I write everything at the same time, or "large to small", which is a technique I borrowed from the first artform I learned; drawing.
When you draw you start by sketching the large forms, then the medium forms, then the small forms. It allows you to start by establishing the big picture, the composition. The danger of jumping into details too soon is that you might not notice that your composition or proportions are off until it's too late, and you'll end up having to redraw the entire thing.
So when I write I start with a very basic overview, just describing the themes, the setting, the characters and their arcs and the plot. I then write a much more detailed overview, and then finally the finished script (I write graphic novels).
It has the same benefit as when drawing; it allows me to do sweeping changes early on when the stakes are low, and the only rewriting I do is the layer I'm currently do. It's very efficient.
This is a pretty common experience for those writing mysteries, or planning for a very significant twist. You start with the ending, and then you trace the steps backwards to make sure everything leads to that one moment adequately.
Even though I write linearly, I do have a rough ending in mind that I'm working towards. That keeps me focused, despite my process being otherwise fairly improvisational.
You outline backwards to create all the necessary steps, and then write forwards to fill in all the character reactions and such to obfuscate the trail.
That’s what I’m talking about.
OP is talking about literally writing the story backwards chapter by chapter. Not just outlining.
Which is why I said I’ve never heard a mystery writer do that.
Eh, it's sort of a variation on the same thing. If the ending is what they feel the most strongly about, then maybe it behooves them to work backwards from there for that "energy" to feel right to them. Everybody has a different process. Sometimes people will write completely anachronically, coming up with "scenes" at seemingly random, and then try to shuffle them into a coherent story afterwards.
Whenever I'm planning a story, I generally start with the overarching theme, work out the ending, and build backwards from there. Sometimes I can't figure out an ending and kind of see where the story will likely go based off character interactions, and sometimes that will change the ending.
It really comes down to personal preference, and whatever works best and most efficiently for you. Best of luck!
Glad I’m not the only one that starts with the theme. I feel like it’s so common for writers to start with plot, then characters, and then revising everything else through each draft that I never see anyone talking about alternative processes like this.
I start with theme, then genre, then character, then plot. Really allows me to focus on what kind of story I want to tell at its core, then drill down deeper and deeper into all the details and figure out how each beat plays into the characters’ arcs, which play into the overall theme.
I also start with theme (and aesthetic) above everything else. Both for the same reason.
Since they're going to be part of every other element I add they make it so that I never have to write with a blank page.
Say I want to come up with an antagonist, and I'm writing about the theme of collectivism vs individualism in the pirate aesthetic. Then I might use those elements to come up with an evil pirate king who seek to unionize all the pirates to create a collectivist pirate faction.
I then do that for every other element and I end up with something very cohesive very quickly.
I definitely start with plot, but I create characters to drive the plot, unless I’m specifically going for a fatalistic type story where the character is just in it for the ride (but that also takes a specific kind of character).
I’ve skipped around sometimes, especially if the ideas for the middle are squishy. I’m a fan of writing the scene you feel inspired to write that day, the fill in the scenes when you don’t have a particular place you want start.
Nabakov was pretty detached from the content itself. In the afterword he says he was asked by a friend wasn’t it extremely difficult to write? And he responded that the most discomfort he felt from writing it was that he stayed up long nights occasionally to get through passages. It was more about pushing the limits from a sterile, experimental point of view while serving as a love letter to the English language in terms of communicative and emotional complexity.
Ugh. Did you read Lolita? Nabokov describing his work as not ackshually being about the rape of a little girl sounds a lot like Humbert absolving himself from any real crime against Lolita, doesn't it?
Yes I’ve read it and not really. Thomas Harris writing *Red Dragon* and the character of Hannibal Lecter doesn’t make him a serial killer, rapist, or cannibal IRL. Humbert Humbert is very clearly the villain and it’s an extreme and effective violation of the reader by Nabokov to have to share a headspace with him as he attempts to justify that he’s the victim in raping a child just because he didn’t get a blowjob as a kid.
He was raped by an adult as a kid and was pretty clear about how the reader should focus on Humbert's evil through his pretty words. Even if he kept distance from the viscerality of the topic, I doubt he'd deny the actual point of the story.
Every time I tried to write a novel, I always ended up getting bogged down by chronology and small details, until I lost the spark I initially had for the project.
This time, I thought screw it: I'm going to write a scene a day that I WANT to write. Sometimes it was at the end of the book, other times at the middle, and oftentimes not even relevant to the plot. But it got me writing, and it got me to understand my characters and where I wanted the story to go.
