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.

... there’s only so much you can do with lyrical and pretty. You need mud and knives and lightning bolts, too.

My interest in syllabic rhythm comes largely from my experience in singing and songwriting, from my appreciation for Shakespeare (I’m not a superfan, exactly, but I run in those circles), from a casual love of poetry for its lyricism and emotional density.

Sometimes the bad things in life are just there to put us on the path to the best things in life.

... being a part of a community of people who are invested in your growth as an artist gives you a real leg up in this industry, and film school gives you that.

... it’s an easier sell to anybody when you can package yourself in some way, but you don’t have to be limited by the connotations the word “brand” gets you.

No artist should be afraid to let their heritage and identity take center stage in their work ... The moment I decided to honor that history and put it at the forefront of my work, whether that be location or tonality, everything changed for me.

We knew if we couldn’t meet our own expectations that we weren’t going to make MAN. It was that simple.

Let the lessons from one platform of writing spill over into your other writing. Be fluid about it and see what serves the story best.

At some point you have to ask yourself: “Am I writing the best adaptation or the best movie?” And that might mean cutting things you adore from the book or creating an extra scene here or there to bridge a storyline.

I have kind of a weird working method, which is a mix of meticulous, obsessive preparation (researching, pre-visualization, pre-production) and a sort of crazy freedom on set, especially when working with actors.

The whole experience made me a better writer, creator, collaborator, and the fact that it didn’t go to series helped continue to motivate me in stand-up.