I have learned that I am not built for conflict or controversy. I have also learned that, in all my life, I have never chosen a story. The story has always chosen me.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
If you have a beautiful story, it has to have conflict. If you don't have conflict, it can't be a good story.
There are conscious reasons and unconscious reasons why I pick something. You know, I have to be moved by the story and usually that means it has to touch me in some kind of personal place.
I learned not to be so bitterly defeated when my fiction took a beating from editors. I learned in advertising to color in the lines and have my work done on time and to make it the very best it could be.
I've been criticized for the things I chose and things I've chosen to do.
I don't shy from controversy. I'm telling stories, and I'll tell whatever story seems like it wants to be told.
I've learned that I am allowed to say what I like and what I don't like. And I've learned that I have to be professional and not be everyone's best friend.
I've learned by hanging out in Hollywood, where I disagree politically with most people, that most people's hearts are in the right place, and the only thing we have to argue about is the way to solve the problems.
Good stories are driven by conflict, tension, and high stakes.
When you're a writer, you're always looking for conflict. It's conflict that drives great stories.
I sometimes feel that I have been born to attract controversy.