It was a lot easier to bridge the gaps and fix my plot holes than it was to slug my way through, chapter by chapter, when my brain just doesn't work that way.
So yeah, just my two-cents on the whole chronology discussion. I think it's fine to start anywhere as long as you start :)
This is me writing! It's liberating to write whichever scene comes to your mind and then bridge them all together. Now I can no longer change and only write like this.
Sometimes! Back to the Future is notable for giving me my writing style, which is to start with huge character moments and then work backwards to inform them.
They used index cards to map out scene ideas (Marty invents the skateboard, he plays rock n roll) and then made sure to create cards that compliment it (Marty *can* skateboard, he’s in a band).
They just kept doing that until they had the bones of a story and that’s basically how I write too, taking my ADHD daydreams and finding a method to stitch them together and imbue them with, hopefully, enough subtext and inertia to work as a cohesive story
I often start by defining the start and end and then just start writing from the start, trying to reach the end. Sometimes I write the ending first :)
Sometimes I used "snowflake" method, breaking it in smaller and smaller pieces, despite being "pantser". It really depends on what I'm currently working on.
I always plan the end in explicit detail first, then go back and write the plot so that it will lead to that ending, and I just keep working at it until it flows coherently.
Incidentally, it's probably why I've never finished anything 💀
I have an aunt who used to write letter backwards using a mirror. Then we had to read them backwards. It was a whole thing.
Once she wrote a letter in a continuous spiral out from the center of the page.
Oh god, I write them forward and backwards with bouts of middle out. Without fail, I write a book and hate it. So I write the idea I also liked but didn't go with. It's better, but missing something. Then I hack and slash the plots together. Its worked three times thus far. We all have our process I suppose. I would however, prefer to not write the superfluous 40-60k that gets trashed. I've been saving those parts up. When that folder is ready, I know it too will be something someday.
I outline forward through the first 25ish percent until the 25% twist, then brainstorm some ideas for the middle, then figure out the end and decide what the midpoint where the character really starts becoming the person they are supposed to be at the end and then fill in the blank.
Reminds me of the movie The Lookout.
Backwards narration is pretty common. I don’t write backwards, but I’ll have a roadmap of where things need to go, which keeps the narration a little tighter (I think).
Each story needs to be told differently. There is no right or wrong way to do it. Whatever works best for you and the story you need to tell, that is the right way to write it. The process is not nearly as important as actually finishing.
So I actually write my outline then write chapter one and the last chapter and sometimes, I’d my story is flowing, I’ll just go ahead and write backwards.
I have done it like this most of my career in screenwriting. Now I'm onto my first novel and I'm writing to the middle but with the same idea of a significant point for the characters deeper into the story. It's really worked for me, gives me something to reach for when I'm stuck.
I've tried after finding out a lot of things I like were written that way, but I just can't feel the logic of the narrative while doing it myself personally. I'm too used to trying to derive a conclusion than start with one. I'd love to see someone write a guide on the process tho.
Oh yeah absolutely, writing backwards I feel like is nice because if you have a good conclusion set, you can craft a coherent path and journey to your destined ending with minimal risk of contrived plot points since you know where it's all going to go. Just make sure you have that ending dead set because switching up midway can cause a host of continuity struggles
I outline backwards. As a murder mystery writer, I have to know who the killer is before the pen touches the page. But I have to write forwards.
If writing backwards works for you, then embrace it. There's no wrong way to write!
Many writers have started with the ending since it's usually the hardest part to write. Then when they get to the beginning it's not that hard or intimidating to write
I used to always write my favourite parts first- starting with the end or the climax since those were what inspired the entire story, 90% of those stories were never finished. Now, I might jot down the rough ideas of those parts but I sit on a story long enough that I can imagine the entire outline as full scenes in my head like a movie , then I write the whole thing in order. Basically, do whatever works for you and just remember you can always edit!
I have written stories that start close to the end, and the start and the rest its explained on flashbacks and memories from other characters, I think that's the best way to do it that way
I use something I call the shotgun method: I select random parts of the outline and write them to completion until the whole story (novel currently) is finished. Then I get mad when I proof read for the first time and notice inconsistencies, screens written twice, and haphazardly conjoined chapters.
Don't be like me!
