>> When you're in a writing room -- and I imagine it's this way on drama series,
although I've only written outside scripts for dramas.
But yeah, in a sitcom writing room, you come in at the beginning of the school year with ideas.
Sometimes you've got big, broad goals for the characters.
You know, like when we were doing the last year of Murphy Brown, we knew that she was --
we were going to give Murphy breast cancer, and that was going to have an impact on her life.
"Will and Grace", the last year, we knew we had to tie things up.
Other shows, you just -- you either try to come up with an arc, or sometimes, you don't.
Sometimes you have to go where the character leads you.
So, everybody brings in ideas.
You pitch around what would -- and you try to be as real as possible.
You never go, "What, you know, what would be a funny, weird thing to do?"
You say, "What would they do?"
And if created, or characters have been created, who are real enough, you can come up with stuff.
Everybody brings their own lives.
My poor husband has been the subject of more sitcoms, because he's material.
Everything is material.
I guarantee you that on Modern Family everything that happens between Phil
and Claire has happened to one of those writers -- I promise you that --
or to their kids or to, you know, Jay and Gloria, whoever.
You have to use your life.
And it's just a matter of knowing the absurdity of what you're going through
or what you went through as a kid.