Working Backwards

Just a quick post related to something I mentioned last time.

I wrote:

By determining what conflicts Esther is facing, we can work backwards to work out how her motivation works in this story.

I realised that this might sound slightly strange. After all, a character's motivation supposed to be the most important thing for a writer to determine ... doesn't it make sense to figure THAT out first?

When I'm working on scripts and stories, I often work backwards to ensure that everything from motivation to conflict to plot points all works as a coherent whole before I start writing. Plenty of other writers do it the other way around, but I like to have the whole package in my mind and in my notes before I start the actual draft. It's just the way that I work best, especially in a case like this.

Since Xerxes Atlas is an adaptation, it has to remain relatively faithful to the original text. Working backwards from the details and themes in the Book of Esther is the only way to ensure that the character arcs are satisfying while also remaining true to the source.

Plus, it's fun!