Trying To Guess What The (mass) Audience

Honestly, I Don't Try To Guess At What Most People Want. I Don't Think I'd Guess Right, And I Just Think That That's Not A Good Recipe For Storytelling. I Try To Write What I Like, What I Think My Friends Would Like.

We Live In A World That Has Walls, And Those Walls Have To Be Guarded By Men With Guns.

I Think It's Up To Writers To Write Stuff That Is Compelling Enough That People Want To Watch.

The Monica Lewinsky Scandal Was Happening At The Very Time I Was Writing The West Wing Pilot And It Was Hard, At Least For Americans, To Look At The White House And Think Of Anything But A Punch Line. Plus A Show About Politics, A Show That Took Place In Washington, Had Just Never Worked Before In American Television. So The Show Was Delayed For A Year.

I'm Terribly Afraid Of Failure. When Your Identity Is Wrapped Up In Writing And You've Written Something That Doesn't Work, It's A Tough Pill To Swallow.