This actually helped me quite a bit. I've had this idea for a novella running around in my head, but I did not know how to start it. Then I created an outline using this format, mapping all the characters and the entire plot out in front of me. I had the first chapter finished a half hour after that.
It sounds obvious, that writing an outline and mapping out the entire plot should help a writer focus on their story, but I've never done that for a story untill now. Thanks, man. Appreciated.
Might post that first chapter here just as an example of how much it helped me if I get the time.
One thing you might like to add, though, is how to begin a story. It's best if a story begins in the middle of some action. It doesn't have to be physical action, but something needs to be going on in order to immediately hook the attention of the reader. One of the worst things a writer can do (in my opinion) is begin a story with the background of the story. That's borring. How can a reader care about the background to your story if they don't even know what the story is about yet?
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