Months Quote by John Irving
“Sometimes that's a year, sometimes it's 18 months, where all I'm doing is taking notes. I'm reconstructing the story from the back to the front so that I know where the front is.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: The World According to Garp by John Irving, 1978
He reorganizes his narrative backwards to understand its structure and meaning.
In simple terms: He rewrites his story from end to start to see the beginning.
Reframe problems by working backwards.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- writing a novel
- editing a manuscript
- solving a puzzle
- planning a project
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does reversing order reveal hidden patterns?
- When is a backward approach counterproductive?
May miss forward momentum and cause confusion.