Problem: Article: Scrub and wash the potatoes, then place them in a medium sized pot. Pour in enough cold water to cover the potatoes in an inch or so of water. Then add in a pinch of salt. Starting to cook the potatoes in cold water ensures that they cook evenly. Place the pot of potatoes on the oven over medium heat. Heat until the potatoes start to boil. Once they start boiling, reduce the heat to low and let them simmer uncovered. After around ten minutes of simmering, check the potatoes by piercing them with a fork. If the potatoes are tender, it means that they have finished cooking. If they are still hard, check them after another few minutes. After the potatoes have finished cooking, remove them from the heat. Pour them into a colander to drain out the water. Run them under cold water to help cool them. Then chop them into small, ½ inch (1.2 cm) pieces. Salt the potato pieces if you wish. Peel the onions and dice them into ½ inch (1.2 cm) pieces. Then wash the tomatoes and cut them into ½ inch (1.2 cm) pieces as well.
Summary: Place the potatoes in a pot of cold water. Place the potatoes over medium heat and bring to a boil. Check the potatoes after about ten minutes. Drain and chop the potatoes. Chop the onions and tomatoes.

Problem: Article: If you are having trouble sleeping comfortably, you might benefit from trying a different position. Sleep positions normally fall into one of three categories: back, side or stomach. Sleeping on your side is most recommended for comfort and to reduce the chances of interrupting your sleep.  When sleeping on your side, bend your knees slightly toward your chest (similar to the “fetal position”). If you have back trouble, consider placing a pillow between your knees. This alleviates pressure on your hips and lower back, making sleep more comfortable. However, sleeping on your back may increase your chances of lower back pain. Doing so may also cause cases of apnea, which can interrupt your sleep. If you do choose to sleep on your back, try placing a rolled up towel or pillow under your knees to encourage the natural curve of your spine. Some feel that sleeping on the stomach is most comfortable. However, doing so can cause pain in the lower back and neck. Sleeping on your stomach may also cause you to toss and turn in discomfort.  If you sleep on your stomach, use a soft pillow or none at all to reduce the risk of causing neck pain. If you have underlying sleep problems, it is generally recommended that you do not sleep on your stomach.
Summary: Sleep on your side. Sleep on your back if it makes you more comfortable. Sleep on your stomach cautiously.

Problem: Article: Your budget might be high, but chances are, your imagination and your talent are not. When brainstorming a new idea for a cartoon, keep in mind how much you can afford to invest in the process and what your artistic skill is capable of producing.  If you are a beginner, you might want to stay away from stories and themes that require animating complex scenes, like huge battles or intricate machinery. Your animating skills may need to be refined and practiced more before you are ready to tackle a project of that size. Also keep in mind that you will need more equipment depending on how complex you want your cartoon to be. A claymation cartoon with two dozen characters and four sets will require more supplies than a cel animation with only one scene. If budget is an issue, keep it short and simple. The right length for your cartoon will vary based on the market you are trying to distribute it in. Knowing the length from the start will help you brainstorm a story that can fit within that time frame.  If you want to create a cartoon that could develop into a long-term show, your cartoon will need to be either 11 minutes or 20 to 25 minutes. Cartoon movies can go anywhere from 60 minutes to 120 minutes. If a one-time cartoon made for the Internet is all you want to create, you can create a short running from 1 to 5 minutes. Creating anything longer may turn people away from viewing it. Even though cartoons are traditionally aimed at kids, there are many cartoons made for older adolescents and adults. The age group and other audience demographics should shape the ideas you come up with. For example, a cartoon about something tragic, like the death of a loved one, would be better reserved for a slightly older audience. If a young audience is your target, you would be better off choosing a topic that is a little simpler to understand and more concrete. Another way to put this would be, “write what you know.” Many storytellers write stories based on events, feelings, or relationships they experienced in their own lives. Make a list of possible life events you have been through that could be the underlying idea behind a cartoon.  If you want to create a cartoon with a serious tone, think about life experiences that really mold and shape you: an unrequited love, the loss of a friend, working hard toward a goal that seemed impossible, etc. If you want to create something more humorous, take an everyday situation like waiting in traffic or waiting on an email and exaggerate how difficult the situation is in a funny way. Alternatively, you can use something already funny to create a humorous cartoon. Of course, there are many plots that do not involve any trace of life experience. You can use your interests and your imagination to craft an entirely new premise, as long as you include enough relatable details to help people connect to the characters or the story. Relatable details include underlying themes that are universally appealing. For example, most people can relate to a coming-of-age story, regardless of whether that story takes place in the contemporary real world, in a futuristic space-age setting, or in a sword-and-sorcery fantasy setting. Make a list of character traits you would like to see in a protagonist. Write positive features as well as faults to avoid making a character too perfect. This is an important step no matter how simple or complex your cartoon will be. While a character in a longer, more serious cartoon will need to develop more, a short, funny cartoon will need a protagonist with a clear goal and clear character traits that allow him or her to react to the conflict in whatever way he or she does.
Summary: Consider your resources. Think about length. Know your intended audience. Work from your experiences. Use your imagination. Design an appealing protagonist.

Problem: Article: This will help you craft your sentences for a certain reader. It will also help you decide how much knowledge of the subject your reader should already have. If the brochure is for school, you shouldn’t have to alter your language much for your classmates to understand.  Consider English reading capabilities. If you are targeting people whose native tongue is not English, make your language clearer than you normally would. You may be, for instance, targeting people who are already diagnosed with a disease, and you are educating them about further treatment methods. You won’t need to explain the basics of the disease, unless your approach is radically different from other methods. The reader shouldn’t be wondering what to do after reading the brochure, if anything. There is nothing wrong with simply educating your readers. However, if you suggest further action, make that clear. For example, you may be writing a brochure about the dangers of smoke inhalation. Put down symptoms of common lung diseases, and encourage readers to see a doctor if they have any of them. Educational brochures should be 40-50% white space to make them easier to read. You probably have a lot of information you want to include, but brochures aren’t books. They should give basic details about a topic in hopes of getting a reader to seek more information. An effect format for educational brochures is asking basic questions that you will answer. This guides the reader to the information you want to provide, keeping him or her from wondering what the purpose is. Simply stating the answer also makes it easy for him or her to understand the lesson or conclusion. For example, a brochure on smoke inhalation might begin with “What are the symptoms of smoke inhalation?” Then you should list the symptoms. You might then ask “When should I see a doctor?” Listing the most dangerous symptoms is a way of guiding the reader to determining whether or not to see a doctor.
Summary:
Decide on a target or general audience. Make the purpose clear. Leave plenty of white space. Ask and answer questions.