The way I work, most of my stories have an ending before I've written too far into them. Then I know where I'm going, and it's a matter of getting from here to there. And then figuring out the little bits and pieces after the end that aren't quite set in stone and are somewhat blurry. For me, it's sort of like driving. While you can just get in the car and go and see where you end up, I usually know where I'm going but don't always know exactly what route I'm taking to get there. And sometimes even taking a route I've used many times before, I see really awesome looking stuff. And going off on a tangent, makes me always want a camera, like the time I drove by a car dealership with this absolutely huge American flag that looked like it was waving in slow motion, and I think it was snowing and after dark, so it was lit up. Really wish I'd had a camera then.