Director's Notes: 201 - The Delivery Man (Patreon)

There's a fine line between writing a Night Vale episode and writing a 2500-word short story narrated by Cecil Baldwin. Honestly a lot of our episodes are just that: short stories of horror, humor, or general absurdity. And "The Delivery Man" fits this as well.

Perhaps the more cynical term for this is a "one-off" or "filler" episode. I hate the term "filler" because it suggests that the most important thing for a writer is to address key plot points, and I just don't value plot nearly as much as I value vibes. 

One of the most common critiques of Stephen King is that his endings often don't land well. They're either too convenient, or too strange, or too contrived. Honestly, though, I don't remember endings much, and save for the occasional mind-bomb of a final twist, I kind of don't care how a story wraps up. If I'm enjoying it, then I'm sad my time with these characters is coming to an end. If I'm not enjoying it, then I'm glad it's almost over. 

I love building new characters. Everything is potential. I'm not thinking about endings. And I'm not thinking about how it fits into the overall landscape of Night Vale. 

With The Delivery Man, I have a character who delivers packages. He lives by a creed and dedicates his life to a duty that seems noble (or worst-case, dull). But underneath the veneer is something more sinister. And also the package he brings to Cecil will hopefully pay off soon - remember the redwoods and Cecil from previous episodes?

So I'm hoping "The Delivery Man" delivers as a perfectly spooky short story, regardless of the listeners' understanding of Night Vale lore. But also I hope there's a visual connection for regular Night Vale listeners between The Delivery Man's gift to Cecil and what he knows about redwood trees. 

-jeffrey cranor
feb 1 2022