When you have read a great story have you noticed that everything comes together at the end? The plot makes sense, the story is pulled together and all of the parts added to the end result.
Taking all of the parts I have encouraged you to put into your file and save for story material, why not see if you can create a story going from the end back toward the beginning. Let me explain how you might do that.
Select the ending you want. Next, move to thinking about what might have been going on right before the result you wrote down as your ending for your story. Choose from your story idea stash or create a new idea and have that be in place as the part of the story that led to your ending. Next, move back one step further. What might have been going on in this part of your story to flow to the last two parts you selected.
Let me put this in another way. Pretend you needed a birthday cake for a special person and you were not going to stop by the store and buy one. The last thing you might put on the cake would be candles. Moving back, the cake would need icing. Moving back one more step, the cake would need to be put on a plate. Moving back one more step, the cake would be taken out of the baking pans. Moving back one more step, the cake would be cooling after coming out of the oven. You can follow the process all the way back to when you decided to make the cake. When you have completed this exercise, you can read through the steps, from beginning to end this time, and see if the steps are in order and exactly what was needed at that time to reach the outcome you were headed for, in this case, a birthday cake with candles on it.
Do you see how you could use the process in reverse in your writing? It is a fabulous way to create a story and be sure you have put in all of the details for your reader to follow so the story comes together. It is also a way to use the creative part of your brain to set up the sequence and make sense of the movement and flow of the material you are writing.
When moving backwards you will immediately be aware that there is something missing if you have left out one of the steps. When you are moving forward with your writing it is more difficult to catch that a detail that is very important might have been overlooked.
Another thing that is great about writing this way is that your inner critic will have quite a challenge trying to find something to point out to you about what you are doing. It is so refreshing to quiet that inner critic, enjoy the process and create a story that you can use. Repeat the process as often as you like by making this a tool for you to use as needed.
I personally find it is so much fun to write in this way it often is my choice when asked to write for someone else or for a publisher. I can go about it knowing that the potential to have a good article or story is very high. That allows me to relax and write. I find I can complete my story more quickly and I feel more confident when I present the story. All of these things can change your sense of accomplishment and satisfaction about how to write and I find every use of this tool to be of value. See what you think after you try this writing method and approach.