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My works really begin in a very simple way. Sometimes it's an image, and sometimes it's words I might write, like a fragment of a poem.

I outline and outline and outline, and then I'm very specific about the stuff I write. That's my process.

I'm dependent on writing for a living, so really it's to my advantage to understand how the creative process works. One of the problems is, when you start to do that, in effect you're going to have to step off the edge of science and rationality.

As a writer, you have to first of all write what you want to. Listen to advice, by all means, but don't get bogged down in it.

I start with an idea that is no more than a paragraph long, and expand it slowly into an outline. But I'm always surprised by the directions things take when I actually start writing.

Art, whatever form it takes, requires hard work, craftsmanship and creativity. As a writer, I know my grammar, cadence, the music of prose, and the art of the narrative.

My brain kind of works in steps. I have to go through things and then process them and then write about them. I have to understand them first.

I was like, 'I have to start writing for myself, to show people what I can do and what my point of view is.'

I wanted to express myself more fully through writing and directing. It just feels like a package deal. Anytime you create anything, you try to exert mastery over your world.