Almost ten years ago now, I had the chance to meet Alan Zweibel, one of the original writers for Saturday Night Live. In a freeform Q&A with a circle of students, he talked about writing for television and his creative process. The thing that always stuck with me was his description writers as two-headed monsters.Continue reading “life as a two-headed monster”
Category Archives: television
seven questions no one asked me
Once again taking a page from Austin Kleon’s book, I really enjoyed reading and responding to this New York Times article, in which 75 artists were asked about how they spent the last year. Here are my own responses (even though no one asked me): 1. What’s one thing you made this year? I spentContinue reading “seven questions no one asked me”
keeping the main thing the main thing
My roommate is an actor. He and I have had many a conversation about artistic work, the creative process, and maintaining personal integrity. One of his main tenants is “keep the main thing the main thing.” It’s easy to get distracted. For me as a writer, it’s easy to get wrapped up in making sentences,Continue reading “keeping the main thing the main thing”
Christoph Niemann on practice
In his episode of Abstract: The Art of Design, Illustrator Christoph Niemann has this to say about showing up for work: “You have to practice and become better. Every athlete, every musician practices every day. Why should it be different for artists?” His Sunday Sketches are a perfect example.
the importance of wondering
Here’s Marc Maron on what it’s like to forget: Sure, we have the entire Library of Alexandria in the palm of our hands and can get the answer to any question we have at a moment’s notice, but is this really a good thing? If we have all the answers, we cease to wonder–to imagine.Continue reading “the importance of wondering”
where’s the fun?
I’ve been writing novels since I was fourteen. None of them have ever seen the light of day and I sincerely hope they never will. While I’ve always wanted to write books that people read, most of my early efforts had one goal: fun. As other kids were playing Xbox, I’d come home from schoolContinue reading “where’s the fun?”
where we come from
In her episode of Abstract: The Art of Design, Es Devlin makes the claim that, “the systems and influences of one’s childhood are inescapable.” While peering down on a model of her hometown, she says, “My work is as much a reaction against this as it is continuing to perpetuate the influence of this.” ThisContinue reading “where we come from”
doors, not mirrors
Fran Lebowitz makes an excellent point about reading in the final episode of the new Netflix series, Pretend It’s a City: Now people are always saying, “There are no books about people like me, I don’t see myself in the book,” […] A book isn’t supposed to be a mirror, it’s supposed to be aContinue reading “doors, not mirrors”
joshua chamberlain 