Pipeline Artists

I fought back in my own little ways, like dressing as the macabre Angel of Death for “Bible Character Day.”

Our stories reveal our humanity. They peel back the layers of the titles we hold—mom, aunt, etc.—and remind others that underneath those layers, we’re all just people.

Research awakened me to the vast array of knowledge contained not only in books and the internet, but also in the people around us, and reminding me how much there is to learn about the world in which we live.

Writing multiple POVs drove me crazy at times ... I wrote Mary in first person because I wanted readers to feel an intimacy with her, and I thought it would help them connect to her as an outsider.

Kids are very aware of what’s going on around them. And I think they want to escape into worlds that ultimately make sense, regardless of the offbeat concepts or quirks that define those worlds.

The working-class is what I know, and they’re almost always at the heart of the stories I tell. As for why we’re not hearing enough about them—I don’t know. Superheroes are overqualified for the jobs out here.

I hope this story offers readers some kind of kindling—for warmth, or to stir some hidden fire. Mostly, I hope this story helps someone reclaim their own skin—whatever that means to them.

I really relish just wallowing in the language, the descriptions, making sure everything is as tight and on-point as it can possibly be.

There is also an unhealthy obsession with "natural talent," making it somehow more meaningful than hard work, and this has never sat well with me.

Wired Shut writer/producer, Peter Malone Elliott, and director, Alexander Sharp, discuss the behind-the-scenes details of taking their feature film, from idea to completion.

I think people can relate to feeling so desperate and invisible that they might do something they think they would never do.

Unless we are performing and/or directing, we aren’t building the house or moving into it—we have to leave space for the other collaborators.

There is nothing more motivating than just observing human beings in the wild.

I think all artists are inherently invisible problem solvers. We see an empty space in the world and want to fill it with our ideas, our images, and our stories.

I have always sought to understand as many points of view as possible. I want to make these worlds accessible through empathy. To make them entertaining by surprising audiences and subverting expectations.