Phantastic Phantasy Forum Writing Backwards, and other c..

Yes I will continue to post in these forums even though nobody checks them...


I'm about 2/3rds of the way through the first draft of my book, and I was having a hard time deciding how I wanted to approach the last arch in the story.  After some outlines and planning, I decided to write the last chapter now.  I put about 2K words into last night (still more yet to go), and it was really refreshing.  I think I've given myself a good goal of where I want each character to end up regarding their personal development, relationships and of course where the overall plot should end up.  From here... I may even go and write the next-to-last chapter next.  I'm sort of experimenting, which is fun and giving my some more motivation to write.

Writing backwards!  I think it's a good idea when you know where you want to end up, but aren't sure how to get there. 

Perhaps this will provoke some thoughtful discussion on other people's peculiar habits that help then finish writing their stories.  Please post if you have a thought to share!

Interesting as often I think of my stories as looking back on things that never happened. It is the classic "what if plotting". By standing at the end of a story, you get to work out what would lead to that end, inventing the memory.
I'm thinking of posting my manuscript on this site for two weeks and really pushing for some serious feedback. I'm considering POD options.

Thanks for the post

Chris K

I've never written a story straight through, start to finish, without skipping ahead at times and filling the rest when I have it.  My thought processes are just not linear enough to do otherwise.   Writing isn't a performance art.  No one is watching you to make sure you start at the beginning and write through all the events of your story in order before reaching the end.  Heck, a lot of times, even the finished product isn't perfectly linear, with flashbacks and such.  If you get stuck on a particular scene but know what happens after it, skip it and come back later.   This works with bigger chunks of story than mere scenes, to:  Once upon a time, a novelist started writing a story about a man who acquires modern weapons with which to invade a medieval-fantasy-ish world... Then the author realized that he didn't know who his protagonist really was, or why he was staging this invasion.  So he set that novel aside and wrote a "prequel" novel to figure out all that.  (It isn't actually a prequel, just where the story really begins.  Or begins to end...)  Then he finished the one he started first.

Those are some good thoughts.  I guess since I had been posting my progress chapter by chapter (with hopes of feedback), I felt an expectation to write it straight through.  I think from now on, I'm going to be a little more loose with the first draft.  As it is right now, I'm leaving some scenes thinking "Well this person really should have been the room" or "this person didn't really stay true to character here".  But I'm just plowing along, and leaving notes so I know where to pick it up when I come back around. 

And Chris, I really like that that thought of thinking of a book from the ending first and filling in the memory.  I think once I start book 2 of this series, I will do just that.  I already have a great climatic ending in mind, but certainly a lot to fill in on the road there. 

As for self publishing, here are some tips from our ol' pal Wil Wheaton:

If you get a storefront setup for your book let me know, I'll link to it from my new website: www.echowake.com

FOLLOWUP

I finished my first draft, it was interesting getting to the 2nd to last chapter then already have the last chapter finished.  I had to make a few revisions to the last chapter in order fit a few odds and ends together, but it came out nicely.  The process felt like lacing a shoe and pulling everything in tightly after it had been threaded.  I can say now having gone through the entire process, writing the last chapter ahead of time was a very helpful experience. 


Shameless plug:  www.echowake.com