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I noticed that all the writing tutorials on here seem to deal with grammar, or imagery, or basically some other means of polishing your story. So now I'm going to write one that gets right to the point: how to write a story from the ground up.
Now, before we start I just want to clarify that writing is no simple task. And one never really stops learning how to do it. So I can't promise that this tutorial will make you into the next Jack London or Charles Dickens overnight. But here's a few basics just to get you started.

1. What Goes In is What Comes Out
This isn't so much a step as a process you need to be aware of. What goes into your brain through TV, books, or any other input will probably come out somehow in your writing. For example, a person who reads a lot of, say, Charles Dickens will probably end up writing much as he did. What you expose yourself to can effect the nature of your stories, the dialogue of your characters, and the reading level (meaning how easy or difficult it is to read) your stories will take on.
This can be a problem at times, like if you're a fantasy reader and decide to try writing science fiction (although personally, why you might want to do that is beyond me). However, there's an easy way to turn it into an advantage: read what you want to write. For example, when I was working on a fantasy book (not yet published), I decided that I wanted it to be like C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. Now, I didn't steal the plots or characters, but I did study his work very closely while I wrote, and thus adopted a writing style similar to his. This is no new technique; William Shakespeare often based his plays on other stories, and George Lucas actually wrote Star Wars to music (a reversal of the usual method, in which a movie would be written and then the music would be composed to go with it). It's the same for whatever you may be writing, and it goes double if you're writing fanfiction because with fanfiction, you're using characters that already have a certain way of... well, everything; talking, acting, and so on. When you familiarize yourself with the characters, it's a lot easier to write them and much more gratifying when you get them right. And if you end up receiving praise from their original creators, like I did from redwolf03 regarding my use of her Copper and Taya in "Toby Part One: Hero Worship," it can be a major boost to your confidence.
So if you're going to write Balto, watch Balto! If you want to write the Lion King, watch the Lion King! If you're going to write Spiderman, read Spiderman! The key to writing what you want to write is reading what you want to write, and the sooner you start, the better.

2. Who Are You Writing For?
Whether we realize it or not, we all write for somebody. Some write for themselves (ie. for their own enjoyment). Some write for friends, and some write for whatever audiece seems to be the biggest.
Now, I'm not looking to get religious about this, but I write for God. I try to write stuff which, in my mind, I can see Him putting in His personal collection. Mind you, He's not the only one I have in mind when I write, but He does come first.
Second in my list of priorities is my readers. I practically always try to write something that will have an impact on them, something that will stay with them (the creators of Spy Kids adopted the same approach when making thoe movies). This is easiest to see in stories like "Toby Part Two: Steele's Return," or "Spiderman: Reaching the Darkness," which I wrote on fanfiction.net. Now, do I always make it such a serious business? Not really, and it's usually not a good idea to do things that way all the time. As Aslan said in The Magician's Nephew, "Humor, as well as judgement, comes with speech. And now that you are no longer dumb and witless, you need not always be grave" (exact words uncertain). So once in a while, just have some fun and write something simply for the sake of enjoyment (like "What Are You Talking About?"). You can probably even slide your laughs in alongside the more serious stuff, which is a technique called comic relief. A perfect example can be found in redwolf03's fanfic "The Right Time," in which Kodi is trying to admit to Dusty that he has feelings for her. Dusty, unaware of this, has a little fun at his expense.

It goes on with the two of them exchanging light jabs, and includes a case of perfect irony when Dusty advises Kodi on how to approach a girl, completely unaware that she is the girl in question. The story does get a bit serious at times, with plenty of adolescent emotions and an embarrassing secret about Dusty's family, but moments like this punctuate the hard times with bouts of laughter.
And somewhere along the line, you need to put yourself in there too. Just as what you put into your head will come out in your writing, likewise your emotions will effect and be effected by your writing. If you're bored out of your skull writing something, chances are people will be bored reading it (why do you think teachers drink so much coffee?). But if you have fun writing it, chances are they'll have fun reading it too. And even if they don't, at least you'll have one reader: you!

