tenants.

Before entering into the renting place, tenant should act sensible and understand his responsibility towards it. Landlords have invested in their property so they do not want to rent it to anyone who would damage the apartment. If the tenant has a good track record of keeping his previous apartment in good condition, then he or she can get the apartment. The landlord reference letter of the tenant can come from the most recent landlord's. With a good rental history he or she should not have any problem in getting a reference letter from a landlord.

The reference letter may include the behaviour of the tenant with neighbours, paying rent on time, ability of taking care of home, any complaints etc. Nowadays it is very likely that landlords would do a background check and a credit check. So, it is better to keep up the good records, and one should be always aware of his or her credit status. While you may have a good idea about credit score, you should be prepared to explain any deficient areas, if necessary. Everyone has ups and downs in terms of finance, and as long as you have a reasonable explanation and are able to show how you have taken steps to prevent the financial downturns, you should have options to get a good apartment.

Look over your application form that you have to fill for the reference letter and think about the most appropriate things you can say, then jot them down and be sure to express them accurately to your landlord reference writer. It is a good idea to have your landlord reference letter writer to end casually, with an invitation to the landlord to contact him or her if they need more information or clarification about a certain statement.

With the help of good and positive reference letter you not only get an apartment to live but also build up rapport with the landlord and maintain a strong trust- worthy relation forever

For more information you can visit: http://www.landlordtenant.org.uk/

The government of the country you wish to immigrate to wants to know, how best you'll serve and benefit the country. So, what should you know and how can you prepare?

The Health and Character Tests

If you fail the health or character test, your entire application will be rejected.

Fortunately, the requirements can be waived under the  Family Visa Stream (Spouse or Child Visa)
The family Sponsored skilled applications also have the right of appeal against a refusal. Interestingly enough, an independent Application has some recourse against an adverse decision.

Every visa category has a different health and character requirement.

Take the following into consideration: A chest x-ray is required for adult applications in order to obtain a work permit. This only applies is the applicant/you are planning to work in school or hospitals. A police clearance is not mandatory. A discretionary request is mandatory.

The Character Test The test is long and detailed. Applicants are required to provide individual circumstances to their registered migration consultant. This is needed to obtain complete and accurate advice on visa chances.

Your Criminal Offences

In regards to character testing, the Australian Government for example will consider the nature of any offence that the applicant may have. The government will assess any time served as well as how long ago the offence was committed and how many offences are listed and recorded. The country in which the offense occurred will also be taken into consideration as many contrived carry very strict punishments. Some offences are viewed as minor.

Issues that cause problems

Violent offences, drug charges, long periods of imprisonment and serious white collar crime.

The Health Test is as detailed as the Character Test (not to mention your  citizenship test. For example, the most prevalent disease or illnesses that will be checked for are tuberculosis, any contagious or expensive to treat illnesses that could place some strain on the public health system. It's generally about the well being and sustainability of the country. So you may be thinking, what if I offer to pay for all my medical tests or bills through the private system? Surely, this will work in my favour? There's no guarantee that it will. Take into account that once you're a permanent resident you cannot contract out of your public health rights.

Unfavourable Diseases

Cancer, Renal Failure, HIV, certain types of Diabetes, Down syndrome, autism and paraplegia can cause some concern.

It will stand you in good stead to seek professional advice. This area of the Immigration Process can become complicated and intricate. If you think that you don't stand a chance of passing the test, a professional may just prove you wrong.

Preparing for the Test

Everyone's situation is different. The answers below are general as to give great scope. However, the questions and answers aren't concrete and should not be taken too seriously. It'll merely give you an idea as to what you can or may expect.

Health Test and Character Questions – What to Expect

If you have concerns about your medical conditions, it may be a good idea to have a pre-migration assessment done. In fact, there are doctors who specialise in this. Ask your immigration Consultant for advice. You may have a predisposition to certain illnesses. Perhaps, your family line or heredity could be to blame. Who knows? Do a bit of investigation into the diseases or illnesses that are most prevalent in your family line.

Your medical exam will consist of the following; a chest x-ray, blood tests and full medical/body check.

An Immigration Consultant can find a unique solution for your scenario.

The Health Test – Points to Ponder

Scenario:
Applicant is wheelchair-bound wanting to migrate to Australia
Applicants that are wheelchair-bound, wanting to migrate to Australia can gain approval when applying for a spousal visa.

Scenario:
Applicant is diagnosed with cancer. However, the applicant is in remission. Note that the applicant will have to be clear of the disease for five years after remission.

Character Test Know how's – Point to Ponder

Scenario:
Applicant spent 6 months in jail. Applicant was charged with shoplifting. It's a first offense and occurred 10 years ago whilst the applicant was an adolescent.

The length of the time spent in jail was not long. This works in the applicants favour. If the applicant spent 10 or 15 years in jail, there may be some cause for concern. The applicant should gather some excellent character references from people of influence in your community.

