Any time you get two people in a room who disagree about anything, the time of day, there is a scene to be written. That's what I look for.
Aaron SorkinRead
Good writers borrow from other writers. Great writers steal from them outright.
Interpretation
Writers build upon the ideas of others, but exceptional writers take inspiration to create something entirely their own.
This quote emphasizes the distinction between good writers and great writers in the realm of creativity. It suggests that good writers may rework existing ideas, while great writers fully integrate and transform those ideas into something new and impactful, thus highlighting the importance of originality and boldness in artistic expression.
In practice
In a writing workshop, discussing the blending of various influences in a personal narrative.
Any time you get two people in a room who disagree about anything, the time of day, there is a scene to be written. That's what I look for.
The upside of web-based journalism is that everybody gets a chance. The downside is that everybody gets a chance.
I'll get cast occasionally as sort of the jerk version of myself, and I have fun doing that. But it's really better for everyone if I stay behind the camera.
Decisions are made by those who show up. Don't ever forget that you're a citizen of this world.
With 'The Social Network,' I got into it at first because frankly I thought there was a cool courtroom drama to be had with the intellectual properties. And then what further drew me in was that the most extraordinary social networking device ever created was created by the world's most antisocial person. I liked that story.
Tell me what you think and then tell me what the really smart person in the room who disagrees with you thinks.
The white paintings came first; my silent piece came later.
The big catalyst was seeing my sister, when I was 11, doing a dramatic recital. When I saw her on the stage and everyone listening to her so patiently, quietly, that's all I wanted: for someone to look at me and listen to me, but in some beautiful and artistic way.
Photography is about a single point of a moment. It’s like stopping time. As everything gets condensed in that forced instant. But if you keep creating these points, they form a line which reflects your life.
Glamour doesn’t just happen, people don’t wake up in the morning glamorous.
I want my buildings to take root and look as if they've always been there. It isn't about pastiche or adapting what's already there. It's about trying to blend the future and the past.
Long before social media existed, the proto-tweets of advertising had penetrated American popular culture: 'A mind is a terrible thing to waste.' 'Where's the beef?' 'A diamond is forever.' 'Think different.' You'd be hard pressed to find a writer's craft that has more directly influenced the vernacular.
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