Some fiction-writers say they begin with an image: A girl in a yellow dress sitting on a boulder. Or a brief incident they encounter: An argument in the cereal aisle at the grocery store. Then they ask themselves questions about who, what, why: Why is that girl sitting there? What is the relationship between the two people arguing?

In my case, I typically begin with a what-if -- a very short thread of a plot. What if someone was engaged to be married, and she'd never told her fiance about something bad in her past, and then she learned that he was going to find out... In fact, a key aspect of that thread eventually got altered as I outlined my newest novel, but the basic setup remained. From there, I plot out a very detailed outline. Most of the details just come to me as I write. And the finished product? I'd say only about 20% is true to the original outline!

My other major piece of advice is: Take a writing class. I've learned so much from other people, both the teachers and the other writing students.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your writing.