Ran into a librarian in Nashville who changed how I think about plot holes

She told me her trick is to write the ending first and then backfill the clues, and after trying it on my last short story I actually finished something for the first time in months, has anyone else tried working backwards like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim1911mo ago

omg yes this is literally the only way I can write anything longer than a paragraph haha. I started doing it for a mystery novel a few years ago and now I can't go back, like I need to know where I'm going or I just wander around forever.

iris_davis901mo ago

Oh for sure! It's funny because I've noticed the same thing applies to so many other parts of life too. Like I can't even plan a weekend trip without having a loose schedule or I end up just sitting on my couch doing nothing. Even grocery shopping goes better if I have a list. It's like our brains need that tiny bit of structure to actually get moving and then we can still be flexible once we start.

elizabethtaylor10d ago

I tried winging it once with a short story and ended up with a character who got lost in a mall for 40 pages. Never again, outline saves lives.