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Writing mysteries-of-the-week for LONGMIRE is still my most challenging writing gig. Each one needs: a catchy hook, a well-hidden perp, a clever Longmire way of solving it, & an emotionally-resonant reason for the crime. Plus, it ideally reflects on Walt's current state of mind.
Breaking, outlining, writing, revising, prepping, & producing three of these a season for five seasons was the best TV writing education I could ever receive. I return to my showrunner Greer Shephard's guidance all the time, especially her emphasis on scheduling information.
That is, what gets revealed when in a scene. Identifying what the major card each scene holds, and when and how you lay that card down. Or, also: how to distract the viewer/Walt so the actual important clue registers, but their attention is on something that looks like a clue.
I'm not writing mysteries right now, but many of the same principles still hold. Instead of clues, I think of what cards a scene holds in terms of emotion or psychology or a surprising reveal or narrative turn. And then try to determine how to schedule them out in optimal order.
Or, how to hide or de-emphasize those cards so it feels more like a discovery when they come back into play later in the story.
And I still aim for something I think I only achieved a couple of times on LONGMIRE: arranging the crime of the week and Walt's personal story for that episode so they both crescendo at the same time, and each story line speaks to the other.
