Starting with the Ending

[Carnal_Flower]

It's pretty common knowledge that Margaret Mitchel wrote the whole last chapter of GWTW before she even started a word. She knew all along the last line would be "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

Same is true of JK Rowling. She had the entire series mapped out and knew the last sentence before she even started Book 1.

I'm curious if anyone has written like this. I kind of stumbled into it indirectly while turning a single story into a chaptered series. I figured out exactly where I wanted it to go before I began on Ch. 2.

It's a really interesting way to write, weaving forwards and backwards. Planting threads, not knowing QUITE how they're all going to be tied together, but knowing you will have to tie them all together. You have a lot more control over what you're doing.

I never did like just heading out into the void. I always had to have at least a basic map.

So for a new story I did it more consciously. Began by writing the last several paragraphs, the last words. Now I just have to figure out how to get from here to there. Or there to here. It's fun.

 

[sr71plt]

I usually know the ending before I start (although I'm sometimes wrong about that), but I've never written it first.

 

[robertreams]

Sometimes I know the whole story before I start writing and sometimes my characters find their way there and lead me to it. And sometimes I just keep writing more and more serial chapters. The serial chapters usually come at the request of my readers. But even these snippets have "endings" along the lines of what will keep them hungry for more.

 

[lovecraft68]

I knew the end to SWB long before I started the series and I usually know the end of all of my stories.

But I have never written backwards because I think the whole story has to be put down so you can have the proper feel for the end, writing it with no history of the characters in your mind would make it come out empty in my opinion.

But when you write the story and you fully know the characters the end will have the proper emotion and feel to it.

Just my take

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFijGR4c9h4

HOW BOBBY DOES IT.

eht dne

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Everything I have written, I knew the ending and could have written it first, but never did.

I have about 30 works on going, which I know the ending of each.

It's the middle that sometimes doesn't go as planned, so I have to wait until the middle gets to the end and that can take thousands of words.

 

[TheMalevolence]

A common techniques for the creation of books, music, video games (forgive me.) or basically anything else that's ongoing, is to split the planned creation into thirds, write the end third first, the starting third second and the middle third last. Hence as quality inevitably drops as time goes on, through boredom, or a stressful deadline, only the middle bit which people remember least is affected.

I suppose the real trick is having a start good enough to get people reading, and an end good enough or people to like you. Spend to much time, effort and inspiration on the ending, people won't reach it because of your shit start.

Of course, if you do a Bound Friends and each chapter is 5 pages long, it's best to split your story into sections and then third each one in turn. This is entering novella country, not something I particularly like.

In the end, it's up to you if you want to write the ending first. If you're writing a sexual mystery story, go for it!

 

[lovecraft68]

A common techniques for the creation of books, music, video games (forgive me.) or basically anything else that's ongoing, is to split the planned creation into thirds, write the end third first, the starting third second and the middle third last. Hence as quality inevitably drops as time goes on, through boredom, or a stressful deadline, only the middle bit which people remember least is affected.

I suppose the real trick is having a start good enough to get people reading, and an end good enough or people to like you. Spend to much time, effort and inspiration on the ending, people won't reach it because of your shit start.

Of course, if you do a Bound Friends and each chapter is 5 pages long, it's best to split your story into sections and then third each one in turn. This is entering novella country, not something I particularly like.

In the end, it's up to you if you want to write the ending first. If you're writing a sexual mystery story, go for it!

That would never work for me, I would feel to boxed in.

Plus I feel you need to write through first so the end delivers the best punch.

Guess I'm a simple A-Z guy

 

[SamScribble]

For me, if I knew the ending it would take away some of the motivation to write the story.

 

[TheMalevolence]

That would never work for me, I would feel to boxed in.

Plus I feel you need to write through first so the end delivers the best punch.

Guess I'm a simple A-Z guy

I always found it helped my stories to actually have a plot. Otherwise I have to keep repeating:
"Protagonist wants something that is hard to get, along the way, something makes it easier or harder, because of this, the protagonist succeeds/fails, as a result of this, something happens."
In my head.

 

[lovecraft68]

I always found it helped my stories to actually have a plot. Otherwise I have to keep repeating:
"Protagonist wants something that is hard to get, along the way, something makes it easier or harder, because of this, the protagonist succeeds/fails, as a result of this, something happens."
In my head.

Mine have plots they just stay in my head and I freestyle. My stories will usually stay "on point" but the path to the end takes some turns I never saw coming.

We all differ, some write well using a solid outline and stay locked into it, I just sit and write sometimes I feel as if the story is telling itself to me.

People will say "wow, can't wait to see what happens next" and I say "Neither can I"

 

[TheMalevolence]

I'm ashamed to say that I'm not as sophisticated as you novella-writing foot fetish types; I litterally have a list of scenes that I'd like to write and I try to fit them into a story without looking like an idiot.

The ending first thing kind of gives me a goal, it feels like I'm better at leading up to things when I know that I'm leading up to. Plus the saucier scenes are the most fun to write; when I don't feel like working on character orn scene development, I "start" a new story. (And only get around to "finishing" it about 6 months later )

 

[lovecraft68]

I'm ashamed to say that I'm not as sophisticated as you novella-writing foot fetish types; I litterally have a list of scenes that I'd like to write and I try to fit them into a story without looking like an idiot.

