First, you do need to decide on characters. Not too many, just enough to get you started. When I was writing Arianna’s Tale, I started with just two — Arianna and Damuk. I created these characters independent of any story I was writing. I developed their personalities and background before I ever even thought of writing that first chapter.
From this information came the plot, the sequence of events that would introduce conflict into the story. Without conflict, the entire novel would have come to a halt. But it had to be believable conflict. Since Arianna’s Tale is a fantasy, I had some leeway here, but I still had to ensure that any conflict I introduced was consistent with the personality of the characters involved in said conflict.
Eventually, this conflict has to be resolved, at least to the point where you can end your story. In Arianna’s Tale, I resolved the conflict completely, but if you’re writing a series of stories, that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.
Characters, plot, conflict, and resolution are the most basic elements of your story. Master these, and you’ll soon be writing your first novel.
