if you're a writer who often writes yourself into a corner keep watching
in an interview with Ali abdall Brendan Sanderson the author of mistborn and the way of Kings shared
productivity tips for writers one that stood out to me was outline backward right forward
by outlining backward he knows how a story will end and he can work to fill in the middle and the
beginning to get there this way when drafting he will always have forward momentum I love this tip
because it's so effective especially when working on a complicated storyline like a murder mystery
or a thriller with a big reveal this method allows you to lead your readers to that critical moment
while misdirecting them with red herrings and weaving a story full of twists and turns the
better you know your direction the better you can deliver on a satisfying yet surprising Ending by
outlining backward and writing forward you have a destination on a map which is what you want before
you leave for a big trip or start a big project this links with another a piece of advice I love
which is that writing is like traveling at night all you need is for your headlights to see a short
distance ahead and gradually you'll get to your destination as a pantser I've written many stories
traveling by a dim light all I needed was to know where the next chapter was going and eventually
I'd get to the end when I write I don't always have a destination I just set out and go I like it
it's exciting when traveling I like getting lost in a new city sometimes that's the most thrilling
experience other times you wander into a sketchy neighborhood and need to get out quickly the
same goes when writing without an outline it can lead to fun exploration or anxious backtracking
most recently I've been using outlines when I get stuck and write myself into a corner when
people ask me what's the hardest part of writing I'd like to say act two the beginning flows easily
and the ending is exciting to write but the middle is the bridge that holds the whole story together
the thing about my bridge is that it gets split off into a bunch of exits causing me to stray
off course that is if I didn't have a map when I get stuck that's when I'll outline and figure out
how to reach the end from the Midway Point often I find that I'm not too far off I'm usually four
to five major scenes from getting to the climax or conclusion what a relief I'm not as lost as
I thought thank God for the map for that peace of mind otherwise I might have given up aligning
backward and writing forward is not only a great method for starting a project but it's also a
great tool for getting unstuck it's a Lifeline I rely on regardless of the scope of my story
as a discovery writer I can work on a story forever I can keep sending the protagonist off
on bigger Adventures adding more characters and giving them more obstacles to overcome but what's
the point if it doesn't lead anywhere if you've ever watched the TV series and found the first few
episodes encapsulating but then in the middle it felt repetitive and by the time you reach the end
your interest was gone that's usually the cause of a Meandering second act if you're not careful
with your second act you can go from building tension and increasing the stakes to repeating
scenarios that don't add to your character or plot the second act is an excellent point to outline
backward and ensure you're on the right track to wrap up your story I believe that a piece of solid
advice can work in balance with another piece of solid advice you increase your arsenal of writing
tools and knowledge so regardless of what you want to use you are well practiced in using them
if you're a discovery writer like me and you snare at the idea of starting with a complete
outline consider this start writing go as far as you can and discover all the twists
and turns along the way but once you reach the middle once your character is deep in a
crisis jump to the end and outline backward see where you want to finish and wrap up your story
much like being lost in the real world sometimes it's better to stop and think we can keep writing
and writing hoping that more words can get us out of a jam but even if we do it'll be a pain later
during the editing stage to avoid cutting out large passages outline backward and write forward
from the Midway point when it comes to stories it doesn't count unless they are finished so
get to the finish line and bring your story home thank you for watching if you enjoyed this video
please give it a like my name is Elliot I make videos about writing and the creative process
if that interests you please check out this playlist right here and don't forget to subscribe