For me, the short story is the depth of a novel, the breadth of a poem, and, as you come to the last few paragraphs, the experience of surprise.
The real problem is arranging that experience in a way that tells a story, which is just incredible enough to be interesting, but credible enough to be believed.
Television and film are such streamlined story mediums. You can't really meander about, whereas a novel is an interior experience.
I'd read up on the history of our country and I'd become fascinated with the story of the Alamo. To me it represented the fight for freedom, not just in America, but in all countries.
That's not the part of the story that I'm interested in, anyway. The part that I'm interested in is all the personal stuff. I tried to base the powers on family archetypes.
I always loved the verve and vivacity of pulp and I kind of merged it with my own interest in family stories.
All of us in the Ball family in South Carolina, from the time we're children, hear stories about our ancestors, the slave owners.
I'm attracted to stories that deal with the family and what it's like to be a member of that family, whether it's together or apart, given the pressures that are put on it by the outside world.
I think my story says that, when women are given the chance and the opportunity, that we can achieve a lot. We deliver.
I firmly believe lyrics have to breathe and give the audience's ear a chance to understand what's going on. Particularly in the theater, where you have costume, story, acting, orchestra.
It's really cool now that we have Twitter and Facebook, and it's cool that people can post their thoughts and stories and just constantly on their timelines.
You know, Motorcycle Diaries has no incredible stories, no sudden plot twists, it doesn't play that way. It's about recognizing that instance of change and embracing it.
Well, you could take several stories off the buildings of most U.S. government agencies and we'd all probably be better for it too.
Ah, the pleasure, the joy - a big news story that runs and runs, that is played down by some of our journalistic colleagues, saying 'it'll never happen', only to be confirmed by the Home Secretary.
The murder of Lumumba, in which the U.S. was involved, in the Congo destroyed Africa's major hope for development. Congo is now total horror story, for years.
Whenever I write a story, I hope it appeals to both boys and girls.
I think all the characters in 'American Horror Story,' which is why I love it, are looking for some sense of meaning, and also it's their form of happiness.
Suspense is very important. Even though this is humor and they're short stories, that theory of building suspense is still there.
Every new medium transforms the nature of human thought. In the long run, history is the story of information becoming aware of itself.
In a typical history book, black Americans are mentioned in the context of slavery or civil rights. There's so much more to the story.
'Cars' is a really personal story for me because, first of all, I grew up in Los Angeles - the car crazy capital.
