How far in advance do Trek writers plan the series?

[Dark Reality 0]

I'm sure TOS and TNG were, for the most part, written weekly with no real goal for the end of the series. It sure feels that way.

 

But with DS9, did they plan on having the Dominion War, do you think? The story was so detailed, so intricate, they had to have a plan, but how far in advance did it go?

 

I don't think Voyager had a plan - it really felt wrapped up at the end, and there wasn't a continuing theme to maintain, other than the struggle to stay alive and to find a way home, which they could have wrapped up any time.

[Stephen of Borg 2]

when it's a continual theme, I think you have to have an idea of where you want it to go before you begin. You have to start with A and end up at Z, the most work and the most creative parts come when you have to connect the dots from A to Z.

 

With that said, with the Dominion War and Xindi War, those had more thought put into them since it was a continuous story. I don't think they knew about the future episodes in the beginning, but knew where they wanted it to go by the end