10.
9.
8.
7.
(TOGETHER) 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Ghostwriter, Beyond the Page.
Hi!
You're right on time.
Welcome to Ghostwriter, Beyond the Page.
I'm DJ MacHale, your host.
I'm an author, a filmmaker, a book lover,
and I wrote one of the books from Ghostwriter.
So I'm really excited about diving back
into the Ghostwriter world.
And I'm really happy that you're joining me today
on this journey.
Today we are going down the rabbit hole
into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
And along the way, we're going to find out
what Donna has been up to.
Now, I understand she's getting very creative with her writing,
and even started her own personal video diary.
It sounds pretty cool.
I think she's going to be wanting
to write an original story of her own,
but it sounds like she may be having a little bit of trouble
getting started.
So let's go see how she's doing.
And hopefully, maybe, a special friend
will come along to give her a hand.
Welcome to Donna's Video Diary.
So here's the latest.
Ever since Ghostwriter started releasing book characters,
I've been thinking of writing something myself, a totally
original story by yours truly.
But so far, I've got nothing.
I just can't figure out the best way to start.
This is kind of new territory for me,
so I'm a little nervous.
Curtis is at dad's house, and I'm spending some time
at mom's house.
I definitely don't hate having my own room,
but I do kind of wish there was someone I could
bounce some ideas around with.
Maybe Ghostwriter could help me bring my story to life.
Actually, that's not a bad idea.
GW really does understand stories.
Hey, Ghostwriter, if you're around and maybe bored,
I would love it if you could help me write my story.
Just let me know.
Well, it was a long shot anyway.
What?
Or, I mean, who?
It looks like Ghostwriter does want to help out after all.
OK.
Let me think.
Who?
Maybe this isn't such a helpful hint after all.
Who?
Who what?
Alice?
Where did you come from?
It's so good to see you.
Oh, it's so good to see you, too, Donna.
So you were asking something.
Ghostwriter must have sent her here to help.
Actually, yes.
But first, what are you doing?
Oh, well, I was trying to figure out
how to bring a little bit of Wonderland here to my sister.
You know, I was really, really struggling
when I was lost there.
And apparently, I'm still struggling
with this whole croquet thing.
Though, it is much easier with a mallet and ball than a flamingo
and hedgehog.
Anyway, after my whole experience,
I realized I learned a lot about who I am, and who I can be.
So I wanted to share a taste of that adventure with my sister
by throwing her a surprise tea party
and croquet match with lots of cakes and tarts to eat.
Oh, I really did love all the sweets in Wonderland.
So it sounds like it's important to you
to share what you liked and didn't like,
and what you've been through, what makes you who you are,
so basically your character.
Yes, I guess you're right.
In fact, that's one of the reasons why
I want to write my own story and turn it into a book
so I can share my experiences, which, I guess,
would kind of make me the main character in it.
Well, anyway, I really do have to go,
but it was so lovely to talk to you again, Donna.
Thanks, Alice.
Good luck.
Alice definitely figured out a lot about herself
in Wonderland--
enough to write a book about it with her as the hero.
And if knowing who she is is so important to her story,
maybe Ghostwriter is trying to tell me to first come up
with my own main character.
Alice is definitely the who of her story.
So maybe reading more about her again
will help me decide who the who of my story should be.
The tunnel went straight for a long time,
and Alice could hear the rabbit in the distance saying,
"Oh, my ears and whiskers!" and "I'm so late!"
Alice ran faster, so fast that it took her by surprise when
the tunnel floor suddenly dropped away
and she dropped with it--
WHOOSH-- straight down.
Falling is usually kind of scary,
but this was a very long, slow, flowy fall.
Alice was actually quite comfortable.
Finally, she hit the bottom with a solid thump
that didn't hurt a bit.
Jumping up, Alice caught a glimpse of the rabbit's tail
as it turned the corner.
She hurried after it into a hallway,
but when she got there, it was gone.
As she tried to figure out what to do next,
Alice saw that she was in a room with many doors
of all different sizes and colors.
She tried to open them, but they were all locked.
"So annoying," she muttered to herself
since there was no one else to mutter to.
She added some extra-hard foot stomping
just because she could.
That was the kind of thing her sister
would have complained about.
But Serena wasn't there, so Alice
felt free to stomp as hard and loud as she wanted to.
It wasn't as much fun as she thought it would be,
and a tingle at the back of her neck
made her stop and turn around.
A pretty little glass table stood
in the middle of the room, and a gleaming gold key sat on top.
Alice snatched it up and tried it in each locked door
until she got to the smallest one--
and the key fit.
Alice opened the door.
She was too big to fit through, so she bent down to take a peek
and saw the most gorgeous garden she'd ever seen--
rolling hills, sunflowers, and waterfalls.
If only she could get herself small enough
to fit through that tiny door!
"There's got to be a way," said Alice, shutting the door.
Because after chasing a talking, vest-wearing, watch-holding
rabbit down a hole and finding a gold key,
Alice figured there's always a way to do just about anything.
Oh, hi.
Nice to see you again.
Well, I definitely learned a lot about Alice in that chapter.
She clearly likes foot-stomping and beautiful gardens.
She's also really determined and resilient.
It seems like she'll stop at nothing to find
a way through that door.
Talk about persistence.
If I'm right and Ghostwriter is trying
to help me create my main character,
I'll need to start with who and what they are.
I'll have to find description words, likes, dislikes,
strengths, weaknesses, and even relationships,
like Alice and her sister.
OK.
I've got a lot to think about, but I know one thing for sure.
My character will be super into fashion.
I'm starting to feel really good about this.
Time to start writing.
It looks like Donna is finally off to a good start
thanks to all the help she got from Ghostwriter.
Now, when you're writing a story,
it's really important to come up with an interesting main
character, because that's who your story is about, right?
And who is that character?
What are they like?
It's up to you.
And when you're working on it, it's
a good idea to get those ideas down in a journal.
And it doesn't have to be a fancy pantsy journal like this.
It could just be a couple of sheets of paper.
That's all you need.
And if you want to dive deeper into the Ghostwriter world,
be sure to read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,
and then be sure to check out the Ghost in Wonderland section
of the activity guide.
And of course, join the rest of the Ghostwriter gang on Apple
TV+ for more episodes of the show.
Bye bye.