On Writing

“When I’m thinking about these more abstract, philosophical questions, I start thinking about scenarios that might dramatize them, and then about how these scenarios might play out, and then I come up with an ending I like — that’s when I know I can write a story about it. I always need to have the ending in mind first. Usually the first thing I write is a paragraph from the end of the story and I keep that as a destination in mind when I’m making up the rest. Everything else is building toward that destination. So the specifics of the characters come about as a means to get to the ending I want.”

— Ted Chiang

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