THE END BEGETS THE BEGINNING WHICH BEGETS THE STORY ITSELF
by zentao

A book's end holds within it the core essence and energy of everything preceeding it and the kernel of what could follow. Therefore, if you know your end, even all the various alternate endings (which, yes, can be diametrically opposed to each other), then you hold the power to find:

1. your story's main characters
2. your protagonistic forces and antagonistic forces which defines the main story question, the climax, and the conflict
3. your story's turning point
4. your story's theme
5. your story's beginning (not to be confused with your book's beginning) See Story Catalyst Verses Book Beginning
6. the next story's beginning (again, not to be confused with the next book's beginning)

Now, that's a lot of critical knowledge that an author can use. Therefore, know your end.

So how does the end hold all this potential? Because it identifies exactly what was at stake that was either lost or successfully accomplished by whom (what was gained or lost, and who gained and/or lost it), the state of the story world, as well as the state of the question that was resolved and how it came to be resolved.

By reading the answer to the question, you can then determine the question itself, as well as the players and the crux.

Let's examine a common plot

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© Copyright 2006 zentao

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