The first step : a story plan -- Choosing your best idea -- Character : the key to good stories -- Bringing characters to life -- Focusing your story -- Getting from beginning to end : the plot / -- Choosing your point of view -- At last : the beginning -- Something to talk about : dialogue -- Story tension : keeping your readers hooked -- Endings : expected and surprising -- Just when you thought you were done : revising -- The final step : polishing -- A career as a fiction writer.