 The writers were selected after interviews and script samplings . Among the writers were José Molina , Ben Edlund , Cheryl Cain , Brett Matthews , Drew Z. Greenberg and Jane Espenson . Espenson wrote an essay on the writing process with Mutant Enemy Productions . A meeting is held and an idea is floated , generally by Whedon , and the writers brainstorm to develop the central theme of the episode and the character development . Next , the writers ( except the one working on the previous week 's episode ) meet in the anteroom to Whedon 's office to begin ' breaking ' the story into acts and scenes . For the team , one of the key components to devising acts is deciding where to break for commercial and ensuring the viewer returns . " Finding these moments in the story help give it shape : think of them as <unk> that support the structure " . For instance , in " Shindig " , the break for commercial occurs when Malcolm Reynolds is gravely injured and losing the duel . " It does not end when Mal turns the fight around , when he stands victorious over his opponent . They 're both big moments , but one of them leaves you curious and the other doesn 't . " 
