“It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.”

– William Faulkner

Crafting a plot line is important. But no matter how clever you are at stringing together events, a plot line will never truly grip a reader unless it is carried out by intriguing characters. This is the simplest way to write: focus on creating interesting characters, and then they will do and say things on their own. You start out as their creator, but end up as their chronicler.