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Well by surprised (in a good way) as you go through it is one of the things about writing that's kept me coming back for most of my life. I was thinking about this a little yesterday and if anything I usually know more about the characters than I do how the story is going to go.

I generally form a very rough idea of a character very quickly. Things like age and basic personality traits. I try to have a pretty generalized impression of the character before I start because I like to try and surprise myself as I develop the character further through the actual writing.

For some reason I seem to be much better at editing screenplays (cutting down the length and so forth) than I am at editing fiction or reviews. It's just that basic concept of tackling one thing at a time. Occasionally I even make a list of what I feel are the most pressing issues that I need to...

I plan to quit smoking as soon as people stop annoying me. All the respect in the world to people who quit, but as insufferable as I am already it's pretty much been agreed upon by all who know me that I'm already tense and irritiable enough with the one-pack-a-day habit. Quitting would not be...

Pretty darn funny in places. There's some great dialog here.

I've never tried to write anything along those lines intentionally, but a lot of those films are certainly a pretty big influence on my comedy writings. Have you ever considered writing sketch comedy? It sounds like your talents and interests would be best suited in that area.

A couple of months after I had appeared in a prison movie I ran into the guy who did my make-up for the death scene I had to do. I was surprised when he told me how much the entire crew hated the director and how poorly he treated everyone except for the acting talent. I just don't understand...

I haven't used it, and the ghost of Paddy Chayefsky hasn't come to kick my ass. Yet...

Awesome actor. RIP.

I don't see anything wrong with that. It's always a tricky area, but it sounds to me like you're in the clear if that's all you want to take away from your inspiration.

Movies, books, music and all that usual stuff to be sure, but I also get a lot of inspiration from traveling around the country, being on the road a lot (which does take up a surprisingly high amount of my time). The people I meet, the weird little towns. A lot of my material for scripts...

I used to have that problem, but it becomes less frequent with more years of writing. I like Klaus' idea though.

Congratulations, man! I just finished a very, very long manuscript for my second book, so I can definitely relate! Way to kick some screenwriting ass!

Lucky bastards.

Agreed. Escapism is escapism, and that can be just about anything with a really good script behind it.

Where the HELL is my appreciation post?! I do...stuff...my mom...thinks I'm cool...

I forgive, too, even though I completely missed this entire episode. Now go fix me a turkey pot pie.

I agree, and if you can trust your editor and develop a good give-and-take relationship with him (while finding that difficult mix of knowing when to trust them and knowing when to trust your own vision) then you should be able to overcome a lot of that. Obviously that trust thing starts with...

Only if you tell me first.

I can tell you from watching directors work on two films now (as an actor) that it's entirely too much work for a product that has no guarantee of turning out the way its supposed to or even being successful if it does.