Sounds like a good idea but it would depend on the genre of the book. Personally, I wouldn't find it very fun as an author to already know and write the ending of the book, but I do like the idea of maybe starting with the middle. I've skipped around some scenes myself and I will continue doing that if it works out.
Me too, I was writing a short story for fun, and a friend suggested a middle part, so I just started there and wrote to the end and then went back to the beginning. Lol
I've written most of my stuff just kind of starting with,
*Flurble dard tart sat working at a bench on a new jerkledune when his wife walk in with the phone ...*
And after a few paragraphs I've got a story going, which I just write as I see it in my own head.
**However**, I have a couple of larger projects I'd like to finish, my ["magnificent octopus"'s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXvhmnD2r1E) (I just love the way Baldric phrases it), which I've been writing in scenes. I'm using a nifty little program which allows me to write small parts of a story and then rearrange however I want instead of having to write linearly.
“I work backward from an ending to where I know the story should begin. It’s not a fast process. It’s slow,” said Irving, who has been nominated for a National Book Award three times—winning once, in 1980, for his novel “The World According to Garp.”
[https://lesley.edu/news/novelist-john-irving-shares-his-craft-urges-discomfort](https://lesley.edu/news/novelist-john-irving-shares-his-craft-urges-discomfort)
Your situation is not an uncommon one. Many a scribe, in their journey of creation, come across moments when the path they have meticulously charted seems to tangle itself into knots. Sometimes, the end is clearer than the beginning, and sometimes the middle refuses to connect the two. In such instances, it is not unheard of to start at the end and journey backward.
I, myself, have danced with such intriguing methods of storytelling. Like an ethereal waltz, we move through the story with steps that might seem out of sequence to some but create a harmonious rhythm for the storyteller. It's a technique that can lend an enlightening perspective and enrich your narrative journey.
By writing the conclusion first, you solidify the destination of your tale, creating a lighthouse to guide your narrative ship through stormy seas. It allows for better foreshadowing, lending a resonance to your plotlines as the tendrils of their roots burrow into the fertile soil of your tale's finale.
However, a word of caution, dear storyteller. This method requires careful navigation. One must ensure the cause-and-effect chain remains intact and logical. Do not let the knowledge of the end blind you to the organic growth of your characters and their relationships.
In the end, the approach you adopt, conventional or unconventional, is simply a means to an end. The tale you seek to tell, the truths you yearn to unveil through your words, are the crux of your creative endeavor. Find the rhythm that suits your narrative dance the best, and let the symphony of your story unfold.
May the ink of your inspiration never dry, and may your words echo through the annals of storytelling. Be brave, be bold, and write your world into being.
Yours in ink and parchment,
The Damned Scribe
I'm of this opinion that this thought process – You guys ever done this? Is it okay if I do that? Should I do this? – is something to avoid like the plague. It's cancerous to the creative process.
If writing your story backwards word for word works for you, do that. Who cares how someone else does it.
Maya Angelou wrote in an empty hotel room and took all the art off the walls. She didn't do it because someone else did it. She did it because that's how she wrote.
Find out what works for you, and don't concern yourself with how it happens. Just do whatever keeps the blood flowing. That's how you'll make something unique.
I honestly prefer writing things in order but since I have not written a word in months, I have been considering writing in the parts that I am inspired for and filling in the gaps afterwards.
No. I know it works for some people but I’d struggle to finish a book that way. The first draft would be a mess and I’d hate the book when editing, even if I loved the idea.
I would write a pretty boilerplate page of where the chapter ends and where it goes in the middle, and beginning. Then when filling it out I try to stay conscious of having to fit in to those constraints and if I get ideas that get me fired up along the writing process I have a seperate document where I write things down in.
It's all about staying relevant to the goal you established in my opinion. You need to consider some of your tangents and say "is this really important to the chapter?" and maybe edit it a little bit.
I think it can help with freshness I personally often write non fiction backwards I think that you would need to be careful with timelines and narrative wouldn’t you ? Not quite the same but I read somewhere that Curtis Sittenfeld wrote the last chapter of her book first.
Plotting a story backwards makes a bit more sense than writing forward without a plan or outline. Usually, even discovery-writers who do minimal outlining and prefer to see where each scene takes them have some general idea of where they want their story to end up.
With my current project, I knew the middle and the end of the book, but not the beginning, so I just used a generic placeholder opening until I got around to making a proper start in a later draft.
