I learned early in my writing career that if I try to tailor a song for someone else, I'm usually off base. They're usually looking for something from you with your character.

Being a background singer is one thing, but being on stage as the star is something else again. When you walk out there with all those people staring at you, it's like you're naked to the world. And I hate being criticized.

My inspiration comes from God, so I always have to be open, kind of like being an antenna. I like to write songs people love.

I follow my instincts. Maybe I'd be more successful in my business and my private life if I did things like everybody else. But I just feel like I'm different from everybody else.

In film, you can create the illusion of time and space. People speak; characters reveal their feelings. You can use music, which informs how you should be feeling, and it carries you to the right emotional space.

My father used to say to me, 'The only limit to your success is your own imagination.' I actually believed that - like, I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I might not be an Olympic figure skater.

That's why, when Alias came along, I knew I'd be OK if the show was on for five or six years because the writing was so good and the creative team was so strong.

One of the things I had to learn as a writer was to trust the act of writing. To put myself in the position of writing to find out what I was writing.