The best approach is not staring at a blank screen, but instead thinking about how the story should begin, what will happen in the middle, and how it will end. Once you know what these are you can map the rest of the story around it.

So, think about your story in sections. Write down some ideas before you start and when you start writing the story in full it will be a whole lot easier.

Here is an example. The complete sci-fi story was planned like this:

This sets the scene. The story begins with the year, and we find out a bit about the current situation.

The final scene is similar to the first scene, so the story has a narrative that ends where it begins - it goes in a circle.

The middle scenes are where the action takes place; and the action gets more and more busy as you go through the scenes. The story also has what's known as a `cliffhanger' - there is a question at the end that has not been answered, leaving the reader unsure what will happen next.

You don't have to stick to exactly the same kind of structure in your story; this just shows how one story can be planned. Why not have a go at your own story?

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