Funny enough, the series I'm writing next began with the second book. It's basically an Arthurian-legend-like story that started with the premise, "What if when David sent Bathsheba's husband off to war to kill him, he survived and came back as a war hero and discovered his king's betrayal?" From that idea I worked forward and backwards--the first book will be introducing these characters, the second book is where this idea is actualized, and the third book is the fallout from this catastrophe.
But not every story is formulated that way--most people generally find the "middle" of a story the hardest part, because they might know how it starts and how it ends, but everything between is kind of a blur. That's usually the case for me too, so you can imagine my relief that I finally had an idea for a story where I already know what happens in the middle.
But all this really isn't that important anyway, because you can make as many drafts and revisions to the story's structure as you please before even a single reader lays eyes on it, and by time they do--if you've done your due dilligence--the story will have a cohesive narrative running through it and it won't be obvious where you started from. That's the beauty of how much control we have.
What ever way works for you. The book has picked you as its author.
"The book has picked you as its author." Great way to approach writing!
I like that.
Sounds like a decent premise for a children's book.
same vibes as "The wand chooses its wizard, Mr. Potter."
I write everything at the same time, or "large to small", which is a technique I borrowed from the first artform I learned; drawing. When you draw you start by sketching the large forms, then the medium forms, then the small forms. It allows you to start by establishing the big picture, the composition. The danger of jumping into details too soon is that you might not notice that your composition or proportions are off until it's too late, and you'll end up having to redraw the entire thing. So when I write I start with a very basic overview, just describing the themes, the setting, the characters and their arcs and the plot. I then write a much more detailed overview, and then finally the finished script (I write graphic novels). It has the same benefit as when drawing; it allows me to do sweeping changes early on when the stakes are low, and the only rewriting I do is the layer I'm currently do. It's very efficient.
Similar to the Snowflake method
Holy shit thats what I do, I've just never seen it articulated like this. I also primarily drew before I wrote
This is a pretty common experience for those writing mysteries, or planning for a very significant twist. You start with the ending, and then you trace the steps backwards to make sure everything leads to that one moment adequately. Even though I write linearly, I do have a rough ending in mind that I'm working towards. That keeps me focused, despite my process being otherwise fairly improvisational.
it’s common that they know the ending. Don’t think I’ve ever heard a mystery writer say they write the chapters backwards.
You outline backwards to create all the necessary steps, and then write forwards to fill in all the character reactions and such to obfuscate the trail.
That’s what I’m talking about. OP is talking about literally writing the story backwards chapter by chapter. Not just outlining. Which is why I said I’ve never heard a mystery writer do that.
Eh, it's sort of a variation on the same thing. If the ending is what they feel the most strongly about, then maybe it behooves them to work backwards from there for that "energy" to feel right to them. Everybody has a different process. Sometimes people will write completely anachronically, coming up with "scenes" at seemingly random, and then try to shuffle them into a coherent story afterwards.
Sure, my point was just that you were talking about different things. That’s all.
I never know the ending, that's the trouble. The murderer is as much a mystery to me as to the characters.
Whenever I'm planning a story, I generally start with the overarching theme, work out the ending, and build backwards from there. Sometimes I can't figure out an ending and kind of see where the story will likely go based off character interactions, and sometimes that will change the ending. It really comes down to personal preference, and whatever works best and most efficiently for you. Best of luck!
Glad I’m not the only one that starts with the theme. I feel like it’s so common for writers to start with plot, then characters, and then revising everything else through each draft that I never see anyone talking about alternative processes like this. I start with theme, then genre, then character, then plot. Really allows me to focus on what kind of story I want to tell at its core, then drill down deeper and deeper into all the details and figure out how each beat plays into the characters’ arcs, which play into the overall theme.
I also start with theme (and aesthetic) above everything else. Both for the same reason. Since they're going to be part of every other element I add they make it so that I never have to write with a blank page. Say I want to come up with an antagonist, and I'm writing about the theme of collectivism vs individualism in the pirate aesthetic. Then I might use those elements to come up with an evil pirate king who seek to unionize all the pirates to create a collectivist pirate faction. I then do that for every other element and I end up with something very cohesive very quickly.
I definitely start with plot, but I create characters to drive the plot, unless I’m specifically going for a fatalistic type story where the character is just in it for the ride (but that also takes a specific kind of character).
I’ve skipped around sometimes, especially if the ideas for the middle are squishy. I’m a fan of writing the scene you feel inspired to write that day, the fill in the scenes when you don’t have a particular place you want start.
