A good story begins with an idea that consists of : A setting, characters, the conflict, development, climax, and resolution. Now that I had this great story swimming around in my head, there were a few things that I needed before the actual writing began. I mapped out my story, from beginning to end, by making an outline of the most important points. This outline was my main outline and helped me remember exactly where I was going once I got lost in writing. Next, I made a sub-outline for my first chapter. This was a more detailed outline and listed exactly what was going to happen. It would guide me through the chapter as I began to write. I have made sub-outlines for each chapter of my story and have found that they are very helpful. They, however, are not set in stone. I often found myself adding characters and new events to better the story.