Inspired by a social media writing prompt that read: "It's 3 AM. An official phone alert wakes you up. It says "Do not look at the moon." You have hundreds of notifications. Hundreds of random numbers are sending "It's a beautiful night tonight. Look outside.""
In its first draft, The Moonstruck took place beginning on Saturday, December 21, 2019 - with Elle and David celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary on the same day as the Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year with a sunset at approximately 5:35 PM). The screenplay included some elements of Christmas but was later made more ambiguous.
While writing the initial draft, Tanya Wheelock assigned horoscope signs to some of the main characters to help her set their personality traits. David Hughes was a Pisces-Aries Cusp (March 20). Elle Hughes was a Cancer (July 9). Maddie Hughes was a Sagittarius (November 23). Liz Wilson was a Libra. Ryan Wilson was a Taurus.
Tanya Wheelock began brainstorming and outlining The Moonstruck with Kaitlin Bellamy on January 26, 2019. The outline came together in just one night. Kari Yovetich joined Tanya soon after to help expand the story and develop it into an actual screenplay. After doing some consulting, Will Phillips officially joined the writing team in August of 2019 to cultivate and tie together the ideas presented in the original 50-page script, and help it grow into a feature-length work. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the screenplay eventually shifted into and audio drama script.