I never set out to teach writing. I wrote. I worked exceedingly hard and was very lucky. I had a terrific career in television but after several years I was totally depressed and burned out. Exhausted, I walked away, even with job offers on the table.

Looking back, I see now that my only writing process was drinking Bourbon and panicking until the words appeared on the page. I needed a better way, but couldn't find one. 

Then something miraculous happened. I married a fellow screenwriter and finally got a close-up window on another writer's process: vodka and suffering.

It was in marriage counseling that the first seeds for this book were planted.