It’s just human nature to doubt the claims of someone who has already lied to or cheated on you. So, the spouse who had an affair can claim that he is beyond remorseful, ashamed, embarrassed and even mortified by his behavior. But his wife can’t help wondering why he wasn’t feeling any of these emotions when he was carrying on the affair. So many people wonder how “real” these claims truly are.

You might hear from someone who says something like: “here’s what I want to know. Are cheaters truly embarrassed or ashamed by their behavior? Here’s why I am asking. Over the last two months, two of my very good friends found out that their husband’s were cheating. Coincidentally enough, my husband and I were attending a sporting event that was popular and drew a very large crowd. We actually saw one of these men out with the other woman. Rather than ducking away and trying to hide from us (which is what I would have done) this guy literally puffed out his chest like he was proud to be seen with this much younger woman. He gave my husband a look like my husband should be envious. This guy acted like he was ecstatic that he was out with a woman young enough to be his daughter while his family was at home and heartbroken. And yet, the wife had told me that he was begging her not to leave him all the while telling her how ashamed he was. Well, he sure didn’t look ashamed to me. Meanwhile, one of my best friends is riddled with guilt because her old boyfriend looked her up on Facebook and she didn’t tell her husband immediately. Nothing happened. She gave the guy a quick response back telling him how happily married she was. This wasn’t cheating. And yet my friend is very ashamed, as if she did something wrong. I’ve heard people on TV say that cheaters are ashamed but I don’t believe it. It seems to me that people who stop short of cheating are embarrassed or ashamed while the real and blatant cheaters are not.”

I can understand why it would seem this way. And I would probably assume the same in a similar situation. In fact, I often doubted my own husband’s alleged shame because I figured that most of that shame was happening simply because he got caught. But, once I started writing articles about this topic and started getting responses, I have to say that I heard from a lot of people who deeply regretted cheated on their spouses and who felt very deep shame. Granted, I very rarely hear from the indignant cheater who feels little or no remorse, but I know that there are people out there who feel this way. So I can’t say with any accuracy which percentage of people who cheat feel shame.

But I do honestly believe that some do. And my theory on this is that the higher the quality of the person and the stronger their character, the more likely it is going to be that they feel shame. Because let’s face it. A cheating husband who never does the right thing who cheats on his taxes, is stingy with his emotions, and who is cruel to others isn’t going to feel much shame when he cheats because this the norm for him. It is in his character to act in a way that most of us would find distasteful.

But people who are known to be good, decent and caring people in every other area of their life and who make a mistake generally do feel real remorse and true shame. Now, I’m not going to tell you that these good people do not compartmentalize or try to come up with justification for their behavior. If they couldn’t do this, then they might not be able to carry out their cheating. I am also not going to tell you that good people don’t try to posture and pretend that they feel that their had their reasons even if they know in their hearts that they did not.

But usually, when good people see the pain in their spouses eyes and they take the time to look an honest look at what they have done and who they have hurt, then yes, they are ashamed and they are often very embarrassed. This is only my opinion from the things that I’ve seen and from the stories that I hear. But I do believe that there is often regret and remorse, even if it is repressed. But I also believe that it depends upon the character of the person who you are talking about.

Pros

1)The greatest advantage of portraying a defined character is that you’ll have instant connection with your crowds. They’ll know what to expect from you.

2) A defined character makes it easy to write. Knowing your angle allows you to frame every premise towards your character’s sensibilities. Plus, if you reach Larry the Cable Guy’s stature, it’s easy to hire a cable of writers since they know your voice and your audience.

3) Your jokes become your jokes. They can’t be stolen or hacked upon. For example, if a comic tried doing “You know you’re a redneck” type jokes, or some variation of this, he or she would be called out by other comics.

4) Stage characters become marketing machines. Fans gobble up every form of merchandise ranging from t-shirts and hats to DVDs and bumper stickers, creating a shockingly lucrative cottage industry for yourself.

