"TNG" writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe, who had writing credits on a number of episodes, including both the previous Vash stories, converted Shearer's story into a script. His work on the first draft led to a full-time position on the writing staff for "DS9"; Q was added to the story at this stage. Q's motivations were drawn from his previous appearances on "TNG", but Wolfe found it difficult to create the interactions between Q and the other characters on "DS9". At the time the script was under development, there was little footage of "DS9" available. Wolfe could only characterize the motivations towards Q as annoyance rather than any real emotional engagement. However, he came upon the idea that he could demonstrate the difference between "DS9" and "TNG" by showing the reactions of the characters to Q instead.