So,  you have an idea for a book.Maybe you've had this idea for years. You know your characters, you can picture certain scenes. You hear bits of dialogue. This complicated, multilayered web is tangled throughout your brain, and you wonder how you're ever going to get it all out.Or perhaps you have an idea, but no clue of where it's going, who the characters are, or anything else. You just have an inkling that something is hidden below the surface, and you feel the need to dig it out.Either way, you're probably wondering:WHERE do I start?How do I take the pictures in my head and translate them into words, without losing their luster? Their meaning?How do I bring my characters to life?How do I make sense of the disconnected scenes in my head?I wish I could give you a solid answer.Some writers insist that the only way to write a book is to plot it out; to make copious notes on character motivations, arcs, and backgrounds. Others would rather gag themselves.Some writers say you NEED a writing routine. That you must write every day, the implication being that you don't develop the habit of writing daily, you won't write anything ever.Some get up at 5 AM and write before their day officially starts. Others start writing at midnight.Some can write in busy cafes while others need quiet and solitude.Some writers (myself included), need to write linearly; they think in straight lines.  They need to see how one scene is going to affect the next.Others can jump from one scene to the next, adding bits here and there. They think in loops and circles, sometimes without any idea of how it's all connected.And because NO two writers are alike, I can't tell you what's going to work for you. I don't know how YOU are going to get started.That's something you have to figure out for yourself.But, I can tell you what I do.1) I need a plot outlineI have tried to write without an outline; without plotting a story before hand.After all, the GREAT writers that I admire don't outline.Stephen King. Diana Gabaldon. Anne Rice.They don't plot. They don't particularly know where a story is going. They sit down and write, and are just as surprised as you are by the twists and turns their novel takes.But, when I try to write without an outline, I drown. My beautiful story turns into a meandering narrative with no destination. It's episodic and boring. I need to map things out (or at  least attempt to, anyway).I need a skeleton to build a body on.I write scenes out on index cards. They usually just have a headline (like "The Hospital Scene") and a few notes on what happens. I like laying these cards out on the floor, and seeing how the entire story arc unfolds. I love the flexibility of being able to shuffle the cards around, noticing how moving a few scenes (or deleting others) can totally affect the plot.Diana Gabaldon has written some AMAZING articles on plotting vs not plotting. If you put words on the page, you're a writer, regardless of the process you take to get there. Read more here --->  http://nanowrimo.org/pep-talks/diana-...) I need quiet, uninterrupted chunks of timeI have tried writing at Starbucks, but I usually end up being distracted by the conversations going on around me.I have tried writing while my kids are up, but usually within 5 seconds of me sitting down to write, they interrupt me. Mom, watch me twirl.  Mom, my iPad won't work. Mom, she hit me! Mom, I'm hungry. Mom, my tummy hurts. Mom, I peed my pants.etc.I've tried writing when my husband is home, but we usually have errands to run, projects to finish, or movies or tv shows we want to catch up on.Through trial and error, I've found that I work best at night. I've come to recognize that I'm an intensely goal oriented person, and accept that I need solitude in order to do my best work.After everyone else is in bed, I fire up my laptop and start writing. When the house is quiet, when it's dark outside, when I have absolutely no interruptions or distractions, I can get into the "flow" of writing. There have been times where I sit down, and 4 hours go by without me even noticing. Those are my favorite moments.So that's pretty much it.Plot things out on index cards and write at night. That's how I get started.How do you write? How do you get started? Please message me, or comment below!