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In the second and final part of our story, we find out what is more important to readers than character or plot. In part one, our detective starts the search for Mary Rastell. She's lost somewhere in a virtual reality world. Is she hidden in the fictional world of Sherlock Holmes or some other genre? Join us to find out. Along the way, let's explore what draws us into stories. And especially the power of worldbuilding.

This episode is a story about telling stories. Join the literary detective as he tries to discover where his client’s wife really spends her days. And which is more important to a story, character or plot?

Questions are open doors that invite us into stories. Let us explore original ways of using opening questions to hook readers. To intrigue and compel them to join our adventure. I will review short extracts from the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (copyright Dan Brown) and The Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (copyright Gillian Flynn). I will discuss the only situation that allows a writer to complete a story without closing all the open loops. Let us see if questions really are the answer. 

When is the last time you poured yourself into a letter? For some of us, that practice ceased when we stopped writing to Santa Claus.  Are there ideas stuck inside you? Or thoughts you are afraid to articulate in a page? Then perhaps if you write a letter you can loosen your self imposed bonds. I review how three authors start their novels with a letter. Listen as three very different characters express their thoughts without censor. How might you do the same for your characters? Or even yourself? The novels explored in this episode are from: The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Published in paperback by Penguin.  Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, translated by Douglas Parmee. Published by Oxford University Press. Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern. Published by HarperCollins

Let's begin with subplots. Why? Well, what if we could use subplots to say what we really want to say? To explore ideas that our chosen genres deny us from exploring as the main plot. Could this be a method to help overcome blocks? In this episode, we explore these questions by looking at the opening pages of the short story, The Minority Report, by Philip K Dick. Warning - there will be spoilers.

Let's use the Pixar storytelling model to describe the journey we are going to take with Storytelling Heaven.  The model goes like this: Once upon a time there was___.  Every day, ___. One day___. Because of that, ___.  Because of that ___. Until finally ___. Play with it and see what you come up with, today.