I’ve had my head in various project plans for most of the last 12 years.

In my current partition job, I’m there again.

I’ve always looked at project management a little differently to the purists- those who know me won’t be surprised by this…I look for my mini rebellions where I can find them.

Anyways, I do the usual project things up front- determine my scope, end point and CTQs- those things that are critical to quality.

Then I go to the end and work backwards.

What has to happen immediately before the end, what dependencies hang off that, what are the possibilities around this? This helps me get my milestones- then I fill in the detail.

Using Scrivener I’m writing my nanowrimo book in the same way. It’s an experiment- part of the let’s see if this idea’s going to fly scenario.

I have an opening chapter- that’s given me my scope.

I also have an ending.

Now I’m working backwards.

I’m 18,000 words in and so far it seems to be working.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not planning it out- I’m way too Piscean for that, but the general theory of working backwards is what I’m talking about.

Sure I’ll need to go in and fill in the detail around sub-plots etc etc, but using Scrivener takes the guesswork away from remembering what chapter certain events occurred in, or when names appear.

Rather than writing as I read, ie what comes next, I’m thinking about what could possibly have come before.

It’s an interesting change of perspective.