Scenario: Applicant has incurred speeding fines.
A speeding fine is not considered a criminal offence. Speeding fines are considered misdemeanours. Usually this won't be an issue.

Your tests are important. Do the best you can to abide by the requirements. However, the best way to prepare is to contact an Immigration Consultant  or complete a free online assessment. The consultant has dealt with various scenarios and will more than likely have a solution for whatever you concerns may be. Give your agent a call and prepare for success!

Want more information from one of our trained professionals? Fill out our FREE ASSESSMENT form or call us on 0845 2 606030 on a no obligation basis.

In order to learn how to set up the format for a reference letter in the litigious culture of today, 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 will write an excellent sample reference letter.

You have been asked to write a letter of reference letter for an employee. This person values your opinion, and you are glad to be of help. The problem is you are unsure how to go about writing a reference letter.

Reference letters are generally written for prospective employers, scholarship applications, and character reference. An effective reference letter will contain the following:

1. You must know enough about the person and their skills, abilities, and their character to write clearly and truthfully.

2. You should know whether your organization allows you to write a letter of reference. Some do not!

3. State your title, position, and any other pertinent information.

4. State the title of the person, position, primary responsibilities and professional associations. Also include dates of employment.

5. Use a business like but courteous and warm tone.

6. Do not make vague statements like such as he was respected among his coworkers. But rather say that James led the way in increasing production by 20% over the last year.

7. Describe certain instances where James really shined. You could mention that he stayed late to complete a critical project. Also that he worked diligently to help a customer make a product decision.

8. Say how James is a keen observer and that 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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 are 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 get stuck. This is a great time saver if you are 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 level.

On a recent trip to Oklahoma to vist a good friend of mine from business school, all he could talk about was how lucky he was to find a way to buy the home he had his eye on for 2 years.  Charles and I have known each other for years.  We met in an accounting class years ago and have kept in touch.

Charles is self employed and runs his own business and has done so for years.  Until recently his business has performed quite well.  With the downturn, and an addition to his family, Charles decided the family needed to move.  But there was only one problem--no bank would finance the $320,000 house he was looking to purchase.  Everywhere Charles went, he would show he had the money to buy it--but no banks would work with him due to a lack of W2's and average credit from a real estate project years before.

Enter New Horizon Oklahoma.  "This program is too good to be true.  I was at wits end, and they told me all I had to do was come up with the down payment and three character references.  I did and I am now in my home". 

Since that time, Charles has been telling a lot of his friends about the program and the program itself is taking off. New Horizon Oklahoma helps people purchase a home who fall into any of the following categories:  Credit challenged consumers (or no income verification), self-employed individuals or just individuals seeking discretion.  What makes this program work is the network of 10,000 private investors who finance the homes.

"The American Dream is still alive for myself and my family, thanks to New Horizon Oklahoma" Charles boasts.  I was impressed with the program as well, and even more impressed that Charles picked up our lunch tab. 

You can find more information on the program at www.NewHorizonOklahoma.com by clicking on Guaranteed Home Approval.

Some folks can whip up a sample character reference letter straight off the top of their head, for those who can't, it's a good idea to keep one on file.

If a person requests you to pen a letter, it goes without saying they would anticipate that it contained only good things about them. Did your Mom ever say to you, "If you have nothing nice to say about someone, then don't say anything"

THAT MAKES SENSE DOESN'T IT?

Some businesses state that providing character reference letters is against company policy. If you're against writing one, certainly this makes it easy for you.

If the company you work for has this policy, it's possibly not a good move to go ahead & write one.

If your opinion of the person is high enough and it's important to you that you write one, go ahead... just write it on plain stationery. You may wish to check with your boss prior to writing it, the last thing you want to do is jeopardise you job.

Composing a good letter is very much an art so if you don't feel that you can produce a professional document, then don't ask someone else has the talent to do it.

A SAMPLE CHARACTER REFERRENCE LETTER...

Here is a sample to give you an idea to kick off with.

March 25 2009

Dear sir/madam, David Johnson has been employed with The Stevens Corporation since 2001 in the position of Chief Engineer.

Throughout his employment I've been extremely impressed by David's skill in his chosen career & his ability to put his skill to practice. He has well developed communication skills which have assisted us to retain more customers. Ever ready to put in the extra effort, David is diligent, proud of what he does has a great eye for design, and stays on track working on a plan.

Since joining us his contributions towards the company's growth has been significant and include improved product quality, greater an increase in our credibility and redesigning of outdated equipment.

A terrific team player, David has been a delight to be associated with.

All of us at here at The Stevens Corporation, and our customers, wish him every success in the future..

Yours sincerely,

Brian Jones

LAYOUT IS IMPORTANT...

Your sample character reference letter, of course, should be written in an acceptable format so it falls in line with standard business letter writing.

And for the benefit of anyone wishes to contact you, make sure you include relevant details in your letter.

Communication is all inportant in the business world.