Writing has always come naturally to me, but there are elements of the writing process that I struggle with. There must be other aspiring writers who have similar problems, so let's talk about the most basic elements you will need to make your story or novel come to life.

The most important thing, first and foremost, is story. You need a story, or at least a basic outline of this. Without a story, you have nothing. Your characters will be stumbling around with nothing to do and no place to go. You don't need to have an entire book plotted out, scene by scene, but you should, however, have some thin idea of what you want to occur in the story. It's great if you have a bunch of amazing, dynamic characters, but they must be part of the bigger picture. Where do they fit into your story? What role do they play? How are they going to help further the story?

Let's start with the plot. I'll break it down into three basic groups to help get you started:

-First, we have the beginning. This is where you will introduce the reader to the setting of your story and the characters that the reader will be following. Remember, it is not necessary to introduce ALL the characters in your story right from the very beginning, because many of the characters will become a part of the story as the plot progresses. Your main character(s) will meet them along the way, on their fictional journey, and certain characters will become involved with the protagonist's life in different ways and under different circumstances. In the beginning you must also introduce the initial plot point that is going to be driving the story forward. This vital point is some type of situation that will drive the main character from their "normal" life into some type of conflict. It can be something such as a murder, losing their job, or a natural disaster. This will kick off your main plot.

-Next up is the middle. This is when your story will be expanded upon and develops through a series of complications and obstacles. You can have what we will refer to as "mini crises" during the middle, but all the while you should be building tension towards your BIG crisis, which we will discuss in the next paragraph. Think of the middle as a pot of water slowly building to a boil. You want to be working towards the big finale, or climax in your story. Your main character may solve a small crisis or two during the middle, but you don't want him or her to solve the big crisis yet -- save that for the end.

-Thirdly, you will build towards the inevitable climax. This is when the main character is faced with the largest obstacle, the ultimate crisis, and as a result, all the loose ends of the story will be tied up. Hopefully you have built to this point in an organic way, and not simply paint-by-numbers. The conflicts and resolution need to come naturally and realistically, so think about that from the very beginning as you "plant the seeds" so to speak, of your plot. You are also going to want to end your story soon after the crisis is solved, because the reader's interest will wane once the problem has been solved. Think of it in the terms of a movie -- the big disaster happens, the hero saves the day; everyone is happy -- does the film still linger on for another twenty minutes? No, it ends usually within minutes of the crisis being solved. Once there is no more tension, there is less interest for the viewer, or in this case, the reader. No need to drag it on beyond the solution.

So now you have some basic idea how to structure your plot, and you have an idea in mind. Good. What's next? Well, some dynamic characters to help fuel your plot forward. I think this is where some authors stumble. There are many writers out there who are capable of forging detailed, exciting plots, but when it comes to the characters involved, they simply don't know how to write beyond the basic stereotype. An example of this would be author James Patterson. Patterson has written over 52 novels, most of them featuring his character, Alex Cross, a forensic psychologist formerly of the Washington D.C. Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation who now works as a private psychologist and government consultant.

The Alex Cross books are some of the most popular books among Patterson readers and the top selling US Detective series in the past ten years. In the few that I've read, Patterson weaves thrilling intricate tales with many twists and turns, however, I've found that his characters are boring, bordering on cardboard. They are simply there as plot devices, and are not sketched as real-life people. The dialogue is wooden and cliché and I've never been impressed. I'm not the only one who feels this way -- Stephen King once called Patterson a "terrible writer" only capable of writing "dopey thrillers." Obviously, these comments have not hurt Patterson's book sales, but regardless, it is clear his strong point is not sketching colorful characters. Other writers have the opposite problem -- they have many strong characters dancing around in their head, but they have no story to put them in (this is generally the problem that I have myself).

There are two types of characters you can write. First there is a dynamic character, which is someone who undergoes an important, internal change because of the action in the plot. (Think Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol). Second, you have a static character - someone whose personality doesn't change throughout the events in the story's plot. This character does not need to undergo any redemption or changes; they are simply the same person at the end of the story as they were at the beginning. For example, someone who is kind and loyal at the start is going to be kind and loyal at the end as well.

Now every fiction writer will tell you that compelling characters are at the heart of all good fiction. Simply writing characters into a story to fit your plot makes them nothing more than window dressing. Without a character to care about, why would we want to read this story? If our main protagonist is boring, stereotypical, and unsympathetic then why would we want to read about him or her for 600 pages? It's okay to make your protagonist not so nice (again, like Ebenezer Scrooge), but do so in an interesting way, and make this character change as the story progresses. Initially, if your character is someone we are supposed to dislike, then you will need to show the growth of this character so the audience will learn to sympathize as they read on. By the end, there should be some sort of fundamental change so that this character is somewhat likable. If so, you have done your job as a good writer.

It's also important to get to know your characters. You don't need to tell the reader everything about them; for example, we don't necessarily need to know what the main character's shoe size is, or what his or her voice sounds like, or what pets he or she had growing up, but maybe these are things you as the author should know. The better you know your character inside and out, the better you can understand them and write for them. I took a creative writing class in high school and my teacher gave us a tip that I used in later years to help me write. She had told us to make a list -- personality traits, favorite things, physical attributes, etc. -- and fill it out for each of the main characters in our story. Many of the things on the list are things you don't have to particularly mention or use in your story; but this will help you build a complete, well-rounded individual. If you feel like you are writing a real flesh-and-blood character, they will jump off the pages.

Lastly, you will need to put good words in your characters' mouths. This has always been one of my strong points. Some authors find it hard to sound realistic sounding dialogue and write it straight and to the point. For example, take this line of dialogue:

"I am going to the grocery store and then I am going to the mall and when I get home we will talk about this problem."

Sure, it gets the point across, but nobody really talks like that. Let's try something else:

"Okay, so I have to run to the grocery store and then I'm going to hit the mall. When I get back we'll talk, okay?"

See how that second snippet flows much more smoothly? You can actually hear someone saying that. Try to keep your ears open and listen to the people around you. Listen to how everyone talks differently, and how the conversation flows. Sound the conversation out in your head before you write it down and just let it flow. This natural dialogue will also help make your characters seem like flesh-and-blood people.