Mapping out the valley filled with clouds

“[It’s] what I call ‘The Valley Filled with Clouds’ technique. You’re at the edge of the valley, and there is a church steeple, and there is a tree, and there is a rocky outcrop, but the rest of it is mist. But you know that because they exist, there must be ways of getting from one to the other that you cannot see. And so you start the journey.”
–Terry Pratchett

Female Agent has always been a valley filled with clouds: I’ve planned out the major plot points in advance, but not the exact paths between them.  I always feel like I’m under pressure to produce content so, as soon as I’ve got a half-decent plan, I set off on writing the next episode.

It’s possible to over-plan
I’ve always been wary of over-planning.  Some planning is great, and I’d never want to start anything important with no plan – but, in my experience, over-planning wastes time and stifles creativity.  I think it can encourage project paralysis, and even cowardice: it’s much easier and more comfortable to be planning (which, by definition, can’t fail) instead of actually delivering work (which can fail and humiliate you).

But it’s also possible to under-plan
That said – I think some of the problems with slow delivery and not-hot-enough episodes can basically be traced to me getting lost in the valley filled with clouds.  The problem is that it is filled with fucking clouds and it takes me a while to find the right path.

Current project
I’m currently trying to fix this by planning out all the remaining episodes in medium-level detail.  The Mother of All Beat Sheets.  I’d always thought this much planning would be a waste of time, but – now I’m doing it – it’s just obviously the right thing to do.

For example, yesterday and today, I was trying to fix an episode in the outline (set in the club) that just felt flat and slow.  After some thought and stress, I realised I could hit the same story beat by bringing forward an episode planned for much later (set outside the club).

This fix took one day; it feels like the kind of problem that would have caused weeks of stress and significant rewrites if I’d encountered it on the ground in the valley filled with clouds.  So I think that, if I prioritise finishing this process now, it will more than pay for itself in smoother and faster production of episodes in the future.

I can tell it’s intellectually demanding work because I’m frazzled at the end of each day.  😩  I’m going to take the evening off and get an early start tomorrow.  Have a lovely Sunday evening guys!  I’ll report progress next week.  🦀❤️