5) Characters can be spun into sitcoms. Talent scouts who attend comedy festivals are not necessarily looking for the funniest comedian, but instead ones with point of views that carry sitcom potential. Ray Romano and Rosanne Barr are two prime examples.

Cons

The lone negative is that you’ll forever be typecast. Every time you walk on stage you’ll be required to be your character. There’s no escape.

To understand this, imagine if you went to see Don Rickles and not once did he attack the crowd, preferring instead to tell dog jokes. As a fan you’d be disappointed and leave the venue feeling cheated.

Dustin Diamond, the actor who played Screech in the show Saved by the Bell, is a classic example. He now works as a struggling stand-up comedian. He draws crowds not as Dustin Diamond, but as Screech. Consequently, there’s disappointment from his fans when they hear him telling pot jokes.

Richard Lewis has been known to bomb when he deviates from his Jewish shtick.

Once you’re established you are locked in for the entire ride.

Priest –

1.Discipline

• Divine Aegis –  whenever the priest gets a critical heal a protective bubble shields the target for 30% of the amount healed last 12 seconds.
• Renewed Hope – Increases critical effect chance of your flash heal, greater heal and penance spells by 2/4% on targets afflicted by weakened soul effect.
• Rapture – Causes you to gain up to .5/1/1.5/2/2.5% of your maximum mana each time you heal with greater heal flash heal or penance, or damage is absorbed by a power word shield or Divine Aegis. increasing the amount healed or absorbed increasing the amount of mana gained.
• Grace – Flash heal, greater heal and penance spell have a 100% chance to bless the target with grace reducing damage done to target by 1% and increases all healing received from priest by 2% this effect stacks up to 3 times last 8 seconds
• Borrowed Time – Grants 5%/10%/15%/20%/25% spell haste for your next spell after casting power word shield, and increases the amount absorbed by your power word shield by 40% of your spell power.
• Penance – Launches a volley of holy light at the target, causing 193 to 194 holy damage to an enemy, or 670 to 756 healing to an ally(hordeXD) every second for 2 seconds(3 charges

2.Holy

• Desperate Prayer- instantly heals the caster for 263 to 325(2 min cooldown)
• Serendipity – If your greater heal of flash heal spells heal your target over maximum health your instantly refunded 8%/16%/24% of your spells mana cost
• Improved Holy Concentration – Increases the chance you’ll enter Holy Concentration by 5%/10%/15% and also increases your spell haste by 10%/20%/30% for the next 2 greater heal, flash heal, or binding heal spells after you gain Holy Concentration(last 20 secs)
• Test of Faith – Increases healing by 2%/4%/6% and spell critical effect chance by 2%/4%/6% on friendly targets at or below 50% health.
• Divine Providence – Increases the Amount healed by circle of healing, binding heal, holy nova, prayer of healing, divine hymn and prayer of mending by 2%/4%/6%/8%/10% and reduces the cooldown of your prayer of mending by 6%/12%/18%/24%/30%
• Guardian Spirit – Calls upon a Guardian Spirit to watch over the friendly target. The spirit increases the healing received by the target by 40% and also prevents the target from dying by sacrificing itself. the sacrifice terminates the effect but heals the target of 50% of their maximum health(last 10 seconds)(3 min cooldown)

