I finally tried the 'write the ending first' trick my old workshop leader in Albany pushed on us, and I can't decide if it helps or hurts

Dylan Barnes · 2026-10-27T02:30:04.354577+00:00

Back in 2019 a guy named Ray who ran our Tuesday workshop kept saying to draft the last scene before anything else, and I blew him off for years because it felt backwards. Last month I tried it on a short story about a guy losing his dad's boat, and I had the whole thing done in 3 sittings instead of my usual 3 weeks of wandering. But here's my problem: I knew the ending so well that the middle felt like I was just filling in blanks, and one beta reader said the whole thing felt stiff. So which is it, does knowing the ending free you up or box you in? Curious what other people do with prompts that hand you the finish line upfront.

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I finally tried the 'write the ending first' trick my old workshop leader in Albany pushed on us, and I can't decide if it helps or hurts | Creative Writing Prompts - Hub Chatter