Part 7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

A journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step.  I don’t know about you but personally I am not likely to start a 1000 mile journey or even a 5 mile journey without at least a vague idea of where I am going.  Endings are similar to this, the hardest part of any writing is figuring out the ending.  When you have written the start and developed your character introductions, the middle bit will change, but unless you have a clear ending planned you will end up writing a few completely different stories.  Always begin with the end in mind and allow the twists in the story to come out themselves naturally.

The ending can be quite simple but as the ideas for it arrive in your mind you  should just let them flow and add them as you see fit. These ideas might be granted a few tweaks and generosities but the essence of the ending will remain.  This is the target that will mould your telling of it and will keep you on track with a solid target to aim for.