Starting backwards?

Yeah... I have a question.

I'm thinking about writing the ending first and then progressively working my way to the beginning. Not that it'll actually be formatted so that it starts at the ending... I just think the ending is more interesting than the vague beginning and want to see if I can work my way up to chapter 1, writing backwards.

Does this sound like a good idea, or am I crazy for even thinking of it? O_o

For FREAK? For the Unicorn story? I think it really depends on ther storyline, and how vague the beginning is and how interesting the ending is. What are you working on?

Hahaha... FREAK is done-ish. Nah, the Unicorn story.

Well, I did this once. And you people didn't get it.

But I love non-linear stories. There was actually this one short story by... a Latinamerican author, I don't remember which, that was like Mememto, with everything happening backwards. I mean, it was amazing. He described everything happening backwards, until he reached his birth.

It was pretty awesome.

But what I was talking about earler is not actually that, but simply a non-linear story, not with the actual backwards thing.

Well, when you read it, it'll be forwards. I just want to write it backwards.

...ha.

Too confusing?

No, no. I get it. You want your plot to be backwards, but the actual story, and narration to be forward.

... Right? I can... I can do some flowcharts, try to work it out.

OK.

So... this is like your plot:

BEGINNING --> MIDDLE --> END

But you want to tell your story, like this:

END --> MIDDLE --> BEGINNING

But without resorting to the device of telling your story like this:

BEGINNING <-- MIDDLE <-- END

[From Right to Left]

Right?

I think she means that it reads exactly like a standard novel, but the writing process is backwards. So basically, if you didn't know she wrote the ending first and the beginning last you wouldn't see anything that separates it from other novels (at least in the sense of time frame).

Right?

Anyway, I think doing this would have its pros and cons. If you start with the ending you won't have to worry about what will happen next and how it will happen, since you're already at the point where it has figured itself out. However, if you don't carry it out perfectly then the narration might seem broken or awkward. If I were to do this, I'd write the last chapter, write the second last chapter and then re-read the two in the proper order - just to make sure they flow the way they should.

Anyway, good luck if you decide to go through with it.

Snoink,

I think the idea is great! It seems like an interesting and effective way to prewrite because you'll know how you want it to end and therefore it will be easier to get there.

That is all,

POKE

I've only ever done this once with Curiosity and it worked. But it was a very short storie and the Unicorn is a novel, right?

I think it really depends on how you plan to write it and what you want to include in each chapter. It can get confusing though.

Translation from all of the above: Try it, Snoink.

Hey, if you think you can do it...you go for it!


However, the thing that always keeps me writing is knowing that I have to write all the inbetween stuff to get to the big finale that I have planned in my head. If I were to do this, I would never ever finish it. It would end up being an end without a beginning haha.

Not everyone starts at the beginning. It would be an interesting way of writing, and it might give you some insights that writing from beginning to end doesn't offer. Try it. It would be fun to read and critique.

To play the devil's advocate, I don't think it will work, unless you're one of those writers who has everything planned to the letter and doesn;t change the plot a little when they're writing.

Problems:

(1) - It will be exceedingly hard to be creative within your story. By now starting at the beginning, you're not allowing much freedom to change your story because the future is already going to happen to the characters. There will be no brainwave moments in the middle of your plot, and this may make it worse (unless you write nothing like me ...)

(2) Character development. Unless you know your characters inside out a million times you can't neccesarily know everything that will happen to change your characters throughout the plot. I think this problem is pretty integral -- if you write the ending first, you'll have to already know how your characters have changed by the end of the novel, how they feel then compared to the start of the story.

(3) (as Inertia mentioned) Flow. Keeping the flow in the story will be really hard -- imagine building a slide backwards, so that you started at the bottom and built to the top. There will be more bits bumpy and hard to go past (obviously this is a crap analogy because nobody builds slides like that at all), but you should catch my point.

I think it could "maybe" work but it would be incredibly hard and I'm really seeing many positives. If your beginning is vague and not as good as your ending - I have a solution. Change your beginning. Don't make the writing process more difficult than it already is -- after all, there's generally a good reason why most things are done forwards rather than backwards. Cliffhangers in your story will be pretty hard to do too.

If I was you I wouldn't do it at all.

Yay! Debate!

(1) - It will be exceedingly hard to be creative within your story. By now starting at the beginning, you're not allowing much freedom to change your story because the future is already going to happen to the characters. There will be no brainwave moments in the middle of your plot, and this may make it worse (unless you write nothing like me ...)

Well... here's the thing. For FREAK, I also had the ending planned out and the ending didn't change, even when I wrote it. It's the beginning part that mostly had to change.

(2) Character development. Unless you know your characters inside out a million times you can't neccesarily know everything that will happen to change your characters throughout the plot. I think this problem is pretty integral -- if you write the ending first, you'll have to already know how your characters have changed by the end of the novel, how they feel then compared to the start of the story.

Well... I basically reuse my characters over and over again, so ha! Yeah. I know them.

(3) (as Inertia mentioned) Flow. Keeping the flow in the story will be really hard -- imagine building a slide backwards, so that you started at the bottom and built to the top. There will be more bits bumpy and hard to go past (obviously this is a crap analogy because nobody builds slides like that at all), but you should catch my point.

Hehehe, yeah, I get it. But I read my story all the way through anyway, so it should work...

And yay! Maybe I will try it... it depends on my scary writer's temperment...

And why does everybody want to critique it backwards? Half the fun would be to finish the beginning so you guys can read it!

I gotta stick with Jack on this one. He's already said what I would say, so can't add much more other than that just because FREAK worked out that way, doesn't mean that your next piece well as well.

I've written about four (completed) novels and every single one of them has been a completely different experience during the writing. Part of that was because I was still feeling things out and getting used to my own "writing skin" so to speak, but a lot of it was also just differences in the stories themselves.

I would personally start at the beginning. But it's up to you, so if you think it would make for a rockin' good time, then go ahead.