Twenty things you (probably) didn’t know about Harvey Girls Forever! showrunner, Brendan Hay.

 

1. My first job was… working in a comic book store. Grasshopper’s Comics on Long Island. It’s still there, so go check it out and say hi to John and Dan.

2. If I wasn’t a writer, I would likely be… still at that comic book shop? Or maybe trying to be an editor or music supervisor for film or TV?

3. I collect… anything about the band The Replacements.

4. My favorite word is… based on how often I use it, probably “delightful.”

5. I’m a big fan of… The Hold Steady.

6. The single best piece of (writing related) advice I have ever gotten… is finish the piece. It’s always better to have a finished, bad version of something that you can revise than a forever unfinished perfect piece.

7. I have always wanted to… sing in a punk band.

8. The best thing I have ever read, (but did not write) is… changing daily, but for today, let’s say that it’s A Visit From The Good Squad by Jennifer Egan. Or Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Or A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Or… okay, I’ll stop here, but I can’t pick just one thing.

9. People often tell me that I… chew loudly. It’s true and I’m working on it.

10. I really think that my best work (published or not) is… Harvey Girls Forever, but that show is really our entire crew’s work.

11. I find inspiration in… my wife (fellow writer Jennifer Chen), our daughters’ wonderfully creative spirits, other writers’ work, and anything that embarrasses or scares me.

12. The best thing about being a professional writer is… having an outlet for your anxieties and emotions.

13. I spend way too much time… on Twitter.

14. The smartest person in my cell phone is… my wife. Friend and fellow writer Elliott Kalan ranks up there too.

15. It really bothers me when… people offers comments like “I wonder what drugs they were on to make that” about cartoons. No drugs needed. We’re just creative.

16. The worst thing about being a professional writer is… first drafts.

17. One mistake that most aspiring writers make is… thinking any part of the process will be fast and/or easy. Also, if you’re an aspiring comedy writer, you’re probably mistaking attitude for hard jokes. It’s okay, though. We all do that at first.

18. If I knew the apocalypse was coming in 24 hours, I’d… put on my favorite music and dance.

19. The three websites I visit most often are… Twitter, Vulture, and Dark Horizons.

20. You’d be surprised to know that I… love the movie Tin Cup.

 

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