I was wondering, what is the best way to start off? With a summary, the characters, the world or anything that I'm forgetting?

Your goals for the story. (What you want to accomplish with the story, what you want the audience to get form it, and why the story should exist.)

Chapter outlines are useful. Make sure you know your story's setting/world inside-out.

Free-Form writing is something I like. I just start with a vague idea and carry it as many pages as I can.

I've written some really good short stories using this method to kickstart them.

Free-Form writing is something I like. I just start with a vague idea and carry it as many pages as I can.

I've written some really good short stories using this method to kickstart them.

Start with the bits that interest you the most. If that’s the characters, the opening sequence, world building, the end etc... Flesh those bits out that you are most interested and then take it from there. You’ll find one bit fleshed out leads to ideas about others and eventually you just have to join them all together.

Inspiration can strike you anywhere, but the most effective thing to do is take it and fit into a framework of a conversation. What is the "topic" you want to discuss? Then the rest sort of falls into place: who the characters are and why, why things happens in the story the way they do, that sort of thing. If you're interested, I can give (way) more detail on the "story conversation" 8)

One of the things you should probably try to do is keep a seperate notebook with detailed descriptions of all your characters. Personality, back story, stats, traits, their purpose in the story, and abilities (if any). You can even include a quick sketch of the characters, if you've been blessed with the gift of art (or know someone who is). This helps keeps everything consistent regarding your characters. There's nothing more embarassing then having to explain why your character is suddenly 7 feet tall with super monkey powers when just 5 chapters earlier he was only 5 feet tall with moderate powers of flight. Be sure to leave a good amount of pages between characters for any additions or changes you may want to make. If your notebook is sectioned, or large enough, you can also add tidbits about the type of world your characters live in. Perhaps explain how certain abilities work, or the era it's in, anything that you can turn to when you need a refresher. You can also include certain events you want to happen, or certain scenes you may have envisioned that you may want to include. Although i tend to carry a seperate notebook for that and any story based ideas i may have.

Never dismiss an idea as being invalid. if you get to a point where you feel your story can go into different directions, make quick notes about each direction and work on them all until you find which path suits you best. you may be surprised at which choice you end up picking, you may even choose to branch the story into multiple paths.

Quote: Original post by Mark G
what is the best way to start off?

With a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Quote: Original post by Tom Sloper

Quote: Original post by Mark G
what is the best way to start off?

With a beginning, a middle, and an end.

And there should usually be some conflict.
And change or growth.