So, you have your plot. Now what?

1. Firstly, make sure you will be able to develop your plot, and that it hasn't been overdone. If this is your first story, it may be a good idea to chose a quite simple plot, just for a practice run. If you have more than one plot (they breed like rabbits!), pick one and take note of the others for later use. If it's too complicated or overdone, try to think of another one. Happy? Good.

2. You now have to write your opening paragraph. Try to put time into this, because this is when your reader decides if they're going to continue reading. The opening paragraph has to grab your readers attention, and should also establish the mood or atmosphere - is the story happy, sad, ansty, angry , romantic etc. Your opening paragraph should also be intriguing, it shouldn't give too much detail, but should leave the reader wondering so that they are compelled to continue on reading. If you're having a problem with this, then read the opening paragraph of some of your favourite books/stories to help you out. Ok, so got that opening paragraph? Great, let's go on.

3. Now for the rest of your story. Firstly, three rules. Use proper punctuation. noone want to read a whole story that is written in this way because it can be very annoying if there is no proper punctuation because it gives you no room to breathe. Also, don't use text language. There are few things that will annoy people more than this. Thirdly, don't write your instead of you're (you are), its instead if it's (it is), their/there instead of they're (they are) and vice versa. I know it's only fanfiction and not a bestselling novel you're trying to write - but that doesn't mean you shouldn't write properly. You want people to be able to read your story, don't you?

4. Once you start writing, don't be afraid if your story starts to write itself and doesn't go where you planned for it to go. A lot of authors experience this. Just go with the flow and be pleasantly surprised at the end result! :o)

5. If you're writing a sex scene, you may want to look at writing a sex scene.

6. If your story is in more than one part/chapter, make sure each part ends in a natural place. Also, write a few chapters, or even the whole story, before you start posting it. This way, you'll avaid disappointing people if you decide after a few chapters that you're not happy with the story.

7. Wrap your story up in a natural place. Most stories will reach a place where it feels right to stop it, and this is where you end. Don't force yourself to end it later or earlier. Having said that, make sure that any conflicts within the story have been resolved once you wrap it up - or else you might leave unanswered questions - unless, of course, you're planning to make it a series.

8. Your finished story is now your first draft. Before you post it anywhere, you should:

• Do a spelling and grammar check.
• Read through it at least once. If possible, read it once out loud to yourself, as this is a good way to spot bad sentence structure or awkwardly written conversations. Make sure sentences are clear. If you find a sentence that's confusing, rewrite it. Delete any unncessary blabber and descriptions, they just clog your story. Anything that is in your story should be there because it supports your plot, not because you liked the sound of it! You may also need to add words here and there to establish a stronger atmosphere.
• Do another spell check if you've added or removed bits of your story, just to make sure you didn't do any mistakes.
• It may be a good idea to find someone to beta your story for you, ie read through it and give his/her opinions, just to make sure it is readable by other people. If you have noone to do it for you and you would like someone else's opinion before you post, feel free to send it to me. (Althoughb I'm a busy person so don't flame me if I take a while to reply!)

9. You should now be happy with your story. It's time to post it. When posting:

• Make sure you include any information specifically required by the mailinglist/website/archive you're posting to, such as rating, summary etc.
• Avoid any excessive begging for feedback. This will only annoy people.
• Try to send a thank you note if someone sends you feedback.
• Ignore people who send you flames - they're not worth your energy!

10. So, now that you've posted your masterpiece you can start another one! :o)

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