I don't usually know the exact last line or anything, but I rarely start a story without having some idea of how it will end, and I usually envision what the last scene will be well before I get there. I'm about half a chapter away from the last chapter of Bethlehem, and I've known for a while what that last chapter will look like. I've imagined it in my head and even written down a couple of good lines of dialogue I want to include. That's usually as far as I get with writing ahead; if I think of a really good line, I'll write it in my outline, but I don't write whole scenes ahead of time.
What has been harder for me, at least with this story, is the stuff right before the ending. I'm in that "falling action" section of the story arc now, where the exciting climax is over, but I still have a lot of loose ends to tie up before I can get to that last scene. I'm trying to be concise without resorting to a lot of summarizing and time skipping. I think I've got it figured out now, but I definitely spent a couple weeks going, "Okay... so I got through plot Point A, B, and C. Now how am I going to get to Point D?"
I agree, it's tough to start a story if you're not even vaguely sure what the end will be. The middle can be all squiggly and wibbly-wobbly, but if an idea doesn't have a pretty clear beginning and a semblance of an end, it's just an idea and not a story at that point, for me anyway. I don't think I've ever known a last line when I started, but I applaud people who do because that is an impressively clear vision.
Most of my "interesting snippets" start out with just the dialogue. No dialogue tags, very few actions, no indication of who said what, just some lines of dialogue. To me, everyone has a pretty clear way of speaking, so I always know who's who when I go back to it.
Plot point "D" is the worst. I hate when you have one that you haven't tied up, but it's not a clear sequel hook or anything like that, so you get to the point where you start worrying about how to tie it up, and it's really stressful. I'm glad you figured it out.
I agree about word choice! I probably spend too much time on that when I should just be trying to write a first draft, and it definitely slows me down - but I love when I read it back over later and realize I have a beautiful passage that doesn't need editing.
"Cleave" is a great word!
Same. But I often find that having the right word can tie whatever I'm trying to say together and make the next part much easier to write, plus, like you said, little to no editing if it hits exactly right. Yesterday when I stumbled upon "cleave" (a fantastic word for sure), I was meandering along about "cuts," "hopes," "separation," "togetherness," and then felt frustrated because I knew there was a word that could talk about all of that, but none of those were it. And then it was just an a-ha moment. Absolutely pleased.
I love when I think of something funny to write that makes me laugh, especially when it's comic relief in an otherwise dramatic story. For example, I often sing the word "incomplete" Nick-style when I see it ("In-com-puh-lee-ete!" all drawn out and dramatic), and I just wrote a character doing that in my chapter, which made me smile and also helped me transition from one part of the scene to the next.
I love when a part of a story makes me laugh or tear up a little. I always wonder if people reading have those same moments at those same parts or not, but I will always include something that makes me laugh because it brings me joy many times over.
Not writing related, but I love every time Nick dramatically draws out words to the point that the syllables kind of slur. Not in-com-puh-lee-ete necessarily, but I've often thought things like "I'm positive there's not a "v" in that word, Nick," but I love it every time.
I also love ending on a nice, round chapter number. I'm on Chapter 20 now, and since I should only have one more to go, I'm planning to make the last chapter an epilogue instead of Chapter 21 just so I can make the last numbered chapter a multiple of ten. It will work well as an epilogue anyway because there will be a little time jump, but it's also perfect that a story set in 2020 would have 20 numbered chapters. I have a weird OCD thing with numbers; it would bug me to end a story on Chapter 21. This is why BMS had both an epilogue and a "post-epilogue," which I came up with to avoid having to have a Chapter 201.
I love ending on nice round chapters numbers, unless it's a one shot that only needs the one chapter, of course. But those are nice because they just
are. I haven't gone to the point of having an epilogue and a "post-epilogue" (haha, the aversion to 20
1 chapters), but I will actively try to wrap things up or split up chapters a certain way so that there is a nice round number. 15-20 would be good for a shorter one for me. PBox et al. I just like that 50. It's nice, clean, and feels epic without being massive. I hate that I made an awards chapter and it's 51, but these things happen. Also that I left my summary up from my six month hiatus forever and so every chapter after it had the little number AC puts on them, then my "Chapter x: The X-ening" title, but the numbers were off. I fixed that right away when I started editing.
I name all my chapter titles (like a little cryptic summary) and somewhere around the end of PBox, I started using only one or two words to name them. There's a few times in PNecklace where I went with multiple words because that's what fit, but I love when the one word just hits right or when two chapters kind of go together and I can use similar or opposite words to title them for juxtaposition. It's another tiny thing that makes me smile as I write, seeing the chapter titles in the little "quick outline" on the side of the document once I name them.