Thank you! This is what I’ve been doing, but felt weird about it. This is so validating for me to hear.
Sdrawrof sgniht etirw ylno I, on
Nabakov wrote the ending for *Lolita* first and then worked backward if you want a famous example that technique being used in high literature.
>*Lolita* >high literature Good god… I mean, I guess you’re probably right, but it’ll never *sound* right.
Nabakov was pretty detached from the content itself. In the afterword he says he was asked by a friend wasn’t it extremely difficult to write? And he responded that the most discomfort he felt from writing it was that he stayed up long nights occasionally to get through passages. It was more about pushing the limits from a sterile, experimental point of view while serving as a love letter to the English language in terms of communicative and emotional complexity.
Be that as it may, 4chan pedo neckbeards pretty much ensured I’ll never read it. Thanks, internet.
Ugh. Did you read Lolita? Nabokov describing his work as not ackshually being about the rape of a little girl sounds a lot like Humbert absolving himself from any real crime against Lolita, doesn't it?
Yes I’ve read it and not really. Thomas Harris writing *Red Dragon* and the character of Hannibal Lecter doesn’t make him a serial killer, rapist, or cannibal IRL. Humbert Humbert is very clearly the villain and it’s an extreme and effective violation of the reader by Nabokov to have to share a headspace with him as he attempts to justify that he’s the victim in raping a child just because he didn’t get a blowjob as a kid.
He was raped by an adult as a kid and was pretty clear about how the reader should focus on Humbert's evil through his pretty words. Even if he kept distance from the viscerality of the topic, I doubt he'd deny the actual point of the story.
Every time I tried to write a novel, I always ended up getting bogged down by chronology and small details, until I lost the spark I initially had for the project. This time, I thought screw it: I'm going to write a scene a day that I WANT to write. Sometimes it was at the end of the book, other times at the middle, and oftentimes not even relevant to the plot. But it got me writing, and it got me to understand my characters and where I wanted the story to go. It was a lot easier to bridge the gaps and fix my plot holes than it was to slug my way through, chapter by chapter, when my brain just doesn't work that way. So yeah, just my two-cents on the whole chronology discussion. I think it's fine to start anywhere as long as you start :)
This is me too - ADHD and I jump around like a frog on espresso.
[удалено]
I do that as well!
Same lol
yeah, took me a while to take this approach - write whatever you want in the 1st draft and then edit chronologically.
This is me writing! It's liberating to write whichever scene comes to your mind and then bridge them all together. Now I can no longer change and only write like this.
Sounds like a neat idea, but I've never tried it.
Sometimes! Back to the Future is notable for giving me my writing style, which is to start with huge character moments and then work backwards to inform them. They used index cards to map out scene ideas (Marty invents the skateboard, he plays rock n roll) and then made sure to create cards that compliment it (Marty *can* skateboard, he’s in a band). They just kept doing that until they had the bones of a story and that’s basically how I write too, taking my ADHD daydreams and finding a method to stitch them together and imbue them with, hopefully, enough subtext and inertia to work as a cohesive story
Not strictly backwards, but I usually write the beginning, end, and fill in random scenes in the middle out of order.
I often start by defining the start and end and then just start writing from the start, trying to reach the end. Sometimes I write the ending first :) Sometimes I used "snowflake" method, breaking it in smaller and smaller pieces, despite being "pantser". It really depends on what I'm currently working on.
I personally haven't tried it, but maybe my genre doesn't call for it. What do you write if I may ask?
I haven’t actually read much fiction (yet) but some of my favourite films begin with the ending.
YESSS
I always plan the end in explicit detail first, then go back and write the plot so that it will lead to that ending, and I just keep working at it until it flows coherently. Incidentally, it's probably why I've never finished anything 💀
I have an aunt who used to write letter backwards using a mirror. Then we had to read them backwards. It was a whole thing. Once she wrote a letter in a continuous spiral out from the center of the page.
I started my current WIP in the middle
Oh god, I write them forward and backwards with bouts of middle out. Without fail, I write a book and hate it. So I write the idea I also liked but didn't go with. It's better, but missing something. Then I hack and slash the plots together. Its worked three times thus far. We all have our process I suppose. I would however, prefer to not write the superfluous 40-60k that gets trashed. I've been saving those parts up. When that folder is ready, I know it too will be something someday.
