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.

"That moment has got to feel like the greatest moment of this guy's life, you know, like we're behind him and not in front of him."

If the film industry was a meritocracy based solely on effort, or finding a way to make something great with limited budgets, Hollywood would look very, very different. But it doesn’t.

By sanding off the edges, these new versions wholly sacrificed most of the fun and audacity that made the originals so popular in the first place.

When the editors had a story idea that could get a journalist maimed or killed, I was among the first scribes they’d reach out to.

As my heart continued to drum, my mind slowly went to a place where I became uncomfortable in my skin.

A way to play the numbers game that is publishing in a confined amount of time knowing that you gave the best options your best shot.

I marched in a direction of which I knew not, filling me with a positivity that was only matched by its notorious bedfellow, negativity.

Remember, I’m a comic. I don’t have all the answers, but I will always have an opinion.

Does the benefit of moving the cathartic moment up, hooking the audience, outweigh the emotion that will come if you steel your nerves and wait?

But you need to be careful, set clear boundaries, and have an ironclad goal in mind for when to turn the tap off and send a bill.

It’s in human nature to dread pain and failure.

It’s the secret. The oxymoronic mindset it takes to achieve in any pursuit in which the rewards are many and the opportunities few.

The classics are classics for a reason, and they’re always there to lean on to learn new techniques hidden in their brilliance.

As a debut author, I didn’t know what to expect. Hopefully my road leading to publication will help readers who are on a similar journey, or who will be soon.