3. Shadow

• Improved Spirit Tap – Your mind blast and shadow word death crits increase your total spirit by 5%/10% for the duration, your mana will regenerate at 10%/20% rate while casting. (last 8 seconds)
• Veiled Shadows – Decreases the cooldown of your fade ability by 3/6 seconds and reduces the cooldown of your shadow fiend ability by 1/2 mins.
• Vampiric Embrace – Now afflicts your target with shadow energy that causes you to be healed for 15% and other party members to be healed for 3% of any shadow spell dmg you deal for 1 min(10 sec cooldow).
• Improved Vampiric Embrace – Now increases healing received from Vampiric Embrace to the Priest by 33%/67%.
• Mind Melt – Increases the crit chance of your mind blast, mind flay, and mind sear spells by 2%/4%.
• Shadowform – You now assume a shadowform increasing your shadow damage by 15%, reducing physical damage done to you by 15% and threat generated by 30%. However you may not cast holy spells in this form. Your shadow word pain vampiric touch and devouring plague abilities deal increased percentage damage = to your spell crit chance.
• Improved Shadowform – Your fade ability now has 50/100% chance to remove all movement imparing effects while used in shadowform. Reduces channeling time lost when damaged by 35%/70% when casting any shadow spell in shadowform.
• Shadow Power – Now increases the crit damage bonus of your mind blast, mind flay, and shadow word death spells by 20%/40%/60%/80%/100%.
• Psychic Horror – Causes your psychic scream ability to inflict psychic horror on the target when the fear effect ends. Psychich Horror reduces all damage done by the target by 15%/30% for 6 seconds.
• Pain and Suffering – Mind Flay has 33%/67%/100% chance to refresh the duration of shadow word pain on the target and reduces the damage taken from shadow word death by 10%20%/30%
• Twisted Faith – Increases your spell power by 2%/4%/6%/8%/10% of your total spirit . Your damage done by your mind flay and mind blast is increased by 2%/4%/6%/8%/10% if your target is afflicted by shadow word pain.
• Dispersion – You disperse into pure shadow energy reducing all damage taken by 90% you are unable to attack or cast spells but regenerate 6% mana ever 1 second for 6 seconds. Dispersion can be cast while stunned, feared, or silenced.

For more information on Priest and other classes check out http://wotlkcomingsoon.blogspot.com/

Abby Sciuto, a witty, lovable personality with forensic skills that are even greater than her charm. As said by Tony in Season 7, Abby is a paradoxical oxymoron. She is a Goth, but she is the happiest and most joyful member of the NCIS crew. She always keeps a smile on her face, and her happiness is contagious. Her relationship with the other team members is excellent, and they are all very fond of her. Abby is talented in most fields of science, including forensics, DNA, biology, and computer science/hacking. She has a close relationship with McGee, because the two have a lot in common. They are just friends, but are jealous when either one of them interacts with the opposite sex. A very funny predicament when it happens.

Anyone who is stranger to Abby, will find her very weird. They will first be startled by her contradictory nature, and the way she talks. Abby has a way with words! She can rephrase a sentence 50 different ways, talks extremely fast, and can go on repeating a concept out loud for a long time. Her sense of humor is first-rate, and you can see it in her humorous monologues (Gibbs imitation in particular). She always knows how to infuse humor into a situation, and her favorite hippo Bert is her comfort in a tragic/difficult situation.

Ms. Sciuto is also the most persistent member of NCIS. Not only because she has to be, but because it is in her nature. When DiNozzo was framed for murder, the sole fate of Tony’s future laid in her hands. After every bit of forensic evidence led to Tony, she was devastated. But through her devastation, she continued to look at every little detail of the investigation, looking for a slip-up, until she found one piece of evidence that proved Tony’s innocence. This persistence has led Abby to be one of the best forensic scientists in her field, and one of the funniest and upbeat members of NCIS.

Now that we know who she is, let’s answer a basic questionnaire about what Abby would do in certain situations:

Q1. Your best friend has just lost a loved one, how do you handle it?

A. Abby is very emotional, and her strength comes from an openness and fearlessness of expressing her emotions. She will develop deep emotional connections with others very quickly. So when these connections are lost, she will be hit very hard. Abby would not just talk on the phone to comfort a friend, she would drive over, and be there to comfort him/her in person. She would cry with the friend, and use her compassion to comfort her friend.

Q2. You just won $1,000,000 from a lottery ticket that you bought. How do you react?

