Backward Mapping: Arriving at the destination before the journey

'But all endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time.'

Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet In Heaven, pg. 1 line 3-4 

Wow, I've actually learnt something from uni (and it's not just that adlibbing a presentation/debate probably isn't the best sollution to getting the best marks... and yes, that's exactly what I did today. Surprisingly I passed).

In class we discussed how one should design a lesson plan for a class and the tutor pointed out that it's very hard to know where to begin if you haven't figured out where you want to be. The same can be said about writing, especially that notorious novel.

If we know where we want to be, isn't it a lot easier getting there if you have no idea where "there" is? Even if you don't like planning and prefer to be spontanious, do you have any idea what the novel is going to look like? I know that before I start writing I like to know where I'm heading (mainly because I hate middles and can never plot out what I want to happen, but at least I know how I want that "fill in the blank" to end).

So, plotting a novel from back to front could be beneficial. Each goal and motivation should be listed and they won't seem to be mere consequence because you've actually thought about why the thing happened before you've actually written it.

Wow, I must actually be paying some form of attention in class. So, how do you plan your novel? Do you know the ending before you start writing, or does it just come from the writing?