Jane Espenson explains how it's done.

Ever wanted to write an episode of Buffy? Ever wondered how a story idea becomes a full-blown script?

Wonder no more, as over at the Firefly website Buffy scribe Jane Espenson tells how it's done.

In the article, titled The Writing Process, she explains that "episode ideas begin with 'what is she going through' and never with 'what would be a cool Slaying challenge'."

There then follows a group meeting where the story is broken down into scenes and where the cliffhangers leading into the pesky commercial breaks are added. The scenes around these high points are then expanded and the assigned writer is sent off with all the information to produce a detailed outline.

Once Joss Whedon and Marti Noxon have looked at the outline and offered some notes a first draft is produced. Further notes and drafts are swapped until a final script is produced.

To read the full article head on over to the Firefly website.

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