A. Abby is very social, jumpy, and easily excitable. Winning $1,000,000 would put Abby in a joyous frenzy, telling all of her family and friends. She would spend a certain portion of the money on herself, and most likely donate the rest to charitable causes. Abby is a very charitable person, and she likes to spend her time improving the lives of others. Money is something that she would use to buy new clothes/accessories to fit her lifestyle. She would use the rest to help make the world better.

Q3. Your best friend has just achieved his or her dream goal. How do you show your support?

A. As you might have concluded, Abby is one supportive lady! She would be the one to throw the actual celebration party for a friend, in addition to being there. She may spend a generous amount on a gift, in addition to making a gift with sentimental value. Abby loves to see the happiness in others, and seeing her best friend succeed would be such an inspiration to Abby.

Q4. On your deathbed, how well did you live your life? Is there anything you would have done differently, given a second chance?

A. There is no doubt in my mind that Abby is living the way she wants to live. To take a stand, and be who you are, is the most proactive thing you can do. She lives her life in a way to satisfy who she is as a human being, and not conforming to what society expects of her. Abby does not care what kind of energy she attracts while walking down the street, but she does care about being who she was born to be. On her deathbed, Abby Sciuto will have no regrets about the way she lived her life.

Since their introduction, Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends have chugged their way into the hearts of young fans and their parents worldwide. While learning railroading terms and laughing at the antics of mischievous freight cars, kids learn many positive character traits.

Every engine in the yard aims to be “a really useful engine”. It is some of the highest praise they can earn, and it teaches children to value hard work and pulling their fair share in a job. When they rejoice with Thomas and friends when they finally earn this praise from Sir Topham Hatt, children get excited and want to try for themselves. They look for their own ways to be “really useful engines.” Wise parents nurture this tendency by giving them child-size tasks that really make a difference about the house and telling them so when they’ve completed the job.

Obeying common sense and listening to others’ advice is another trait highlighted in Thomas the Tank Engine stories. Small children reenact these stories with Thomas and friends, repeating to themselves, “Silly Thomas, he should have listened,” and very painlessly internalize a lesson every parent wants their children to take to heart: Listen to good advice! It will save you a lot of pain and trouble.

Good manners and a good attitude are also modeled by these cheerful little engines and the people who work with them. Thomas and friends tell one another good morning, thank one another for help, and are respectful of their drivers and Sir Topham Hatt. The lessons in politeness are all the stronger because it’s just a “given” on the island of Sodor. If you are an upstanding engine, you speak politely to others.

And punctuality! Each engine strives to be “right on time” and works very hard to avoid being late. This is such an important character trait for children to develop. Whether it’s getting ready for school or piano practice, punctuality is important and is reinforced by the knowledge that every little engine strives to be “right on time.”

The response of the engines to newcomers helps children understand the importance of kindness in welcoming others and being glad for the “new kid” and his contributions. Having watched Thomas and friends work through initial uncertainties and misunderstandings and become good friends with new engines, children see how they should respond in friendship to newcomers in their peer group. Friendliness is a character trait you will see children practicing in their role play with Thomas play toys.

Another lesson, too, is dealing with difficult personalities. Even the best of engines have fits of petulancy, and some trucks and diesels in particular seem always to have a chip on their shoulder. For Thomas the Tank Engine and for his friends, this poses the lesson of how to deal with difficult people. Percy for instance, finds a creative way to teach mischievous trucks a lesson, modeling resourcefulness and a willingness to stand up for him. Children need to learn this too, that there are some difficult people in the world and it sometimes takes creativity and determination to work with them, and to thwart the trouble they may cause.

Thomas the Tank engine stories and play toys stand out as very popular children’s series that actually teaches many positive character traits in a completely wholesome environment. Parents appreciate that Thomas and friends are both hardworking AND polite. They are resourceful and even heroic, and at the same time they’re respectful. They stand up for themselves when faced with difficult peers, but they learn to listen to sensible advice from those in authority. Sometimes this can be a rare combination of character traits in a children’s series these days! If you’re looking to build character, with toys and stories that small children love, check out Thomas and friends! You’re sure to be impressed.