The ending first thing kind of gives me a goal, it feels like I'm better at leading up to things when I know that I'm leading up to. Plus the saucier scenes are the most fun to write; when I don't feel like working on character orn scene development, I "start" a new story. (And only get around to "finishing" it about 6 months later )

What, you don't like my foot fetish stories?

 

[TheMalevolence]

What, you don't like my foot fetish stories?

Foot Fetish is to me what BDSM, incest and Hypoxia's existence are to "ordinary" people. Alien, confusing and a little bit gross.

 

[lovecraft68]

Foot Fetish is to me what BDSM, incest and Hypoxia's existence are to "ordinary" people. Alien, confusing and a little bit gross.

Best description of Hypoxia I have seen here. He marches to the beat of his own drummer for sure.

BDSM you have to be wired that way to get it, foot fetish is one of those love it/hate it things and incest is the soul mate of non consent here in the sense in real life its a crime and again you either have the kink or don't very few are impartial to those two categories.

 

[TheMalevolence]

I never really GOT LoveIt/HateIt things... I regularly change my mind about Marmite

Idk what to think about Hypoxia, his Tentacle obsession is getting out of hand. I say we stage an
e-intervention

 

[lovecraft68]

I never really GOT LoveIt/HateIt things... I regularly change my mind about Marmite

Idk what to think about Hypoxia, his Tentacle obsession is getting out of hand. I say we strange an
e-intervention

Because of my handle I get endless requests for tentacle porn, Cthulhu in particular. I tell them to stop using stereotypes on me!

I have love, hate and take it or leave it tastes, but they do evolve. Whatever I am currently enjoying in porn viewing will change by next month

Right now its older couples seducing young women...

 

[TheMalevolence]

I've always found it weird how fetishes and tastes change like that. I got a thousand words into a Machine Milking story, a week later I read it back and was disgusted by it. Sigh, author problems.

 

[Carnal_Flower]

I love that process of not knowing, too.

Having an ending in is not too detailed. More of the emotional punch you want few words. The twists and turns getting there are fun too.

Mine have plots they just stay in my head and I freestyle. My stories will usually stay "on point" but the path to the end takes some turns I never saw coming.

We all differ, some write well using a solid outline and stay locked into it, I just sit and write sometimes I feel as if the story is telling itself to me.

People will say "wow, can't wait to see what happens next" and I say "Neither can I"

 

[sr71plt]

A common techniques for the creation of books, music, video games (forgive me.) or basically anything else that's ongoing, is to split the planned creation into thirds, write the end third first, the starting third second and the middle third last. Hence as quality inevitably drops as time goes on, through boredom, or a stressful deadline, only the middle bit which people remember least is affected.

Hmmm. I've never heard of anyone claiming to do that. You have examples of authors who do?

 

[lovecraft68]

I've always found it weird how fetishes and tastes change like that. I got a thousand words into a Machine Milking story, a week later I read it back and was disgusted by it. Sigh, author problems.

The Hucow thing? Yeah that's out there....

 

[slyc_willie]

As a lot of others have said, I often know the ending of a story before I start writing it. But I've never tried actually writing down the ending and then working my way to it.

I have, however, been playing around with an idea I originally saw presented in, of all things, a comic book. In 2000, Marvel ran a twelve-issue series called The Lost Generation, featuring a "new" (to Marvel) list of superheroes that supposedly operated from post WWII to the late seventies. What was really unique about it was that the series began with issue #12, which took place in the late seventies, and counted down to issue #1, which took place in the post-war forties.

So, literally, the ending was written first and the beginning was written last. I've pondered now and then about writing a story like that, so that it flows in reverse chronological order. It would be a great hook for the reader, I'm sure, but the trick I think would be to make the beginning a compelling enough stopping point for the story. Where's the climax if you already know what's going to happen to everyone?

 

[sr71plt]

Sometimes when I expand a work (like with the one I'm running on Lit. now), I expand to the front end as well as the back.

 

[slyc_willie]

Sometimes when I expand a work (like with the one I'm running on Lit. now), I expand to the front end as well as the back.

I've yet to expand an existing story other than a rewrite here and there that enlarged the story as a whole, but I suppose I have a few for which writing a prequel might be fun. I might tackle some of those some day.

 

[Hypoxia]

In 2000, Marvel ran a twelve-issue series called The Lost Generation, featuring a "new" (to Marvel) list of superheroes that supposedly operated from post WWII to the late seventies. What was really unique about it was that the series began with issue #12, which took place in the late seventies, and counted down to issue #1, which took place in the post-war forties.

So, literally, the ending was written first and the beginning was written last.

The ending was PUBLISHED first. Who knows when it was written?

I've pondered now and then about writing a story like that, so that it flows in reverse chronological order. It would be a great hook for the reader, I'm sure, but the trick I think would be to make the beginning a compelling enough stopping point for the story. Where's the climax if you already know what's going to happen to everyone?

I recall a couple stories (and a novel by Anthony Burgess IIRC) that ran backwards in time, following someone from their emergence from the grave, back thru their adulthood and childhood, to the point they leapt into their mother's womb. For a LIT story, work back to the initial fertilization and fuck and seduction etc.

I also recall less radical treatments where the about-to-be-executed narrator winds back thru their memories to explain how they got in their fatal pickle. Sort of a Rosebud moment. The trick with such a bass-ackward tale: show the evident effects and slowly reveal the insidious causes. Easy-peasy.