3. Characters (basic cast)
Now we come to the actual process of planning your story. When it comes to designing a character, there are three basic parts: Role, Personality, and Details. All three tend to influence one another, but we'll try to tackle them separately to keep it simple.
Role is what your character does, and basically defines who they are. A character can be just one role, or several. Most stories have a protagonist (ie. the main character), some supporting roles (I like to call them "Hero support"), and some kind of villain. There are a lot of other roles too, which often overlap (support/love interest, for example). The protagonist, usually the good guy, is the center of the story. He's not always the "hero" in as much as always being right in the thick of the plot, but he's usually the one whose eyes a reader will see everything through. The supporting characters are there to keep the hero going when he can't make it on his own, or to in some way make the hero look better. Zazu in The Lion King and Boris in Balto are prime examples of supporting roles. And villains... well, what really needs to be said? Nine out of ten stories need a bad guy, and that's what the villain does. He makes life hard for the characters and interesting for the onlookers.
Personality is what the character is like. Are they, for example, firm and dedicated like Zazu, kind and supportive like Jenna, carefree and flippant like young Simba, or stuck-up and egotistical like Steele? Personality is what really puts the life into your character and makes them who they are. To give an analogy, it's like coloring a picture: their role is the outline, and their personality is the color.
Details are to a writer what duct tape is to a handyman; they're easy to use, good for almost any job, and an absolute godsend when it comes to holding stuff together. Most of the time, details provide background and filler for a character's role and personality. They can range from essential, like the death of Pete's dad causing him to turn mean (in my and Kelev's fanfics), to trivial and essentially unimportant like Luna's love of spaghetti and meatballs. Vital details can be crucial to shaping a character, but for writing purposes the small details can be just as important because they allow your reader to really get to know your character like a close friend. Details can include all kinds of things, from favorite foods to odd phobias (fears), and can serve all kinds of purposes.
All aspects of a character can change during the course of a story, but the reasons should make sense. For example, Balto suddenly going berserk and beating up Jenna would make no sense unless he'd been bitten by something with rabies (more on irrational behavior to be covered in my next tutorial). Pete's shift from a nice guy when his dad was alive to a bitter and crude individual with his father's sudden death, however, is a lot more understandable and works much better for writing purposes. And of course, when one part of a character is effected the others will generally follow to one degree or another. For instance, a fear of heights (a detail) might diminish a protagonist's hero status (his role) in the eyes of the reader if he allowed someone to get hurt because he was afraid. Or it could have the opposite effect if he saved them in spite of his fear. And while failing to do it might cause him to feel guilty and thus somehow change his personality, succeeding could bolster his courage and help him become a better man (or dog, or lion, etc.).
Of course, if you're using borrowed characters you save the trouble of designing their roles, personalities, and details. But it can be just as tricky to work from a design already set, as I outlined in step 1.

4. Plot:
Plot basically means what's going on in a story. Plots can center on almost anything from a battle of good versus evil (many classics use this), a struggle for survival (Jack London did a number of these), or even trying to get by in a world where anything that can go wrong does go wrong. Now, how you come up with a plot is up to you. Personally, I've found that the best way is to keep asking questions. In fact, the whole Toby series began when I looked at the main cast of some other stories I've created and asked myself, "What would happen if they were dogs?" The results were fantastic. Taking just the basic cast at their essence, I created a series which has gone places where the original stories never could have gone. Other stories came about the same way, and most of my success could be chalked up to one question: "What could go wrong?" Now, it's crucial not to let your imagination run too wild, or some of the plots will be pretty ridiculous. For instance, a bunch of aliens attacking Nome (or the Pridelands) would make for a number of interesting possibilities. But as a serious story, it would be a pretty bad idea because sci-fi and Balto or the Lion King simply don't go together. That said, I'd be very impressed if someone found a way to make it work. And if you're looking for parody with something like that, go right ahead. The key is to make your stories unexpected, but believable.
Another way to come up with a good plot is to think of something you want to say through your story. A theme, a moral, or some other message is a great way to tie a story together, and it hasn't failed me or anyone I know of yet.
There are any number of ways to get a good plot going, but here are a few that tend to be especially useful:
*A theme such as love, courage, or an allegory. I've used this a number of times, as have some other writers (C.S. Lewis was noted for his allegorical works).
*A special event, such as Christmas or a birthday. Such situations, with a little imagination, are prime breeding ground for story possibilities.
*Parody. What would happen if the Balto story were re-done in a Star Wars-style universe? I've actually seen that one in a story, and I must say it was quite enjoyable. Or what if you re-did Tazan and had him grow up with a pride of lions? The possibilities are endless.
*Random ideas. It's a little-known fact that The Hobbit, The Lord of The Rings, and the other tales of Middle-Earth all began when J.R.R. Tolkein was grading papers one night and the sentence "In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit" suddenly jumped into his brain. He had no idea what a Hobbit was, but it hit him so forcefully that he actually wrote it on one of the papers he was grading! Random ideas, while occasionally somewhat tricky, can be very useful if you do them right. In a later tutorial, I'll give some ideas on how to sort out good ideas from bad ones.

