When you start writing a story or book, do you always know how it's going to end? As in, you may not know all the details yet, but you know how you want the story to end and you work toward that while you're writing?

Or do you just start a story and let it naturally lead you toward an ending?

And if you DO know the ending from the get-go, do you ever find yourself changing that as the story goes on to be an entirely different ending instead?

By habit, I always outline my stories first. Before I start writing, I plan everything out so that I know what will happen in the story, the conflicts and how to up the ante when the need arises and how the story will end. Since the major plot-points, what characters will do and so on have been mapped out, I can't let myself veer from the set path because then it would complicate everything and I'd have to start from scratch again.

It sounds like a boring way to write but it's easier. Once you have the blue-print you can concentrate on finding just the right words to tell the story right. That way the ending stays the same, no matter what.

I try to write what I like to read, and I like to read stories where the plot ties up neatly. So, I like to plan out the plot first. For this one fanfic, I did try to get past this years-long writing block by just focusing on completing one chapter after another and never knowing what was going to happen next...it was horrible, so, so horrible. I was so embarrassed. Never again.

That said, I don't know the ending from the get-go. I mull it over until the outline is done, or sometimes if the scene is clear enough then I write it out and leave it alone in the scene scraps or writing scraps pile to check out later. In a ghostwriting job, once, I did deviate from the outline because one of the characters insisted on having a bigger role, (you know when characters you think up take a life of their own?) but the ending was the same so the person who hired me didn't mind.

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I think I do, too ha ha.

I have never been one to prewrite or outline, my mind just does not work that way. Stories tend to unravel themselves in my head. Sometimes they start at the beginning but more often than not, the ending is what I create first. Most of the time, I work with a planned ending in mind when I write. I like having a destination  preplanned and then I figure out the journey. In my opinion that is where the story truly unfolds. A strong  start is what draws you in, but having a solid ending can make or break a story. So it is important for me to build from the ground up.

While sometimes I just have an idea about characters and situations, other times I do have an end in mind, though it's usually very basic. Usually, as I'm writing, I think of better ways to end the book or new twists to add in to make it more exciting. I always consider my ending a work in progress until I'm actually writing it.

Actually I write stories because of the ending, not the other way around. Usually when ideas crash into my skull the first thing that pops out is the ending scenes. Since it would be the defining moment of the story and the part that will really stick to the reader, I usually pick up from there and let the chips fall in. It's a really taxing work flow but I find it really fun and challenging.

In my case, the stories and the characters just tend to come alive when I start writing the story, that I wouldn't know if the ending I had already planned inside my mind would be the ending or would it be different. However, even if it indeed turned out to be different, when I finally write down the ending the characters and story suggests, it doesn't feel out of place or anything. It just fits.

deathbyprayer (01:33am Sun, Jun  1, 2014)

Actually I write stories because of the ending, not the other way around. Usually when ideas crash into my skull the first thing that pops out is the ending scenes. Since it would be the defining moment of the story and the part that will really stick to the reader, I usually pick up from there and let the chips fall in. It's a really taxing work flow but I find it really fun and challenging.

That's a very interesting way to go about it! I love how you have the ending and then you work backwards to see how the characters got there.

I always have an idea of the ending and i have to bear that in mind when I am writing that all characters need to end up at a certain point/

I am a fan of prologues and epilogues and I often read those before the whole book, so I find that is an ideal place to tie up ends or explain things that may not have reached any conclusion.

That said, I have no idea how my Saga will end, but I have plenty of time to think about that and I can just add another book I guess and go back or forward in time!

When my story ideas come to me I always get the ending first. I usually know what direction I want the story to go, but sometimes I'll write and it goes in a whole other direction. I have never outlined any of my scripts I write them in my head then type them up. It works fine for me.