 We just had a look at how important a story's characters are for the emotional impact of the story. One of the most recited rules of writing is your characters shape the action, the story. So the basic question you'll have to ask yourself when creating or analyzing a story is 1. Who is he, she or it? 2. What does he, she or it want? 3. And this is really also important. Why? Many writers tend to create who character profiles or character sheets before even starting the plotting process. Others create a premise or a plot first. Say tragic love story aboard the fateful journey of the Titanic with only one part of the couple surviving. That would be one example. And then, after creating this premise, they look at which characters they might need to tell exactly this story. German author Cornelia Funke, who wrote the Inkwell trilogy, Wrecklers, The Thief Lord and many more stories, tells us how she develops characters and what she thinks about pre-plotted storytelling. When it comes to plotting, I never plot my whole book. I love to be surprised by the stories that happen. I love to be surprised by my characters. I love to find the story. I, in a way, believe that it's then I just have to find it. If I make a mistake it will be either boring or it will not be as dense as it should be or it will simply be the wrong story to be told. When it comes to character, I find it very hard to separate that because, of course, a certain story has for certain characters. And on the other hand, the characters often bring parts of the story and surprise me with what they add to it. So that is very intricately interwoven. And I think one should as a writer play with that very organically and not separate these elements from one another. That's strictly. If you don't allow a character to, in a way, bring a new aspect of the story, if you don't allow the story at some point to call for a certain character, both will be quite limited. And your readers or your audience will not be surprised but will foresee what you are doing. And I think that neither readers nor another audience does forgive easily to be just let down a very predictable path in a story. They wanted to be a living organic and breathing thing. And for that the writer has to be willing to make it an adventure to almost feel like the story is a labyrinth. I go in there. I have no idea what's waiting behind the hedges. I have no idea who is waiting behind the hedges. And I certainly do not know how to get out on the other side. That's the adventure. This course is meant to be an adventure in itself. It is partly pre-plotted, so to say, due to recorded video lectures like this one you see here. But what will be most exciting for me is to watch and to see how all the different characters in the story, you, the students, come together and to maybe work together, write each other, discuss the topics and create a new and exciting experience on your way. This course therefore is more like a journey and a story on its own. And I'm really happy to go on this journey with all of you.