Creating believable compelling characters–ones that come to life on the page and fully engage the reader–is key in writing fiction. After you first introduce a character, you want the reader to crave more, and then you must deliver more throughout the story.

Readers want to connect with the characters, so it is important to create an image for them early on. But describing physical characteristics is not enough. Other traits need to be gradually revealed throughout the story by way of dialogue, actions and internal thoughts. Characters are products of their actions, so it is important to know which actions are appropriate for each of your characters in order for them to be complete and well-rounded.

A tool I find helpful is the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicators. Developed back in the 1950s when they still called them personality tests, it was used mostly in business for classifying temperament and behavior patterns in people. The originators identified four continuums of temperament that when combined, resulted in sixteen combinations, each describing a person’s likely behavior. The four continuums are:

(I) Introverted – (E) Extraverted

(N) Intuition – (S) Sensation

(T) Thinking – (F) Feeling

(J) Judging – (P) Perceiving

These four continuums transform into the following sixteen distinct personality types:

ISTJ ISFJ ISTP ISFP

INFJ INTJ INFP INTP

ESTP ESFP ESTJ ESFJ

ENFP ENTP ENFJ ENTJ

I know this looks like gobbledygook right now, but bear with me.

In order to use this information, I created a spreadsheet that lists the various personality traits for each of these sixteen personality types. For example, here is how the ENTJ personality type is described.

Needs to be in control

Likely to be a leader

Ambitious and driven

Creative

Forceful

Optimistic

Career focused

Articulate

Often in sales

Decisive and resolute

Can be argumentative

This spreadsheet allows me to easily pigeon-hole each of my characters into one of the sixteen personality types.

So now I know what traits are typical for each of my characters, and as I am developing them in my writing, I can weave these traits into their actions.

Example: A character in one of my books is an ESTP. Myers-Briggs describes this type of person as someone who loves people, gossip, social activities, and entertainment. My character was all that, but what I did not realize was this type of person is often impulsive and a thought jumper, so I weaved that in as well, developing her into a more well-rounded and believable character, possibly similar to someone the reader actually knows.

So the next time you are stumped as to how to make a character more compelling, try this method. It may work for you, too.

This website http://www.personalitydesk.com/personality-types has the information you need to create a spreadsheet of your own.

For more information on the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicators, go to http://www.myersbriggs.org.

The recent decision by the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) in Societé des Produits Nestlé SA v Mars UK Ltd [2005], makes it easier for trade mark owners to satisfy the distinctive character test when applying for registration of their trade marks. The ECJ decided that the necessary distinctive character required for a trade mark registration can be acquired as a consequence of its use as part of another registered trade mark provided that an average, well-informed consumer would deem it to be distinctive of its trade origin.

Nestlé owns the UK registered trade marks, KIT KAT and HAVE A BREAK…HAVE A KIT KAT in class 30 in respect of chocolate, confectionary, candy and biscuits. In 1995, Nestlé applied to the UK Trade Marks Registry to register the phrase HAVE A BREAK as a separate trade mark in class 30 in respect of chocolate, confectionary, candy and biscuits. The mark HAVE A BREAK was accepted by the Trade Marks Registry and published for opposition purposes. The mark was opposed by Mars UK Limited on the grounds that the mark was devoid of distinctive character relying in particular on art 3(1)(b) of First Council Directive (EEC) 89/104 (“the Directive”) (to approximate the laws of the member states relating to trade marks).

Art (3)(1)(b) of the Directive, (as well as s3(1)(b) of the Trade Marks Act 1994) provides that trade marks devoid of distinctive character shall not be registered. An exception arises where “…before the date of application for registration and following the use which has been made of it, the mark has acquired a distinctive character (Art 3(3))”.

