Nothing ever begins. There is no first moment; no single word or place from which this or any other story springs.
With 'The Sixth Sense,' my dad and I discussed how this was not so much a horror story as a story about communication. I understudied with my dad, in a sense. It made a huge difference.
Stand-up is very broad strokes, kind of a skeleton of a story or something.
What I would do is when I was younger I would draw in a sketch book something that happened in my life and then write a little something on the side about what happened or what the story.
A good short-story writer has an instinct for sketching in just enough background to ground the specific story.
Most writers spend their lives standing a little apart from the crowd, watching and listening and hoping to catch that tiny hint of despair, that sliver of malice, that makes them think, 'Aha, here is the story.'
When I'm writing the first draft, I'm writing in a very slovenly way: anything to get the outline of the story on paper.
As a small child, I could watch anything happen and tell a story, and it was funny.
At a certain moment, I decided to write a story. I had no more small children to tell them stories.
I have written with some amazing singers and songwriters - the moment with Snoop Dogg was amazing - but being able to tell an Aboriginal story is bigger than anything that I have ever known.
'Snow White' was really hip for its time. Walt Disney was basically using Sigmund Romberg and operetta in the telling of the story, and through animation - that was revolutionary.
I had so much fun playing songs from 'Based On A True Story...' and getting to see the crowd's reaction to those songs was unforgettable.
Me? I'm no sob story. I get paid well, and I live comfortably.
I'm not closing the door on my solo career, but with 5th Story, if the public demand is there, then I'll continue to work with the band. If not, we'll all go our separate ways again.
What I've learned over the years is that the craft of songwriting is trying to take the personal and make it universal - or in the case of telling a story, taking the universal and making it personal.
When someone is on the phone telling me a story, I'm hearing the soundtrack that goes with it.
One of the reasons I started working at 'South Park,' actually, was that I wanted to learn how to structure things and how to tell a story.
Lots of times when I'm offered things, I can't see how a story gets filmed. Either it's too internal or it doesn't have a strong spine.
With 'The Forty Rules of Love,' I wanted to write a love story. But I wanted a love story with a spiritual dimension. For me, that took me to Rumi. And from Rumi, I went to Shams of Tabriz. That's how the story took shape.
I usually don't like to 'spoon feed' my audience, because I grew up idolizing story tellers who tell stories using symbolism, so it was in my nature to do the same.
