Toni Morrison.

Is that the answer?  Is it enough to inspire you to great and prolific prose?

Possibly, but more importantly…

That is what works for Toni.  Your job is to find what works for you.  A magic bullet has never been found to replace just starting in.

Try several beginnings, endings, reread your ending and use it to come up with another beginning.  Change the location, invent a new character that opens a new subplot, put your antagonist in a speeding vehicle, take your secondary female character and make her the reason your protagonist misses work 2 days a week.

Get the idea?  Your story, make it what we’re looking for.  Play with it, work it.

Now go do it.

J