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		ORIGINS: GETTING STARTED
		When starting a new novel or story, you can't expect to suddenly think up an entire story. A completed plot is the development of weeks, months, or even years of thought. Instead, just try to get something written down and get the creative juices pumping.      An easy way to get something is to set yourself a scene to write about. Choose a character (male or female, age, occupation, etc) and place this character in a setting. Add a sensory perception (smell, touch, taste, etc) and then a conflict. Once you've decided all this, write down as much as you can, and just let it flow. Don't stop to fix spelling, or improve your sentences, just let it all flow out. Write as many different ones as you need until an idea sparks in your mind. Then try to develop upon that idea to create a story.      Try selecting a few out of these lists:
		CHARACTER	SETTING	PERCEPTION	CONFLICT
		male / female human animal android alien fantasy creature	city underground in flight underwater on a mountainside on a spaceship	the smell of salt the taste of blood a bitter cold wind echoing footsteps a blinding light a peircing cry	malfuncioning equipment an argument a pursuer fighting unconsciousness harsh weather alone, looking for a friend

	Developing A Plot
	Don't get stuck thinking you must firmly define your entire plot before you can start writing. As you write, your plot will be constantly changing as you get new ideas. Always write down your ideas and never throw any out - you might decide to use them in another story, or a sequel!
	Some authors will tell you that you must have your ending before you start, though I disagree. You should try to get a vague idea of how you would like your story to end, so that you have a direction to work towards, but this is flexible. Endings can be changed and changed again. Depending on the changes, you may have to rewrite several chapters.
	As for how a plot should go, that's really up to you. Probably the most common plot line is beginning--middle--climax--end but it doesn't have to go that way. And you don't have to wrap up every loose end. Actually, you don't even need to have a proper ending if you have a sequel to come. So don't worry too much about writing a story to a formula. Just write it the way you want it to be. But I think readers will be more satisfied if you have a climax at the end.

	Point Of View, Perspective
	Perspective:   This refers to first person, second person, or third person perspective or writing. It is important to make sure you always keep the same perspective. You probably do this as a natural flow of your writing. So what are they?
	1st person — Written as if the main character is telling their story, either to an audience or to no-one. "I was only sixteen when it happened. I was sitting alone at the kitchen table when the phone rang and I heard the news..."
	2nd person — This is extremely hard to write effictively, written as if the novel is a letter written and adressed to the audience, or another character. "Surely you heard the news? I can't see a what we could possibly do..."
	3rd person — Probably one of the more common styles, this is written as an account of someone else's adventure. "She sat alone on the beach, reminiscing. A single tear fell down her cheek as she remembered their time together..."
	Point Of View:   POV is the way a character feels, acts, and perceives the world around them. Every character will have a point of view, but you must make sure to only show the POV of your hero, unless using multiple points of view, and even then you much be carefull how you present those viewpoints.
	1 POV — Can be written in first or third person, but must only include the thoughts, feelings and perceptions of the hero. Eg. "I looked at her. She was uncomfortable." This is incorrect. The hero cannot know that she is uncomfortable, but can guess. Instead, try "I looked at her and saw she was uncomfotable." This is now an observation, not a fact.
	X POV — Must be presented in third person. You must be careful how you present viewpoints in this way (refer tipping - p.o.v.). Here, you can state observations of every character in that scene, describing their innermost thoughts and feelings - but be careful that you don't lose your characters.

	Characters
	What is a Character?   It may sound like a simple question; a character is a person in a book, right? Wrong! Characters don't have to be people. In the litereary world, a character can be an object, or an idea, even an event. In a book, you should have at least three characters; your hero, a mentor, and an antagonist. Allys are also an asset.
	Hero — The main character. Your hero does not have to be a good person, but should have honourable traits. These can be compassion, tolerance, valour, strength... but your hero also needs flaws - human traits we can all identify with. These can be stubborness, recklessness, a hot temper, ignorance, the inability to see the big picture...
	Mentor — The mentor can take many forms, but must have a higher power than the hero in some way. A mentor can hold information the hero seeks, or act as a guardian who protects the hero. A mentor may be a wize old wizard, such as Gandalf (Lord of the Rings) or even more commonly, God. Alternatively, the mentor might be a talisman that warns the hero of danger or a forgotten task (Neville's remembrall, Harry Potter). Obviously, this may result in several mentors throughout a novel, but one strong solid mentor is important, someone the hero looks up to and admires.
	Antagonist — This is the "bad guy", the character the hero is working to defeat. The antagonist may not necessarily be evil, but works against the hero and prevents him/her from finishing his quest.
	Ally — Basically any other character that aides the hero. An ally may be a friend, or a family member, a pet...
	Developing Characters :   Knowing your characters is important, not just who they are, but who they were, how they feel, how their minds operate, who their friends are, where they came from. You need to know everything there is to know about your hero, and as much as possible about every other character.
	Build character templates and write down all the details of your characters: eye colour, hair colour, height, costume, likes + dislikes, personality, special skills, intelligence level + education, friends, family, key events from their past... You must thoroughly understand your hero's motivation! If you don't, no-one will beleive he or she would make the choices he/she does. Depending on what you are writing, you may also need to know what weapon the hero weilds, what their favourite class is at school, their status (slave, squire, prince, commoner)...

	That should be enough to get you going, though I suggest you take a look through the tips too. Also, remember this is not designed to take the place of a proper writing course. The skills you will learn in study will be invaluable! You'll learn much better in that environment than anything you could read on here. This is only designed to give you a head start!

LAST UPDATED 21 Jul 2004