As a result, the opposition was upheld and Nestle’s application for registration of the mark HAVE A BREAK was rejected. Nestle appealed to the High Court. This appeal was dismissed and Nestle appealed to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal had to consider:-

 Whether the expression HAVE A BREAK was devoid of inherent distinctive character under art 3(1)(b) of the Directive rendering the expression unregistrable.

 Whether registration of HAVE A BREAK might occur only on the basis of art 3(3) of the Directive, subject to proof of distinctive character acquired through use i.e. whether the mark HAVE A BREAK had acquired distinctiveness through the use of the mark HAVE A BREAK…HAVE A KIT KAT. This meant that if the mark had acquired distinctiveness as a result of its use, then it would be registrable.

 The Court of Appeal highlighted that the application had been rejected on the ground that the phrase HAVE A BREAK was essentially used as part of the registered mark HAVE A BREAK…HAVE A KIT KAT and not, genuinely, as an independent trade mark.

 Nestle’s submission that this decision could have serious consequences for trade mark owners seeking to register marks comprising shapes since such marks were seldom used by themselves, and considered that a slogan-like phrase associated with a trade mark might, by repetition over time, create a separate and independent impression and thus acquire distinctive character through use.

 As a result, the Court of Appeal decided to stay proceedings and refer to the Court of Justice of the European Communities for preliminary ruling the question whether the distinctive character of a mark referred to in art 3(3) of the Directive might be acquired following or in consequence of the use of that mark as part of or in conjunction with another mark.

The ECJ ruled:

 The distinctive character of a mark referred to in art 3(3) of the Directive might be acquired in consequence of the use of that mark as part of or in conjunction with a registered trade mark.

 Whether inherent or acquired through use, distinctive character had to be assessed in relation, on the one hand, to the goods or services in respect of which registration was applied for and, on the other, to the presumed expectations of an average consumer of the category of goods or services in question, who was reasonably well-informed and reasonably observant and circumspect.

 In relation to acquisition of distinctive character through use, the identification, by the relevant class of persons, of the product or service as originating from a given undertaking had to be as a result of the use of the mark as a trade mark. In order for the latter condition, which was a central issue in this case, to be satisfied, the mark in respect of which registration was sought need not necessarily have been used independently.

 Art 3(3) of the Directive contained no restriction in that regard, referring solely to the ‘use which has been made’ of the mark. The expression ‘use of the mark as a trade mark’ had therefore to be understood as referring solely to the use of the mark for the purposes of the identification, by the relevant class of persons, of the product or service as originating from a given undertaking. Such identification, and thus acquisition of distinctive character, might be as a result both of the use, as part of a registered trade mark, of a component and of the use of a separate mark in conjunction with a registered trade mark.

 In both cases it was sufficient that, in consequence of such use, the relevant class of persons actually perceived the product or service, designated exclusively by the mark applied for, as originating from a given undertaking.

Comment:

 The main points arising from the decision that trade mark owners should be aware of are:

o A mark could acquire the necessary distinctive character when used as part of another phrase or trade mark;

o Distinctive character must be assessed in relation to the goods and services concerned and the presumed expectations of an average, well-informed consumer;

o Art 3(3) contains no restriction on the way in which any mark has gained its distinctive character; and

o It is therefore possible for this distinctive nature to be achieved through the use of the phrase HAVE A BREAK as part of the larger mark HAVE A BREAK…HAVE A KIT KAT.

 The decision must be applied to the facts by the Court of Appeal. However, the ECJ has made it clear that there is no requirement for a mark to be used independently in order for it to obtain a sufficient level of distinctive character to be registered as a trade mark.

 This decision has completely changed the English court’s approach to the question of distinctiveness when marks are used together. The English court’s approach was problematic for owners of non-conventional marks such as slogans, shapes or colours which are rarely used on their own. Use of the combination will now be taken into account when judging whether any individual element is registrable. This decision will be applied in all European Union Countries.

