zachsketches asked: Sorry for asking this, but I was wondering how far in advanced you and the rest of the staff had season 1 of Steven Universe planned by the time "Gem Glow" & "Laser Light Cannon" aired in 2013. Did you have every episode figured out by then, or did you just know the main story arc & maybe the first 10+ episodes?

No need to apologize! By the time the first episode of Steven Universe aired in November of 2013, we were already writing a premise for episode 45, “Rose’s Secrets”, which was later renamed “Rose’s Scabbard”. And we probably had a basic idea for up to episode 52.

It can take about 9 months to turn around a single episode of Steven, so we’re always writing far in advance of the air dates. Matt Burnett and I started writing with @rebeccasugar​ and @ianjq​ in August/September of 2012, months before much of the crew came onboard, so that we could have story ideas ready for the board artists. And of course, Rebecca had a ton of ideas before I even started.

We’re always looking to the future when writing the show so that each episode can add to an overarching story about Steven and the characters around him. But those ideas for the future are never set in stone. The show evolves organically as each episode is molded by the storyboard artists and new ideas surface from pitching thoughts to each other. So for any aspiring writers, don’t feel like you have to know every single detail about your idea from the start.

2:01 pm • 2 January 2016 • 648 notes