5. Test Run
Once you have your story, give it a trial run before taking it out on the internet. For starters, run a spelling and grammar check on it if your computer has one. A lot of stories which would be phenomenal on everything else lose a lot if they're full of typos and lousy sentence structure.
And if you really want to know how good it is, read it to a friend or relative and ask for their opinion. By doing so, you can see how your readers might react, find places that can be improved or need to be changed, and it's a great way to make sure you don't miss anything when you're going over it. Details can make or break a story, and reading it out loud is one of the best ways to spot them.

I hope this quick tutorial has been a help to you, and a benefit to your future writing. I'll write more later on ways to make a story more interesting. But for now, ta-ta!

*attaches sticky glue to the back of the topic*

A good guide, DT. Deserves more notice.

Thank you. I noticed most people seem to struggle more with this particular facet of writing, and it was high time someone did something to help.

Thank you. I aim to please.

Thank you both.

Thank you so much! This was quite helpful.

My pleasure. The next one is pretty far along, so keep your eyes peeled for more.

Excellent tutorial! I'll definitely use this!

Glad you enjoyed it. I'll be making more in the future (I hope) to cover other aspects of the writing process, so stay tuned.

Hmm, maybe in upcoming tutorials you could focus in greater detail about these particular areas? Characters come as natural for me, because I have so many influences (ie; real people that I know, characters in various cartoons/TV series/movies, various celebrities etc...) but plot is quite a problem for me. I enjoy writing romances, but have trouble making them unique. It's not really the general idea that I have trouble with--- it's the finer points and plot twists. It would be great if you could PM me some tips.

And another thing. I also have a problem with 'excessive dialogue'--- too much talk and no action (just like in real life for me).

Great tutorial though, and I look forward to others!

I do indeed plan to post more, and more detailed, tutorials as the opportunities present themselves. So far, I have one well underway about some of the dos and don'ts of making a story more engaging, with plans for another on character development.
I also may find the chance to take a look at your stories and offer some precise feedback, but here's one tip I was given when writing a book: Use body language. Describe the characters' posture, gestures, etc. This does not, admittedly, decrease the amount of dialogue in and of itself (I myself often find myself shaking my head at the amount of dialogue in my stories), but if your characters communicate visually, it might take some of the load off of their words if only slightly. For example, an animal describing an object, a path, or anything involving direction could use fewer words if they used their head, paws, or tail to indicate what or where. Or, for that matter, things like a shrug or a facial expression can expresse beautifully with no need for words. See what you can come up with.

Thanks for that DT. Using body language in my stories should be quite easy, because I learned a lot about canine expressions, body language, psychology etc. in a book I read called The Secret Life of Dogs but I've forgotten who it was written by. Anyway, I am pretty clued-up with canine expressions so that should help me a lot.

No problem.
I admit, I've never done that kind of research when it comes to canine communcation. In the case where I was encouraged to use body language, I was writing about dragons, so I more or less made it up as I went along, lol. You'd be amazed how expressive dragons can be, especially when one has so many limbs to work with.