Fic writing advice?

[Skeletoncrew]

Hey all, I've been reading a lot of good fanfics lately and I think I've been bitten by the writing bug. Trouble is, I've never really done creative writing. That is, other than what I was forced to do in school oh so long ago.

So this is for all the writers out there. How do you go about writing your story? Do you just sit down and start writting, not really knowing where you're going? Or do you plot it all out first, then write?

Personally, I've written lots of research papers, so my line of thought is draw up an outline and go from there. But I am curious about what others do. And if anyone has links to creative writing sites...post them!