When writing, I begin each new novel by composing the last chapter first. Thus, I have a target toward which to steer my narrative. I often challenge myself by placing my characters as far as possible–emotionally and geographically–from the feeling and setting of my finale.
Just to be clear, I’m not kidding when I declare that I write the endings first. In practice, the initially drafted ending may need to be adjusted when the preceding narrative takes (as it often does) an unexpected turn. Sometimes what I thought to be the quintessential climax turns out to be (as we say in mountaineering) a false summit or anti-climax. But–even given qualifications, caveats, and provisos–writing the ending first continues to help me craft my stories.
I look at it this way. How can a person tell a joke if they don’t know the punchline?
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