Joss Whedon is Brilliant

And I'm not just saying that as an adoring fanboy who owns all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, all five seasons of Angel, the one tragically short season of Firefly and the Lazarus-like Serenity (a movie based on the too-soon-cancelled TV show Firefly) on DVD. I'm saying that as a fanboy, English teacher, and as-yet-amateur-but-someday-professional writer who listens with rapt attention when Joss Whedon pontificates about the process and art of telling a story. OK, so, by his own admission, Whedon isn't so great at "sensitive family drama." He is a creature of genre. But the man knows how to put a story together. Almost every audio commentary he has ever done--for Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and Serenity--is a veritable list of best practices for storytelling. And he drops some more pearls of wisdom in this interview by Marvel Comics scribe Brian Bendis for Wizard, the comic industry magazine.

Sure, much of what Whedon and Bendis discuss will fly right over the heads on non-Whedonphiles, but still, the moments when Whedon talks about writing should speak to anyone who has ever put pen to paper.