Writers! Looking for a Way Back into Your Story?

Trying to ease back into your novel, screenplay, or memoir? One tip I can offer writers looking for a way back into your story — start at the end of your story.

Endings Create Fans

I’m always reminding writers that beginnings hook readers and endings create fans. My intent is to stress the importance of giving your ending at least as much time and attention as you give to your beginning.

In wanting to perfect story beginnings to hook readers, writers often spend all their time writing and rewriting and rewriting the beginning. After messing with the beginning 10,000 times, writers often neglect giving the same sort of attention to the ending and fulfill their promise to their readers. Don’t forget that endings create fans!

Start at the End

You’re looking for something to shake up your writing, a way to get back into writing, so try starting at the end this time. To help with this common practice and jolt writers into giving the ending it deserves, I nearly always begin a plot workshop, consultation, presentation with the Climax. Why not try starting there? At the crowning glory of your entire story.

Here are my top 10 reasons why to start with ideas about what happens at the end of your story and plot your way to the beginning.

Top Ten Reasons for Writers! to Start at the End of the Your Novel, Memoir, Screenplay

Fresh start
Shakes things up
Pulls you out of your comfort zone
Forces you to move beyond the character’s backstory into the real story
Key elements reveal themselves at the end
How to portray the character in the beginning emerges from how the character acts at the end
When you know how your story ends, you are better able to determine where to begin your story
Most writers write the beginning 100 times and are lucky if they write the climax even once
Writing the end seals the promise you can write from the beginning and get there
The climax becomes the beacon that guides you to finish

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