Most novels start with a little seed of inspiration. Perhaps you have an idea for a cool character, an interesting setting, or a unique problem that you want to address in novel form. Whatever your idea is, you can build the novel around that idea. Write what you know, or at least what you have a passion for. If you are inspired to write a novel about 17th century Russia, but you know nothing about that era and don't care much for Russian culture, perhaps you should rethink your idea! Try to pick a setting, theme, or culture to base your book that you know something about. Novels feel authentic when the author writes from experience. Choose a notebook, grab your favorite pen, and write down what you want to write your novel about. Set up a writing station somewhere that inspires you and helps you focus, like a quiet park, a beautiful library, or even a calm room in your home. Write down the most exciting part of your novel idea (a character, situation, or even setting) and let your thoughts flow naturally from there. You can also ask yourself a few key questions to get started: What is the point of this novel? Is it purely for entertainment, or are you trying to make a political or moral point? Who is the audience for this novel? Who does it appeal to? What is the genre or category for this novel? Is it a romance, family drama, sci-fi, crime drama or who-dunnit, young adult fiction, or some combination? Even though you do not want to tell all about your characters within the early pages of your novel, it is important for you to know their back stories in order to understand the motivation for each of your characters. Take some time to write about the back story of each of your characters. Some questions you might want to answer as you develop these backstories include: Where is he/she from? How was he/she raised? What does the character value? What does the character hate? How does he/she look? Speak? Behave? What is this character's conflict? How might he/she end up confronting this conflict? The setting for your novel can be elaborate or sparse, but it is important either way. Before you start to write, take some time to ask yourself some questions about the setting, such as: What settings do authors in your genre tend to use? What is the tone or mood that you want the setting to have? How might you accomplish that? Is it real or imaginary? Urban or rural? Large or small? What towns, cities, roads, and structures are present? Do you need to do research to learn more about the setting? This is where you put your plans down and make sure everything fits together in a coherent, compelling story. Not all of your ideas from brainstorming will make it into the final novel, so now is the time to figure out what will work, how it will flow together, and what the structure of your novel might be. You can create a literal storyboard on a large poster or white board, or you can use a piece of paper or computer document. If you use a white board, be sure to take a high quality photo of the board when you're done! The last thing you want is for all your hard work to be inadvertently wiped away. Begin with a "cast of characters": Every recurring character should appear here, with their name and a brief description. For example, list the age, gender, any physical features that matter, and their general role in the story. List each chapter and outline what happens in that chapter. You do not need to include every detail, but any elements of the story that are necessary and build on previous chapters should go here.
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One-sentence summary -- Get inspiration for a novel. Brainstorm. Develop your characters. Identify your setting. Create a storyboard.

While the default Assisted controls are good for getting a handle on how the game plays, you lose a lot of control and finesse. Switch to manual controls to enable complete control over your players. This allows for better and more dynamic ball-handling, as well as more effective defense. Although its tempting, try to avoid jumping online as soon as possible. There are a lot of good players out there, and if you don't practice a little bit you're going to get stomped. Play an offline season to get used to the controls, and use Practice Mode to practice formations, corner kicks, and penalty kicks. Practice mode is also a great way to practice your offensive footwork. When you're first getting started online, you're going to need all the help you can get. Use one of the more powerful teams as you get used to playing against other opponents. Barcelona, Man. U., AC Milan, and Real Madrid Once you get a feel for the game, avoid using these teams as they are viewed by many other players as "cheap". During your first few online games, focus on defending the other player and denying goals. You can work on offense later, but a good defense wins games. Passing is incredibly important in online games, as you're likely to face much stiffer defense than against a computer opponent. Don't bring the ball up the same side of the pitch every time. Avoid going to the same player for every play. Fake doing one thing and then do another. One of the keys to winning an online game is to constantly keep your opponent guessing. This goes for taking shots as well. Don't always use the same strength or shot type. Vary it up to keep your opponent's defenders on their toes. You can modify your shot type by using the shoulder buttons on your controller. Use different shots for different situations. A chance to score can be a rare opportunity in FIFA, so you'll want to ensure that you give yourself the best opportunity that you can get. There are a few factors to keep in mind before lining your shot up: Space - taking a contested shot will rarely work in your favor. Make sure that there is clear space in front of your player. Range - Try to make sure you're inside the box before shooting. Taking a shot from the midfield line is a recipe for disaster. Angle - If you're too far down on either side of the field, you will have a very small angle that you can make a shot in. You'll be better off crossing to one of your teammates. If you have a particularly tall striker, send more balls to him at head level. If your opponent has good dribbling skills, make sure to take advantage of that and try to juke your opponents. Try to avoid running players all over the pitch on offense and defense. Let the formation do the work, and switch to the best player for the situation and spot. Take some time to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of all the teams that your opponent can choose from. Knowing which players they're likely to favor can help you set up your defense and shut down their stars. If you're serious about your FIFA rank, warming up offline will help you get into the flow without jeopardizing your online game. Play a quick match to get your legs back, and then head online to find a real opponent. Use the offline game to practice and tricks or plays you've been thinking about implementing in your online games.
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One-sentence summary --
Use manual controls. Practice offline first. Choose a good team. Focus on defense first. Make smart passes. Change up your tactics. Don't waste shots. Play to you player's strengths. Stick to your formation. Learn the teams. Play an offline game every day before playing online.