The writing bug is slowly, slowly re-awakening in me yet again. I need to build the right outline, then focus on properly fleshing it out. The setting should be something interesting. We read fantasy and sci-fi to go somewhere we can’t normally go, and do things we can’t normally do. Fly dragons, travel between the stars, etc. Then, I need a situation in that setting that fits with it, that provides the opportunity for a challenge. An evil wizard, an alien race bent on annihilation. Next, add characters whose stories will be told as they encounter this situation in this setting, and make them have foibles appropriate such that they can overcome them in the course of the plot unfolding. A young hero unsure of himself will have to prove his merit, an old retired space traveler will have to challenge himself to discover he’s still got it, and that there’s hope for the younger generation. Auxiliary characters come in. Those who accompany the hero or heroine, those who expose the character’s weaknesses or have those of their own. An enemy, the antagonist needs to be created to some extent that the reader identifies with it, him, them, or her.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? 