I always want to challenge myself as a writer. I consider myself more of a writer than I do a director.

I do think it's important for black writers to show that we too can make it into the mainstream. Growing up, I didn't just watch The Cosby Show, I watched Growing Pains and Family Ties too. We can tell those stories too.

You can talk all day long, but if you don't do something, it's a waste.

Your first obligation as a writer is to tell the truth and to tell a good story.

I never like to do something that it feels like I've done before.

Most writers stick to what they know. The black experience is our experience, so it's not that challenging for us. That's why sometimes you'll see writers that start off telling black stories, but later branch out into other material. People say they "sell out." No, they evolve as writers.

I'm not in the business of making us look clean, but I don't want us to look like monsters either. I think there is a little bit of hero and villain in all of us.