If you require further information contact us at enquiries@rtcoopers.com

© RT COOPERS, 2005. This Briefing Note does not provide a comprehensive or complete statement of the law relating to the issues discussed nor does it constitute legal advice. It is intended only to highlight general issues. Specialist legal advice should always be sought in relation to particular circumstances.

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.

BEFORE AND AFTER – are your characters underdeveloped?

Problem

Example Exploration: Let’s begin with a general concept of a man and a woman who have not been developed. Our genre will be romantic drama. We’ll put these two people in a used book shop for their initial meeting and write from a general perspective.

Rachel entered the bookshop looking around. She needed a book for a dear friend of hers and though she had passed this book shop a million times, she had never been inside. She browsed around for awhile. She pulled a few books off the shelf trying to find a suitable gift. “Is there anything I can help you with?” said a voice from behind her. She turned to see an attractive young man in his twenties. “Are you looking for anything specific?” he asked. “No,” was her reply. “You’re very pretty,” said the man. “Thank you,” she said blushing.

Solution

After putting these two characters through the process of labeling their essences, getting specific and raising the stakes, this is where we stop meddling and we let them play:

Rachel entered the bookshop looking around. She browsed trying to avoid other patrons (desire to hide). She caught her reflection in a mirror; her baggy jeans and sweatshirt hid her features well. A section of classic literature stopped her in her tracks like a magical window (desire to live in a different reality). Gently she pulled a copy of “Leaves of Grass,” from the shelf ( desire to be appreciated for her intellect). “A woman who enjoys Whitman is hard to find,” said a voice from behind her (desire for connection). She must have leapt three feet off the floor (fear of the opposite sex). Jeremy was standing a few feet away. “My Mother and I used to read Whitman together,” he continued. Rachel stood there feeling awkward. “Why do you read?” he asked her. His gaze was powerful (high stakes). “There is little else that I believe in,” she mumbled (desire to connect). Her eyes never left the floor (desire to hide is strong). “Would you like to take a walk over to the pub (need of a drink)?” She raised her head (strong desire for connection vs. fear of the opposite sex and desire to avoid alcohol). “I have to go now (fear wins).” She ran from the bookstore.. Jeremy pulled some cash out of his wallet. “Here,” he laid the money near the cash register and took off out the door after her (need to connect outweighs fear of rejection).

WORKOUT

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.

One of the advantages of having a Smartphone is being in a position to personalize it. This also means selecting your own ringtone. There are numerous websites focused on offering all sorts of ringtones. Most allow you to create your own ringtone based on the music or sound you want. So precisely what will your ringtone say about your personality? What do the ringtones you select say about you?

Although there are a few out there who will never bother to change their ringtones, many really do. Over fifty percent of people with mobile phones download ringtones. And remember that the ringtone business a big business since it is usually approximated at over four billion. Having the ability to choose your personal ringtone or even make one that is unique to you, is part of the reason so many get it done. However, the biggest reason behind the popularity of ringtones is because it allows one determine their character. So what really does your ringtone say about you?

What Is a Ringtone Like?

While there are many Smartphone users who do their best to update their phone ringtones, others usually do not. But for those will want to be unique in terms of ringtones, you should think about these types of options.

Regular Ringtone or Default

If you are one of those that never bother to change your ringtone, you fall in this category. These are the folks who are quite happy with the ringtone which their phone comes with. But does this mean that you are poor or don’t want to invest some money in the ringtones? No. The simple truth is it basically means you would like to do it safely. Too many folks have embarrassed themselves by having a loud, customized ringtone. Perhaps it was in the office, silent setting or any other place.

Television Shows Styles

For anybody who uses ringtones based on Television show styles, your evaluation isn’t great. The impression you give others is definitely that of a 12 months old child. They see you insensitive and premature. Even worse of all, people see you as clumsy.

