Planning

Once I have an idea in my head, I tend to try to think what the drive of the story will be, and this usually helps me think about the end. Once I have the end it's a little easier to think about the beginning and middle. Then I would put this down on a bit of paper, almost like a timeline, and think about what major events will bring the story along. Having it down on paper helps me to actually see the story, and is much better than the mess I usually have in my head. Although I would say not to force it. Often it takes a while for a story to grow, so give it time and be patient.

I tend to hold it all in my head until I'm sure I have something. Then I write it all out in a new word file to see. Quite often I just close it and leave it for a while. I add new bits whenever I have ideas but it's still really just an ideas file. Then I 'spend some time' with the characters. I interview them, go for walks with them, ask them how they might react to certain things. Once I've dome plenty of that, I give them a situation (with a vague ending in the back of my mind) and just keep writing until I'm out of story. But then I do tend to be a bit long-winded so it's probably best to plan the ending better than I do. After all, I wrote through five endings and ended up with five sequels. Oops!

Oh forgot! The other thing I do is kind of carry it around in my head and be prepared to notice things around me, dreams, little half-thoughts that pop into my head & so on. Mindless repetitive activities (like ironing), or meditative activities (like a quiet stroll in the countryside) tend to bring up helpful ideas. Then if I'm lucky I'll have a notebook to hand before I forget everything!