How to start a story

I have been asked many times how I begin a story. Every author has a way that works best so what one author does might not work for another author. I start by developing a problem I can create for my characters. I want the problem to be believable so children will be able to think of themselves in a similar situation. I start by getting the characters into some sort of trouble, and then I try to sketch out what might happen throughout the story. Often I don't have the ending decided until I get to that point in my writing. Usually my basic sketch is what I use, but sometimes that changes as different characters "show up" as the writing process progresses. So for me, step one is to create a problem and sketch out where that problem might lead my characters.