Thank you! :) And I was a little unclear; I feel very stuck right now, but when I actually look at it, there really isn't that much I still have to figure out. (And I think I had a breakthrough tonight, when I stopped thinking of the final fight as a one-on-one showdown between two characters, and started focusing on what everyone else was doing -- suddenly things started falling into place!)

As a matter of fact, I have several WIPs lying around - both original and fanfic - that are just beginning scenes that go nowhere. One of them's particularly annoying because I really love that beginning, and the worldbuilding I did for it, but I can't for the life of me figure out where the thing should go.

I have quite a few of those, too! For me, though, stories typically begin with an initial concept or setup, and a lot of the early writing is developing the beginning of it and seeing if it's going to go anywhere. The ending typically comes later.