Category Archives: Writing Advice

Photo taken from StarWars.com

Can Fan Service Really Work? A Reflection on The Mandalorian Season 2

A little over a year ago a small green creature took the entire world by storm as millions of memes flooded our social media feeds. His name was Baby Yoda.

Or at least that’s what we called him, those at Lucasfilm and others working on The Mandalorian called him “The Child.” He was this mysterious green creature who is clearly of the same species as Jedi Master Yoda, one of the most recognizable characters in all of Star Wars. And in a day, “The Child” somehow became just as popular.

Season 1 of The Mandalorian followed a mysterious bounty hunter who obeyed a specific set of rules while trying to keep a valuable child out the hands of many greedy and nefarious foes. Throughout the first season he becomes attached to the child, learning that there more in life than making a quick paycheck, and quite possibly, that there’s more to being a Mandalorian than he originally thought. The end of the season tasks the Mandalorian, whose name is revealed to be Din Djarin, to return this child to a group of enemy sorcerers known as “The Jedi.”

There was also one other reveal at the end of the season, a fan favorite lightsaber pulled straight from The Clone Wars. This saber is called the dark saber.

In eight short episodes The Mandalorian was able to reveal quite a few surprises that kept the fans wanting more and felt true to the story they were trying to tell. And now that the second season has concluded. The question is, did the latest season do likewise?

I believe the answer is yes. Somehow, season two managed to have triple the amount of surprises without changing the core of its story. As a Star Wars fan, and as a writer, I would like to take a look at why this approach seemed to work.

MAJOR SPOILERS INBOUND!

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Sighs of a Discouraged Writer

I am discouraged.

There, I said it. I am discouraged. Lets be real. Writing is not for the feint of heart, and even if my heart is feinter than most my mere stubbornness and sense of calling practically forbids me to stop. There are somedays where I absolutely love writing, I find it refreshing for both the mind and the soul. But there are other days where I just want to throw in the towel, throw my hands up, and say I’m done.

Sometimes I look at an hour or two of work… and just sigh.

Maybe you’re a writer and you feel the same way. If you are not but still work and dream of doing something creative, there is a good chance you are often disappointed by your own work. I suppose it is a flaw of our broken world. God created us to get pleasure from our work, and yet often it leaves us drained. And I can say, one month after writing my initial draft of this article, the drain only gets harder when you have a full time job. Writing has been sparse over the past few months for me, both time and disappointment can really hold you back.

Today I would like to share with you three reasons I typically get disappointed. Maybe you can relate.

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