The Monica Lewinsky scandal was happening at the very time I was writing the West Wing pilot and it was hard, at least for Americans, to look at the White House and think of anything but a punch line. Plus a show about politics, a show that took place in Washington, had just never worked before in American television. So the show was delayed for a year.

Aaron Sorkin

Categorized in : Thinking Writing House

Don't ever forget that you're a citizen of this world, and there are things you can do to lift the human spirit, things that are easy, things that are free, things that you can do every day: civility, respect, kindness, character.

Aaron Sorkin

respect freedom kindness

Good writers borrow from other writers. Great writers steal from them outright.

Aaron Sorkin

good-writers great-writers stealing

You're going to fall down, but the world doesn't care how many times you fall down, as long as it's one fewer than the numbers of times you get back up.

Aaron Sorkin

numbers graduation fall

I'd been concerned all along that the character of the president in the West Wing pilot would throw the ensemble out of whack, that that character would simply take up all the oxygen in a room. I wanted to hold off bringing this character in until the last possible moment.

Aaron Sorkin

moments president character

I love writing. I'm not particularly comfortable in the actual world - I'm much more comfortable on the page. So if I could have a life where I could just slip the pages under the door and somebody would slip me a meal back, then that would be perfect for me.

Aaron Sorkin

perfect writing doors

I love writing but hate starting. The page is awfully white and it says, "You may have fooled some of the people some of the time but those days are over, giftless. I'm not your agent and I'm not your mommy, I'm a white piece of paper, you wanna dance with me?" and I really, really don't. I'll go peaceable-like.

Aaron Sorkin

hate white writing

Rule of storytelling: When a character is shoved against a wall, shove them against a wall harder.

Aaron Sorkin

storytelling wall character

An artist’s job is to captivate… if we stumble into truth, we got lucky.

Aaron Sorkin

lucky artist jobs

Stupid people surround themselves with smart people. Smart people surround themselves with smart people who disagree with them.

Aaron Sorkin

smart stupid people

Decisions are made by those who show up.

Aaron Sorkin

decision shows made

Socializing on the internet is to socializing what reality TV is to reality.

Aaron Sorkin

internet tvs reality

Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes, we need gigantic, monumental changes. Schools should be palaces. The competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be making six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge to its citizens, just like national defense. That's my position. I just haven't figured out how to do it yet.

Aaron Sorkin

government teacher school

Perhaps something like Facebook couldn't have been invented by somebody who goes out five nights a week and has a ton of friends and makes friends really easily.

Aaron Sorkin

like-facebook week night

A friend is somebody who says the same things to your face that they would say if you're not in the room.

Aaron Sorkin

your-face faces rooms

The real problem with all drugs is that they work. Fantastically. They're great, right up until the moment they kill you.

Aaron Sorkin

drug problem real

Tell me what you think and then tell me what the really smart person in the room who disagrees with you thinks.

Aaron Sorkin

smart rooms thinking

Music is what mathematics does on a Saturday night.

Aaron Sorkin

mathematics doe night

People don't live their lives in a series of scenes that form a dramatic narrative, they don't speak in dialogue, they're not lit by a cinematographer or scored by a composer. The properties of real life and the properties of drama have almost nothing to do with each other. The difference between writing about reporters and being a reporter is the same as the difference between drawing a building and building a building.

Aaron Sorkin

real drama life

Writers are opposite of athletes, they get better with age

Aaron Sorkin

get-better athlete opposites

I'm not interested in the difference between good and bad, I'm interested in the differences between good and great.

Aaron Sorkin

not-interested good-and-bad differences