September 2006: Begin with the End (cont.)

There could be any number of possible resolutions to such a problem. Runt could grow up and decide he doesn’t need his father. He could go off and leave him behind. Or he could learn to be tougher than any of the other pups, tougher even than his father, and he could fight the other pups—or even his father—to win his father’s respect. Or he could decide that being the pack runt is an honorable place. He could accept his role at the bottom of the pack, as the Omega wolf, the clown, the one everyone picks on. Or—and this is the ending I decided on—he could discover a talent that didn’t require either toughness or size. He could become the pack’s Singer.

Having decided that, that Runt would earn a new name and what it would be, I had the shape of the story complete in my mind when I sat down to write, even though much of Runt’s struggle was yet to be discovered. But I had Runt’s new name as my destination, and I was ready to begin my journey.

So this is what I recommend . . . begin with your character, his problem, and the solution for the problem. Don’t write the ending before you write the rest. Just know it in your head. If you write the ending first, you may well find you have run out of energy for writing your story at all. The desire to get to that important moment will pull your readers through your story, and it will pull you through the writing process, too.

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