Scott, in your own writing, do you deal with these sorts of considerations in prep, in first draft, or in rewrites, or has the process changed over time? PS I'm really enjoying this series of posts. Thank you.

Shaula, it's an organic process. I just try to be aware of thematic elements in general throughout the entire process. I'm especially cognizant of them during brainstorming. Weird images, lines, sounds, I just put them all into my master brainstorming list. I never know if/when something there might have emerged which could be meaningful later. It's not like I have all that figured out in prep or even first draft. Sometimes thematic content doesn't reveal itself until a few drafts in when I suddenly see a connection. Other times, however, themes bubble up really early in the process. Then there are times when it's not until someone brings it on reading the script that you realize, "Oh, yeah, that theme is in there." Every writer is different, so there's no right or wrong way to approaching thematic material. It's just a good idea to be aware of the possibilities and sensitive to ideas that emerge, even seemingly crazy ones. You just never know...

Thanks for the reply, Scott. I'm in that stage with my GOYOQ script right now where EVERYTHING I see / hear / read / watch seems relevant--it's my brain on overdrive with a healthy pinch of apophenia thrown in for good measure. And it's good time to be looking at symbols and images and patterns organically present in the script and ask myself "Could I reincorporate this? What happens if I turn this upsidedown? What happens if we see this three times instead of once?" This is a really fun part of the writing process for me.