[Mithadan]

Start with a basic theme or premise that you wish to deal with. For example, in the case of my "Tol Eressea" series (which may be found in the Barrow-Downs fan fiction section) I began with the premise that I wanted to fill in some of the gaps left by Tolkien, both with respect to untold tales as well as historical or philosophical issues hinted at in HoME or Letters. Then I needed a "vehicle" to present the stories and I selected Tolkien's Aelfwine character as the primary character and the tales he hears from the Elves as the vehicle. The setting was easy after the choice of Aelfwine; he hears these tales in Tol Eressea.