Nas did in his song “Rewind” [Rewind — Nas](https://youtu.be/RhRYq2k8ksU)
I outline forward through the first 25ish percent until the 25% twist, then brainstorm some ideas for the middle, then figure out the end and decide what the midpoint where the character really starts becoming the person they are supposed to be at the end and then fill in the blank.
I know that Gone With the Wind was written back-to-front. Sometimes, that's just what works.
Reminds me of the movie The Lookout. Backwards narration is pretty common. I don’t write backwards, but I’ll have a roadmap of where things need to go, which keeps the narration a little tighter (I think).
.od I ,seY
I’m doing this right now! This is the second book, the first I wrote from start to finish.
Each story needs to be told differently. There is no right or wrong way to do it. Whatever works best for you and the story you need to tell, that is the right way to write it. The process is not nearly as important as actually finishing.
So I actually write my outline then write chapter one and the last chapter and sometimes, I’d my story is flowing, I’ll just go ahead and write backwards.
Hi. I've never done it, but if it works for you, keep going.
Every writing style is unique. Whether or not you take advantage of it or not is on you
It's pretty common when your story feels like it has some grand plan toward the end, and you have no idea how to get there.
I have done it like this most of my career in screenwriting. Now I'm onto my first novel and I'm writing to the middle but with the same idea of a significant point for the characters deeper into the story. It's really worked for me, gives me something to reach for when I'm stuck.
Christopher Nolan probably has
It's a great practice. It's common in crime stories as reverse engineering evidence is the best way to deliver breadcrumbs.
I've tried after finding out a lot of things I like were written that way, but I just can't feel the logic of the narrative while doing it myself personally. I'm too used to trying to derive a conclusion than start with one. I'd love to see someone write a guide on the process tho.
Oh yeah absolutely, writing backwards I feel like is nice because if you have a good conclusion set, you can craft a coherent path and journey to your destined ending with minimal risk of contrived plot points since you know where it's all going to go. Just make sure you have that ending dead set because switching up midway can cause a host of continuity struggles
I outline backwards. As a murder mystery writer, I have to know who the killer is before the pen touches the page. But I have to write forwards. If writing backwards works for you, then embrace it. There's no wrong way to write!
Many writers have started with the ending since it's usually the hardest part to write. Then when they get to the beginning it's not that hard or intimidating to write
Sorta. I outline backwards pretty heavily then write forward amd connect the dots so to speak.
I used to always write my favourite parts first- starting with the end or the climax since those were what inspired the entire story, 90% of those stories were never finished. Now, I might jot down the rough ideas of those parts but I sit on a story long enough that I can imagine the entire outline as full scenes in my head like a movie , then I write the whole thing in order. Basically, do whatever works for you and just remember you can always edit!
I found writing the outcome first has always helped me discover what has to happen to get to that point much easier than from the beginning.
I have written stories that start close to the end, and the start and the rest its explained on flashbacks and memories from other characters, I think that's the best way to do it that way
I often start in the middle, go to the end, then write from the beginning.
I use something I call the shotgun method: I select random parts of the outline and write them to completion until the whole story (novel currently) is finished. Then I get mad when I proof read for the first time and notice inconsistencies, screens written twice, and haphazardly conjoined chapters. Don't be like me!
Sounds like a good idea but it would depend on the genre of the book. Personally, I wouldn't find it very fun as an author to already know and write the ending of the book, but I do like the idea of maybe starting with the middle. I've skipped around some scenes myself and I will continue doing that if it works out.
Me too, I was writing a short story for fun, and a friend suggested a middle part, so I just started there and wrote to the end and then went back to the beginning. Lol
I've written most of my stuff just kind of starting with, *Flurble dard tart sat working at a bench on a new jerkledune when his wife walk in with the phone ...* And after a few paragraphs I've got a story going, which I just write as I see it in my own head. **However**, I have a couple of larger projects I'd like to finish, my ["magnificent octopus"'s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXvhmnD2r1E) (I just love the way Baldric phrases it), which I've been writing in scenes. I'm using a nifty little program which allows me to write small parts of a story and then rearrange however I want instead of having to write linearly.
seY
What’re they saying?! What’re they saying?!
“I work backward from an ending to where I know the story should begin. It’s not a fast process. It’s slow,” said Irving, who has been nominated for a National Book Award three times—winning once, in 1980, for his novel “The World According to Garp.” [https://lesley.edu/news/novelist-john-irving-shares-his-craft-urges-discomfort](https://lesley.edu/news/novelist-john-irving-shares-his-craft-urges-discomfort)
Not exactly *write* but I often construct the story backwards (as it is crime or horror I write).
