User blog comment:Pandaboy2/Advice Needed!/@comment-2026417-20110721032234/@comment-1610819-20110721151453

Plan ahead, yes, but don't procrastinate while you plan; if you do, you'll never even get started. And try to make your story as original as possible without making it a different kind of story altogether--while it's alright to use things that have already been done before (most of what can be done has already been used, after all) it's not alright to simply allows yourself to inconsiderately fall into the old literary patterns. Try to make your story elements as fresh as possible.