If something isn't working, if you have a story that you've built and it's blocked and you can't figure it out, take your favorite scene, or your very best idea or set-piece, and cut it. It's brutal, but sometimes inevitable. Joss Whedon More Quotes by Joss Whedon More Quotes From Joss Whedon I keep thinking they’re gonna call me. I keep thinking they’re gonna crunch the numbers and think, oh, we can make money with this! And they don’t. Joss Whedon making-money numbers thinking In my generation, there was a single girl given the strength and skill to fight the spread of darkness...but in your generation, there are nearly two thousand with the powers of the slayer, and not all of them have chosen to use their newfound abilities conscientiously. Joss Whedon girl fighting skills When Roseanne read the first script of mine that got into her hands without being edited by someone else she said, 'How can you write a middle-aged woman this well?' I said, 'If you met my mom you wouldn't ask'. Joss Whedon mom writing hands Do you love me? What? Do you? I love you. I don't know if I trust you. Maybe you shouldn't do either. Maybe I'm the one who should decide! Joss Whedon do-you-love-me i-trust-you love-you It's about women. It's about power and it's about women and you just hate those two words in the same sentence, don't you? Joss Whedon sentences hate two Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a-a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and-and-and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a... it, uh, it has no-no texture, no-no context. It's-it's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then-then the getting of knowledge should be, uh, tangible. It should be, um, smelly. Joss Whedon powerful flower memories Never sit at a table you can’t walk away from. Joss Whedon walks tables My visions of the future are always pretty much standard issue. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer and there are flying cars. Joss Whedon flying-cars issues visions-of-the-future Somebody once asked me if I have anything like faith, and I said I have faith in the narrative. I have a belief in a narrative that is bigger than me, that is alive and I trust will work itself out. Joss Whedon narrative alive have-faith Billy: So good... Hey, this is weird. I ordered one frozen yogurt and they gave me two. You don't happen to like frozen yogurt, do you? Joss Whedon hey crazy two Doctor, I'm taking your sister under my protection. If any thing happens to her, anything at all, I swear to you I will get very choked up. Honestly, there could be tears. Joss Whedon serenity firefly doctors This landing is gonna get pretty interesting. Define "interesting". "Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die"? [on speakerphone]: This is the captain: we have a little problem with our entry sequence so we may experience some slight turbulence, then explode. Joss Whedon may littles interesting We have done the impossible. And that makes us mighty. Joss Whedon serenity firefly done There are some things I can just smell. It's like a sixth sense." "Well, actually, that would be one of the five. Joss Whedon vampire smell would-be Passion... it lies in all of us. Sleeping, waiting, and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir, open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us, guides us... passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Joss Whedon passion sleep lying Take my love, take my land. Joss Whedon firefly freedom land If I kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be facing me, and you'll be armed. Joss Whedon you-dont-know-me serenity firefly If you're someone who geniunally believes that women don't deserve or aren't as much as men, you're like the plague. On the big history chart, you're the plague....It's just pointless and deadly. Joss Whedon men profound believe If nothing we do matters... , then all that matters is what we do Joss Whedon epiphany atheism matter Everything we do really is just a little marker on the long road to death. And sometimes that’s overwhelmingly depressing to me, and sometimes it makes me feel kinship and forgiveness. We’ve all got the same ending to the story. The way we make that story more elaborate, I got to respect. Joss Whedon depressing stories long