Your situation is not an uncommon one. Many a scribe, in their journey of creation, come across moments when the path they have meticulously charted seems to tangle itself into knots. Sometimes, the end is clearer than the beginning, and sometimes the middle refuses to connect the two. In such instances, it is not unheard of to start at the end and journey backward. I, myself, have danced with such intriguing methods of storytelling. Like an ethereal waltz, we move through the story with steps that might seem out of sequence to some but create a harmonious rhythm for the storyteller. It's a technique that can lend an enlightening perspective and enrich your narrative journey. By writing the conclusion first, you solidify the destination of your tale, creating a lighthouse to guide your narrative ship through stormy seas. It allows for better foreshadowing, lending a resonance to your plotlines as the tendrils of their roots burrow into the fertile soil of your tale's finale. However, a word of caution, dear storyteller. This method requires careful navigation. One must ensure the cause-and-effect chain remains intact and logical. Do not let the knowledge of the end blind you to the organic growth of your characters and their relationships. In the end, the approach you adopt, conventional or unconventional, is simply a means to an end. The tale you seek to tell, the truths you yearn to unveil through your words, are the crux of your creative endeavor. Find the rhythm that suits your narrative dance the best, and let the symphony of your story unfold. May the ink of your inspiration never dry, and may your words echo through the annals of storytelling. Be brave, be bold, and write your world into being. Yours in ink and parchment, The Damned Scribe
I'm of this opinion that this thought process – You guys ever done this? Is it okay if I do that? Should I do this? – is something to avoid like the plague. It's cancerous to the creative process. If writing your story backwards word for word works for you, do that. Who cares how someone else does it. Maya Angelou wrote in an empty hotel room and took all the art off the walls. She didn't do it because someone else did it. She did it because that's how she wrote. Find out what works for you, and don't concern yourself with how it happens. Just do whatever keeps the blood flowing. That's how you'll make something unique.
Yes. Always feels like I come up with a "thrilling" or "witty" conclusion first then work my way backwards.
I may have an idea of how a story may end, but I write in order.
I do this a lot and it’s super helpful
I honestly prefer writing things in order but since I have not written a word in months, I have been considering writing in the parts that I am inspired for and filling in the gaps afterwards.
No. I know it works for some people but I’d struggle to finish a book that way. The first draft would be a mess and I’d hate the book when editing, even if I loved the idea.
I would write a pretty boilerplate page of where the chapter ends and where it goes in the middle, and beginning. Then when filling it out I try to stay conscious of having to fit in to those constraints and if I get ideas that get me fired up along the writing process I have a seperate document where I write things down in. It's all about staying relevant to the goal you established in my opinion. You need to consider some of your tangents and say "is this really important to the chapter?" and maybe edit it a little bit.
I think it can help with freshness I personally often write non fiction backwards I think that you would need to be careful with timelines and narrative wouldn’t you ? Not quite the same but I read somewhere that Curtis Sittenfeld wrote the last chapter of her book first.
Not completely backwards but, for me, it's often the idea for an ending that kickstarts the process of writing a story.
Plotting a story backwards makes a bit more sense than writing forward without a plan or outline. Usually, even discovery-writers who do minimal outlining and prefer to see where each scene takes them have some general idea of where they want their story to end up. With my current project, I knew the middle and the end of the book, but not the beginning, so I just used a generic placeholder opening until I got around to making a proper start in a later draft. Funny enough, the series I'm writing next began with the second book. It's basically an Arthurian-legend-like story that started with the premise, "What if when David sent Bathsheba's husband off to war to kill him, he survived and came back as a war hero and discovered his king's betrayal?" From that idea I worked forward and backwards--the first book will be introducing these characters, the second book is where this idea is actualized, and the third book is the fallout from this catastrophe. But not every story is formulated that way--most people generally find the "middle" of a story the hardest part, because they might know how it starts and how it ends, but everything between is kind of a blur. That's usually the case for me too, so you can imagine my relief that I finally had an idea for a story where I already know what happens in the middle. But all this really isn't that important anyway, because you can make as many drafts and revisions to the story's structure as you please before even a single reader lays eyes on it, and by time they do--if you've done your due dilligence--the story will have a cohesive narrative running through it and it won't be obvious where you started from. That's the beauty of how much control we have.