Planning.

I'm going to give you my opinion on how to plan your story, including characters, setting and place, time, science (if necessary) and other bits and bobs. My word is not the word of God so by all means, feel free to ignore what I have to say or just completely come out and call it a pile of shit.

But here we go.

Plot

You have an idea. You have a basic idea of what your story will be about, what do you do?
A) Create a basic outline - Starts at A, B happens, C is the end. This allows you to have a free for all session between A and C as long as B happens.
B) Create a more detailed outline - Starts at A, B happens, C is the character, D is their problem, E is the villain, F is a certain event that takes place, G is the outcome of F, H is the end. A little more information but you still have that leniency of altering the in-between sections.
C) Just go for it. Write. Stop. Research. Write. Delete. Edit. Smile. Frown. Write. Curse. Bang your head against a wall in agony. Break. Research. Distraction. Write.
D) Create your main characters. What they're like. What they're friendships/opinions of the other main characters are, who hates who, who is friends with who. Create a rough outline - Starts at A, B happens, C is the end.
E) Mix it up between the above.

When I created my plot for Vanguard. Aries well, I didn't really have one. It was a simple case of here are my characters. A is the start. B is the problem to look at. C is things happen. D is the end. And here's a little secret for you - I still don't know what D is going to be.

Now, here's a tip. In the first draft ANYTHING GOES. Your character kills everyone in the room and sustains a few bruises. The monkeys that kidnapped the princess are thwarted by a dragon dressed as a cat. (I don't know.) But the main thing to have is a basic plot. So write your story. Let everything happen.

Then you can cut, change, add or just tweak in the edit.

Characters

So you have your plot but you need characters. What do you do?
A) You already have the perfect name for your number one main character. The rest can have casual names like Smith, Turner, Jones.
B) You create a list of characters with specific roles in mind. Before you know it you have a profile for each one.
C) Construct a rough version of B. Names, country of origin, age, rank. Nothing else. Learn as you go.
D) Write and see what happens. Write. Name. Frown. Change. Worse. Change. Better. Write. Another name. Curse. Random name. Write.
E) Go crazy and mix it up from above.

Still using the example of the characters I've created in my story, all I had to begin with were names, ranks and what they were going to do on the ship. And their country of origin. But yeah, I didn't have their personality, their quirks, friendships or family members planned out. Just names, rank, country of origin and job.

The name could be Freddy McMacfield until you come up with a better name. Sometimes it's easier to just whack a name in there and go with it. You can always change it in the edits. You never know, you may get halfway through a chapter before you go, "This is a much better name. Yeah, let's  go with Snowdrop Princess."

Setting

Well, every story needs a place to be set in and there are several ways you could go about this. You could commit tonnes of research into the place, the rows of shops and houses, the landscape views you have from it. Google maps anyone?

Or you could go with it. Look at a few pictures of the place you're setting your story, go with it and add the full research later.

And if you're making it up? Well, try to think about how you want your world to look. Think about how the sky looks, or the material that would be used to build the houses. Would it be brick like us? Or sandstone? Clay? Minerals? Other rocks? Space rocks? Monkey dung? Just imagine the world in your head and try your best to get that down on paper.

Time

This is more for those doing future works of fiction or focusing on the past. Either have a history book or two on hand that talk about the times your story is set in or try to think about what year in the future you want your story to be set in. Now, for the history books, everything, or mostly everything you'll need should be there. For those that are set in the future, well, try to think about the level of technology you want. Is it going to be really advanced? Then maybe a few extra years into the future? Just a little advanced? With modifications to current technology? Just a few years into the future maybe?

Either way, think about the technology around at that time. If you're going to set a story in the 80's then remember, cell phones didn't really exist. It was house phones. 90's? Then brick phones. And Nokia. Oh I love Nokia phones. Any further back in time then do your research. Toilets that flushed from the beginning of 1900's later 1880's. (Don't quote me on that.)

Science

This mostly applies to science fiction stories this section but hey, read if you care, read if you don't. Science. What I mean by this is the science behind the technology. For example, Faster Than Light (FTL) technology. If you had to find a way to describe how it would work then look at old theories.

For every scientific fact you hear or read in fiction there is some basis of fact behind it. Do a little research, wormholes, black holes, white holes, suns, radiation. Just a quick few minutes of searching until you have a little understanding. Jot down the basics if you want and carry on with your story.

If you need to you could add it in during an editing stage. But remember, base it upon a theory that already exists.

And NO. You do not have to state the scientific fact you're quoting. You don't even have to go into the description of why your ship can travel millions of miles in just a few seconds. But YOU, as the writer need to know it in order to know about the downsides of such technology. For example, FTL technology means you have to think about relativity and the fact that everything outside of your ship is going slower. This means you age a little faster if you were stuck travelling in FTL for the rest of your life. A few seconds to the world could be days or weeks, even years to you.

Always think about the ups and downs of whatever technology you use.

And if I can come up with anymore pointers in planning a story, I'll let you know.