My friend in Seattle told me to write the ending first

She said it would fix my plot problems, so I tried it for a story set in a 1920s library. It actually made the middle feel forced and I had to scrap three chapters. Has anyone else tried this method and had it backfire?

3 comments

3 Comments

david_jones381d ago

Wait, you had to scrap three whole chapters? That's brutal. I've heard that advice before but forcing the middle sounds like a nightmare. Did your friend at least have a good reason why it works for her?

danielnelson1d ago

Scrapping chapters is rough but sometimes you have to kill your darlings. Forcing the middle works because it keeps momentum going when you would normally get stuck. If I stop to fix every little problem I never finish the draft. My friend's reason is that a bad draft you can edit is better than a perfect one that doesn't exist. It's about getting the whole story down first, then making it good.

williams.sage1d ago

Yeah, scrapping three chapters is a real gut punch. I mean, maybe it works for some people, but forcing the middle just to hit that ending sounds like it makes the whole story feel fake. Idk, maybe it's just me but that seems like more work in the long run.