#2: Dec 30th 2015 at 8:41:10 AM
If working backwards from the end produces a story you and your readers are happy with, who cares?
The only wrong things to do in storytelling are things that don't result in an end product you and your readers are happy with. There's no hard and fast rules in art.
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
sidestep
dn ǝpıs sıɥ⊥
Since: Nov, 2012
dn ǝpıs sıɥ⊥
#3: Dec 30th 2015 at 9:22:29 AM
Well, it's definitely better than getting a start and stumbling to get a decent ending.
Just keep on working. It's better if you got the plan.
Show an affirming flame
#4: Dec 30th 2015 at 9:38:05 AM
Working backwards is a viable solution. Sometimes it's even necessary; you want to set up plot points and flags that trigger in the climax of the piece, and figure out where to slot them in earlier.
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.
shiro_okami
Since: Apr, 2010
#5: Dec 30th 2015 at 5:28:33 PM
Come to think of it, this is exactly how prequels work.
Total posts: 5
So I'm well-aware the way most stories are written is to start at the beginning and work towards the end. But I was thinking of doing it the opposite way. For example, here's the ending I came up with for a story:
Robin (the MC) ends up on a deserted plane after all of humanity is dead besides him. He's holding a severed arm from a person he was with earlier. He breaks down crying (something which he rarely does, because he's a jerkass). He last words are, "I'm all alone".
Can I work backwards to see how he got to that point? Or is that simply Not The Way things are done?
edited 30th Dec '15 8:21:21 AM by YasminPerry