5 Pieces Of Writing Wisdom From The Office’s Mike Schur
Tips for finding ideas, writing character, and creating work that excites
Mike Schur is one of the most prolific comedy writers of his time. His stacked resume includes gigs writing for Saturday Night Live, Parks & Recreations, and The Office. In 2016 he switched from staff member to showrunner on CBS’s The Good Place — an audacious sitcom that blends sketch comedy and moral philosophy.
Recently, Mike sat down on the Tim Ferriss Podcast to discuss his career and new book How to be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question. The interview includes Schur’s thoughts on comedy, philosophy, and lessons learned as a writer.
Here are 5 bits of writing wisdom from the interview.
Show Tough Love To Your Work
Fresh out of college, Michael Schur landed a dream job writing for Saturday Night Live. While exciting for the young writer, he describes the experience as a “gauntlet of fire”.
The show’s strict weekly format forced the staff to hatch sketch ideas and ruthlessly pare them down for the camera.
“You generally have about four minutes to do whatever you’re going to do. You’re talking about four minutes, and so you write a sketch…
