I'm working on the assumption that you have an idea for a story. The first thing you want to do plan and research. Even if you have an idea, research all the information that will be relevant to it, to make sure you will be accurate. I would also recommend getting 'technical advice' from experts. A good way to do this would be to get involved in a club or group who specialise in subjects relevant to your genre - Sci Fi groups, medieval re-enactment groups, military history groups or military enthusiasts etc. It will definitely help with adding authenticity and realism to the story. Design all of your characters as completely as possible before you start. This is important because the fluency and believability of the story often revolve around them. Obviously you may develop them beyond your initial outline as you write, but avoid starting with just a name... It is beneficial to plan out your storyline beforehand - in detail if possible, but it is also okay to plan out the major points and fill in the gaps as you go. Now, either before or during writing, I would recommend becoming involved in a critiquing group. www.critters.org is one that I'm involved with. www.fanstory.com is another that I have been involved with. There are many others out there. Critiquers proofread and look over other people's submissions and offer corrections/suggestions for improvement. A well critiqued manuscript is as good as paying a professional editor to do the same thing. Most online critiquing groups either work by a subscription service (fanstory), or a quid-pro-quo system (critters). Basically the quid-pro-quo system means that for your work to be eligible for other people to critique, you must critique other people's work in return. It's quite a good system, I think. Learn from other people on these groups. I was surprised just how much I learned and improved from critiquing others and having my work critiqued. It's a good way to improve your writing style, and improve your novel. You can put up your novel for critiquing either chapter by chapter (as you go), or do it all, edit it and then post it. In this case you can ask for dedicated readers to go through the book and critique it for you, or you can post it chapter by chapter for the general critter community to look at. From here basically just write. Inspiration will come and go, as will motivation. It's good to try to commit to a certain period per day - even an hour. Try to write when even when you're not really in the mood. If you just can't get anywhere on your story, just write something else - a short piece, poetry, anything - just to keep your mind working. If you really do get burned out and run out of juice, don't be afraid to take a 'holiday', though. It won't hurt. Read. I recommend reading lots of books, preferrably of the same genre as what you're writing. This fills your mind with fresh ideas, and helps stop you from stagnating on your work if your inspiration tank runs dry. Sometimes you can come up with a new concept or twist to an existing idea when reading other people's work. It's not breaching copyright to come up with a new or improved idea from reading somebody else's work - as long as it's not copying their idea. Either chapter by chapter, or once you've finished writing, edit the book. This is not a deep, tear it apart thing, but a general read-through from beginning to end. The idea is to detect any glaring errors: typos, bad writing style or problems with storyline, etc. You can - if you really want to - hire the services of a professional editor, but be aware that they are not cheap, especially for a longer book. The 'best' quote I had when I looked into it was 2c per word. That doesn't sound like much, but my book was 155,000 words long... If you do choose an editor, I would advise avoiding any who charge per hour, since the time taken can vary, while a word count is pretty much fixed. As I said earlier, though, a well critiqued book should be just as good. One the book is ready, you have several options. You can self-publish. This is the easiest, but most expensive way. You pay for a printer to print xxx number of copies of the book. You are solely responsible for marketing, selling, etc., but the takings are 100% yours. The other option is not as easy, but probably more lucrative. As a first-time author, find yourself a REPUTABLE literary agency. I stress the word reputable because there are so many fraudulent groups out there who take your money and screw you. www.critters.org has resources you can look up to learn about good and bad agents, and the tricks of the bad ones. I would recommend that even if you do not join or use critters, have a look at the agency and publisher info pages - it's for your own benefit. A reputable agency should not have any up-front costs. Beware of any that charge an 'admin' fee, or other fees before the book is published. A reputable agency should cover all marketing costs out of their own pocket, and then recoup their costs out of the commission they make when your book is published. They will work on a commission basis, just so you are aware. Be aware, though, that securing a literary agent is not a guarantee of getting published. All it means is that you have found a recognised representative who can then market the manuscript on your behalf. That's it for writing. Start on the sequel or another book while you wait for the Agency to find a publisher.

I'd suggest that you keep your mind open to ideas. If there are any dreams you have had that were either unfinshed or very interesting, write them down. Who knows, one of those dreams might be good enough to make into a book.