Kenya Barris jokes he only started writing screenplays because he was a “kid with asthma.” But in reality, storytelling found Barris because of his love for reading.

One of Barris’ first jobs was writing for The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show, followed by writing gigs on Soul Food, Girlfriends, Are We There Yet?, and America’s Next Top Model. But, he’s most known for creating Black-ish, Grown-ish, Mixed-ish, and #BlackAF.

On the road to selling Black-ish, Barris wrote and pitched about 19 different pilot episodes, with no success, but it taught him how to build worlds and how to create characters to inhabit those worlds.

In this interview, Barris discusses his undiscovered pilot Urbanity, how writers can mine from the lanes they know, why he prefers just talking over breaking story in the writer’s room, how narration can haunt you, and how to defend statements as a writer.

If you enjoyed this interview, look for the print version on Creative Screenwriting’s website, and join millions of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5