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I usually just start with a sentence that has come to me. I don't know what the story might be about or where it's going. Sometimes I do have an idea, but I try not to think about it too much before I begin. I have tried doing this, outlining characters and a plot and trying to map the whole thing out, and then somehow, I just can't write it.
So I write organically. After a chapter or so, I usually get stuck, and then I find that if I go back and try to understand the characters, do life histories, understand what motivates them, then I am able to move on with the story. I find I need to understand two things -- what the character wants, and what the character needs.
If I plan the whole thing, I feel like I've already written it, and then I don't want to write it. It holds no interest for me.
The book in my signature was written from beginning to end, day by day, with no work on characters or plot. I simply made it up as I went.
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