Found a weird trick for writer's block that actually worked for me

I kept staring at blank pages for weeks, couldn't get a single scene down. Then I tried writing my prompt backwards, starting with the last line and working my way to the first. It sounds dumb but I finished a 3 page short story in two days after that. Has anyone else tried flipping the order of their writing process?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomas.tyler15d ago

That thing about writing the last line first actually makes a lot of sense to me. I've had good luck with a similar approach where I just scribble down the ending scene I want to hit, then fill in the blanks backwards from there. It takes the pressure off figuring out where the story is going when you already know where it lands.

tarar2715d ago

Totally agree with that "takes the pressure off" part. I did that for a short story once where I wrote the last paragraph first, and it was a huge relief. I knew the character would end up back in their childhood home, so I could focus on the journey there instead of stressing about the ending the whole time. Felt like I could actually enjoy the discovery in the middle.

elizabethn5615d ago

Well I've tried writing the ending first and it just made me realize @thomas.tyler and I have the same problem, just from opposite directions backwards is still blank.