Gia

Hi , you can use the " scatter -gun " technique . This is , you write down everything you can think of , connected to your story . This is a very rough first draft . You can then return to this again and again , as you edit . Remember , that the final draft will look very different . Also , remember that writing can take years . It took Donna Tartt eight years to write The Secret History . I always keep that in mind when I'm writing .

msylvia

[quote="cdm"]"The dawn broke a dirty grey, not the best omen for the task ahead..."[quote]

I almost fell out of my chair when I saw this. This is eerily similar to the opening of my book.

HisNibs

You might find help in a book titled "Immediate Fiction," by Jerry Cleaver.

somearthur

Looking at what everyone has said in this thread I think everyone can agree that there's no one method of writing that is the right way of doing things. I need two thing to make a story work: a fantastic first page, and a good idea. I can't make it happen without them both. Granted, I don't need such detailed notes that I know how it's going to end when I'm still just at the beginning. I figure that out as I go along. Usually at the end of every story I'll start a "stuff" page where I capture every random thought that enters my head as I'm going, so that I can just head back to the story as soon as I've gotten it down. I don't even like to give it that much consideration before I move on, so I can come back to the idea later and look at it from a fresh perspective. Sometimes at the end of a story/book, whatever, I'll have twenty stuff pages of used up ideas I no longer need.
Honestly, you'll discover what works for you as you keep writing. Everyone has their own formula, and you'll find out what works for you as you go. If you need to read over every sentence and revise it as you work, then do it. If it doesn't work, you should change it naturally, from necessity.

stonewall

Hi, I've written eleven excellent novels. I got a general idea for a plot and I started writing furiously. In my work, the future story line is spawned from what's been writ. Write, write, write!

__________________
Mae West said; Charlie, is that a gun in your pocket or are you just glad to see me.