I wrote character arcs backwards for like 5 years

I always started with the ending, figuring out where my character needed to end up, then wrote the whole story backwards from there. But last month I read this old writing book from the 80s and realized starting with the character's biggest flaw and then the ending just naturally showed up, now I'm reworking my whole current draft has anyone else had a weird writing habit that just clicked one day?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamie_carter871mo ago

Huh, funny you mention that. I heard a podcast once where a guy said most characters are just one emotional wound they keep poking at until the story forces them to stop. That clicked for me too, like suddenly the whole plot felt less like a puzzle and more like a bruise. Now I start with what scares them the most and let the ending figure itself out.

the_nathan1mo ago

Saw a video where a writer called it "finding the wound before the cure" which really changed how I thought about it.