How do you plan and Episode

[Brian Melanson]

So I was just wondering how does everyone plan an EPISODE? What I do is just write out the acts but still i make some changes. What do you all do when planning an episode?

[Jack D. Malone]

When I write an episode, I put a lot of work into planning it. I first write out the overal plot for the episode, each individual characters' specific storyline, and then wrap it all up together to fill in what happens in each and every scene.

During this process, I usually go over it several times to create a deeper meaning behind every scene. Like "Why does that HAVE to happen" and if something seems out of place it is either scrapped or edited.

It takes me like 3-4 days to plan, and then about 2-3 days to script it.

[Nicole Rodriguez]

I always always always, start with the plot of the episode. I think of the main plot, then I think about what main things will happen, but after I think about all of the most important details, I think about the little ones, and I ask myself, "Do I want to bring something shocking that will change everything in to this episode?" Or.. "Do I want to just have something intriguing happen, and in the end things go back to normal?" A lot of the time I write as I go, then go back and see what I should change or get rid of.

[Chris Davis]

I always know what Im writing about. Of course, a simple episode synopsis does that. Then, I create a storyboard that basically goes over every single thing that will happen in the episode. Then, when Im ready to write the episode, I just rewrite the storyboard with of course a lot more detail and dialogue, ect... But there's a lot of planning you've got to do before you write an episode