💡✍️ADN #127: Writing in Reverse

It isn’t about cheating the process.
It’s about owning it.

Often writers open a blank doc, light a candle, strum a few chords, and hope something falls from the ceiling.

That can work.

But here’s a method for when it doesn’t.

One of the best tricks I’ve found for songwriting is simple: start at the end.

Then reverse-engineer the rest.

Why Writing in Reverse Works

Because your hook is your home.
And if you don’t know where home is, you’ll never know when you’ve arrived.

When you begin with the title or emotional payoff — what the listener should feel, believe, or scream back at you by the end — you’re giving yourself a North Star.

From there, everything else becomes structural.

Strategic.

Purposeful.

You’re not waiting on inspiration.

You’re building a roadmap.

The Formula: Hook-First Writing

Let’s say your title is:
“Heaven Was a Small Town”

That’s your outcome.

Your emotional punch.

Now work backwards.

CHORUS:

What truth is being revealed right here?

• “Turns out heaven had a dirt road.”
• “God lived in the details — porch lights, pick-up trucks, first kisses.”
• “We didn’t know it then, but we were living in it.”

Your chorus = the billboard.
It delivers the thesis. Every line here must aim straight at the title.

VERSE 1:

What was life like before that realization?

• Simple days. Small minds. Restless hearts.
• You wanted out. You thought more was elsewhere.

Verse 1 sets the scene.
It starts the story at the wrong belief, so we can later reveal the right one.

VERSE 2:

What changed? What made you see it differently?

• Moving away. Losing someone. Time.
• A letter. A return visit. A memory sparked.

Verse 2 is the pivot.
It turns the camera. Adds contrast. Introduces stakes.

BRIDGE:

The final piece of emotional context.

• “I’ve chased skylines and never found peace like that gravel road.”
• “Funny how you only call it heaven after you leave.”

The bridge elevates.
Not just new info — but new depth. Emotion from a new angle that reinforces your hook and title.

How to Use This in Your Process

1. Pick a title that punches.

• The kind you’d wear on a T-shirt.
• It should carry a twist, a truth, or tension.

2. Define what the listener should feel by the chorus.

• Is it heartbreak? Realization? Hope? Nostalgia?

3. Map the path to get there.

• Verse 1: Before
• Verse 2: Shift
• Bridge: Depth
• Chorus: Truth

Test each section:

• Does this line build toward the payoff?
• Is this detail essential to the final emotion?
• Am I earning the hook, not just repeating it?

One More Reason to Write in Reverse

Hollywood does it every day.

They don’t start with page one.
They start with the climax.

They ask: “What’s the moment people remember?”
Then they work backwards to justify it.

The same goes for songwriters at the top of their game.

Don’t just sit in the dark and hope.
Plot the light first, then light the way to it.

Prompt of the Week:

Pick a title you’ve had sitting in your notes.
Now reverse-engineer it into:

• 1 chorus (outcome)
• 1 first verse (setup)
• 1 second verse (shift)
• 1 bridge (revelation)

Then ask: Did every section EARN the hook?

Writing in reverse doesn’t mean you’re working backward.
It means you know where you’re going.

See you next Sunday — 
Neil