Whether it was drugs or gang violence, we can now articulate how the system created roads that are limiting in opportunities and long in redemption for people of color, and we are better equipped and empowered to change our landscape.

My family and I have found that our experiences with mental health have been incredibly challenging, but also have really taught us the true meaning of unconditional love.

But I’ve learned a lot about novel writing through screenplays, and it’s only made my writing stronger. I only write with a detailed outline now that’s almost like a mini script without dialogue. It’s made me finish books a lot faster.

When I’m structuring scripts or outlining scenes, I think in terms of tempo, tonal dissonance, loud-quiet-loud dynamics, etc. It’s probably just because songwriting was the first kind of writing I taught myself.

It’s incredibly alluring to me how quickly a kind gesture can evolve into a dangerous seduction and deadly game of cat and mouse as a means to stay in control. I always find this particular subject matter very enticing.

And honestly, I still don’t take budget or market viability into consideration when deciding what to write. (Cue the sound of prospective reps fleeing in terror).

But switching mediums is less learning a new language than an awkward dialect. The vocabulary’s largely the same—you just can’t understand why they spell legitimise with an “s.”

It took another year before the whole thing “blew up,” which is sad because so many patients could have been saved in-between had someone listened.

... being agreeable and always saying yes and bending over backwards with your balls in a knot for people who would never lift a finger back for you doesn’t get you farther than making noise, blowing people’s shit up, and standing up for yourself.

Someone once told me the mark of great art is admiring it so much you wish you’d created it yourself.

I was also engaged by the deep-rooted relationship between Choon-Ok and her mother, Pak Ung-Ak. Theirs was both a nurturing and a clashing relationship that conflicted Choon-Ok, yet prodded her to pursue her goal.

Perennial outsiders often hold the key to true change and progress.

The process of finding an agent is not for the timid of heart. It is equally as tough, if not more so, than writing your work.

I’m sorry, Script Pipeline, I seem to have strangled my writing partner–did you need him to answer any more questions? I can Weekend at Bernie’s him for the rest of the interview?

If you start letting the ‘no’s’ get to you—which you hear way more often than any ‘yes’s’—you’ll scare yourself away from being great and accomplishing your goals.