Films Ringtones

Unlike all those who have Television themes, the ones with movie ringtones have come out differently. Although there aren’t many who are in this category, the ones who have are considered romantics and popular by others. Also, they are thought to have leadership and control skills. Still, this depends on the real movie ringtone you choose too. If it has offensive or vulgar terms, that ringtone is not going to work.

Normal Tone ringtones

Although some mobile phone users may download or change their Smartphone’s tune at some time, there are certainly others who so that often. They are the people who change their ringtones nearly every day or week. Those that do this are said to be unreliable or self-indulgent and carefree.

Personal Recordings

If you have a tendency to use your own sound voice recording as a ringtone, and then you are self-obsessed. There are some who use a recording from a toddler or one from your partner or something of that sort. No matter what you choose, people will see you as self-oriented and pompous. Others could even find your ringtones irritating.

Vibration or Silent Setting

The ones that decide to have their phones in silent or vibration setting are considered to be tame. They choose to do this carefully and keep it professional. Since they don’t wish to be wrongfully evaluated by others, they choose to keep it silent. Most of those individuals are regarded as reliable, intellectual and respectful.

Director Vance is the most hidden member of NCIS, emotionally wise. He is tough as a rock, and does not back down from any challenge. This sounds just like Gibbs, but the primary difference between Vance and Gibbs is the channeling of fear. Gibbs uses fear to his advantage, while Vance cowers behind it, appearing to be unbreakable. As discussed in the show, Vance is actively concealing a truth about his past, to his team and to his family.

Leon Vance lives a double life, 2 completely separate entities: family and work. In his work, he discusses his family, but not in-depth. He shows courage and toughness at times, while at others he shows a defense mechanism. Vance is an enigma, and likes to keep it that way. When he comes home, he is the jolly family man! No other NCIS member, as far as we know, is a mystery as much as Vance. We know that Abby is a jolly goth, Ducky is a wise ME, McGee is the elf lord, DiNozzo is the goof-ball, and Gibbs is the fearless leader. Vance is the……..enigma. Yeah.

Besides being the enigma, Vance knows how to get it done behind the desk, from a management perspective. He is very talented in the field of computer science, showing a well-rounded skill-set. There is a moment when Vance is first introduced, and he shocks McGee with his knowledge of computers. Director Leon Vance runs things very differently from his predecessor, Jenny Shepard. He has a very gritty style, and doesn’t back down to a threat. He is insecure about his personal life, but he knows how to get the job done.

Now that we know who he is, let’s answer a basic questionnaire about what Director Vance would do in certain situations:

Q1. Your best friend has just lost a loved one, how do you handle it?

A. Director Vance, separating his personal and professional life, would not mention this to anyone, and would visit and comfort his best friend. If anyone asks, Vance would say something along the lines of “I’m going to a meeting, call me if you need anything”.

Q2. You just won $1,000,000 from a lottery ticket that you bought. How do you react?

A. Vance has a sense of humor, he just doesn’t feel it is necessary to laugh at work. He also doesn’t feel it is necessary to display happiness at work, or celebrations. He probably wouldn’t tell anyone about the lottery winnings, and put the money in a trust fund for his children.

Q3. Your best friend has just achieved his or her dream goal. How do you show your support?

A. Vance would probably congratulate his friend on the phone, encouraging him to keep up the great work. Because of his busy work schedule, he would have difficulty finding time to visit his friend. But if he did find a gap in his schedule, he would most likely make an effort to congratulate his best friend in person.

Q4. On your deathbed, how well did you live your life? Is there anything you would have done differently, given a second chance?

A. There are many things that Vance may regret at the end of his life. Not connecting with his team on an emotional level, taking life too seriously, and hiding his past. There are many ways for Vance to improve his life, but it looks like he is not actively seeking improvement. What would be ideal for Director Leon Vance, is to loosen up. Life is just a game, and having some fun while you’re playing is a godsend.