Being open about my anxiety has been very freeing, and it’s made people connect with me when they previously might have thought we had nothing in common.

To be a good director in both TV or film, you need to be a good listener. It’s about taking all the best ideas to make the project better and to collaborate.

A lot of people told me not to direct. But it was getting to the point where my scripts just weren’t getting made–or they were being rewritten by morons.

A writer who thinks they can write every genre is not going to perfect any one genre. So know who you are—and that takes time to figure out.

The trick is to be non-stop. Which is not a trick at all, but exhausting. You have to be promoting around the clock. And not just the same post—you have to turn it into an event with your audience.

... all the clichés are true. Keep writing. Keep networking. Keep improving.

... the best advice I can give is to be ready when the opportunity presents itself.

... the challenges involved with any creative relationship necessitate being respectful of each other’s ideas and being able to navigate disagreements.

Let it go—when your co-writer says what you’ve written is unclear or confusing or not working or not on the page, trust them. They have the benefit of objectivity.

... your story will change and morph and become a much more team-oriented endeavor, but there’s something so interesting about it all starting with you and a computer, and that’s it.

Larger audiences seem curious to delve into stories of people who look and live differently.

But the truth is, you have to earn it, and you have to develop your craft to the point where you’re ready for that career.

Writers sometimes forget this is a business and that the majority of people who read your script are looking at it as a commodity. “Can I sell this concept?”

For a writer to stretch and find an original plot and a fresh and creative way to package those elements, that’s an illustration of high-concept.

The true definition of madness was becoming a reality. And it took a few years, money ran out, bills weren’t being paid, and it was time to go get a job again. But I always believed.