Words matter. These are the best J. Michael Straczynski Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
We know that if memory is destroyed in one part of the brain, it can be sometimes re-created on a different part of the brain. And once we can unravel that amino chain of chemicals that is responsible for memory, I see no reason why we can’t unlock it and, essentially, wipe out what’s there.
Writers write for one reason: to create an emotion in the reader, to reach across and make them feel something. You want a reaction. Yeah, it’s nicer when the reaction is to throw flowers than it is to throw brickbats, but you have to accept both equally.
When the ‘Seinfeld’ show said it was going to be a show about nothing, everybody said it couldn’t – wouldn’t work. It did. ‘Thor’ is about something, about that character finding his destiny, but it’s not doing what was expected… and yet it’s doing very well.
No dictator, no invader, can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever.
It’s been amazing to watch, because for ‘Thor’, which was always a mid-selling book, to be in the top ten for every single issue since the reboot is just a great compliment.
All love is unrequited. All of it.
I’m a big believer in the idea that while we are the sum of our tears, we are also the product of our choices in how we deal with those tears.
The whole point of having great characters is the opportunity to explore them more deeply with time, re-interpreting them for each new age.
There’s a lot of comics writers out there whose work I appreciate and who are nice guys. I really want to work with guys I really respect and enjoy.
I think that we are already making steps toward mapping out the brain so we can identify the chemical patterns that create and store memory.
We are in a tech-heavy society, plunging headlong into an unknown future. Science fiction is what allows you to stand back and analyze the impact of that and put it in context of how it affects people.
For me, there’s nothing sexier than a woman who can argue me into the ground and outsmart me… a woman who knows her own mind and isn’t afraid to speak it.
People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable of being, and not enough energy putting themselves on the line, growing out of the past, and getting on with their lives.
I always knew that I was going to be a writer. There was no question in my mind about that.
Never follow somebody else’s path; it doesn’t work the same way twice for anyone… the path follows you and rolls up behind you as you walk, forcing the next person to find their own way.
You should do what you enjoy doing, what brings you passion. As kids, we spontaneously sing and dance and tell stories, and along the way, someone comes and says, ‘No. You shouldn’t be doing that.’ And we slowly begin to unlearn our passions. I think you have to hold on to those things.
Take care, don’t fight, and remember: if you do not choose to lead, you will forever be led by others. Find what scares you, and do it. And you can make a difference, if you choose to do so.
Everyone in the entertainment business gets crappy contracts when we start out, and into the middle of our careers. It’s the nature of the business.
Whenever you write for someone else, you’re always aware – sometimes overtly, other times at an almost cellular, subliminal level – of the rules about what you can and can’t do.
I like writing. It’s partly control freak, and partly I really like what I do for a living. I have the luckiest job in the world. I can get up every day and do what I love for a living.
I don’t need to write comics for a living. I have movies and TV for that. I write comics for one reason and one reason only: I love comics. I love the form, the structure, the storytelling process, I love everything about it.
I grew up on comics and cartoons. So, as an adult, I like comics and cartoons.
Stage-persona notwithstanding, I’m extremely shy and quiet. Almost painfully shy. People misinterpret that as being above it all or not interested.
My house looks like it was decorated by a 14-year old with a platinum American Express card.
On the Internet, inside information is currency, and there will always be counterfeiters among us.
Whenever you can bring your chops in as a reporter to unearth a cool story, that’s always a good thing.
The quality of our thoughts is bordered on all sides by our facility with language.
When you’re writing a story in bits and pieces, month in and month out, there really isn’t time or space for reflection, no room to learn what those scripts had to teach you.
In every other science fiction series, humans are at the top of the food chain. In the ‘Babylon 5’ universe, they’re in the bottom third.
On a certain level, I don’t think there is an answer to what the American way is, because it is constantly being re-defined. It’s also been exploited and capitalized upon and politicized by one side or the other to the point that a certain degree of cynicism has attached itself to that term.
I was very clear that I wanted to keep ‘Thor’ out of the rest of the Marvel universe for no less than the first six issues. And the success of the book, I think, speaks well to that decision.
I’m delirious with joy. It proves that if you confront the universe with good intentions in your heart, it will reflect that and reward your intent. Usually. It just doesn’t always do it in the way you expect.
The problem with writing a monthly book is that you’re going through your work like a man running for a bus, red-faced and out of breath. There isn’t time for reflection or critical self-examination.
Writing is the process of asking the next logical question.
It’s really important to me to keep growing as a writer, to look for new challenges and be harshly critical of my own work in order to learn and tell better stories.
