It’s been a hot minute since I updated this on the status of season 2. I’d like to offer my perspective on the most effective tool a writer has— time.
There is nothing to replace stepping away from a project. No eyes are fresher than the ones that have forgotten the scripts or the story arc. Looking at a script and asking yourself, “What could this have possibly meant” is incredibly effective at highlighting mistakes.
I encountered something of a bug in the conclusion to season 2. I didn’t like where the story ended up. So I dropped it for months. I had all the scripts finished by the beginning of summer last year and I set them aside. The cast recorded through ~Episode 10 or so and then I just let it go to dust.
The miniseries came and went, and then after some time, I re-examined the final episodes and came to a reasonable solution to the story problem. It took an afternoon and everything was fine.
Could this have been achieved without months of delay? Probably. Would it have been as good as it is now? That’s a coin flip.
I’ve always found in my process for writing that the best solution to a problem is either total immersion or total blackout. Rewriting a script over and over, thinking about the solutions without ceasing, or simply nothing. I’ve found now, as someone with less free time to spend dwelling on a scripting issue, shelving the problem creates enough space to navigate it. I think it’s something many writers want to avoid. Inertia IS important to most writers. If you can get page 1, page 2 is a cakewalk, and you won’t even notice you’ve gotten to page 15. But, really, consider it. Step away. A long time. Let it breathe on its own. Come back, examine the real issue, and solve it.
Maybe you don’t need six months, but time is a tool. Use it.
That being said, recording is complete, production is underway, and I expect a launch within a month or two.
See you soon.