The year was 2005 and I had made my way to Los Angeles for the Screenwriting Expo and loads of screen themed fun. The highlight of the event was taking this class from the man Tim Minear, the force behind Angel, Wonderfalls, and oh yes, American Horror Story. Long story short: we got to ask questions, and mine – “what do you look for in a writer?” – got picked up by the YouTube:

Highlights of his answer included:

• TV writing is thought of as so comeptitive
• Yet all he looks for is A GREAT SPEC SCRIPT
• Ben Edlund nailed the pitch by going totally outside the box
• Craig Silverstein (from The Inside and a bunch of other stuff) is the man

Short story long: the class was called “Breaking In” and was just like being in the Writer’s Room where you got to pitch your ideas for an episode of “Angel.” Tim seemed to prefer the ideas that were unpredictable, off the wall, and that would be perfect for the insanity of AHS.

I also got to meet his right hand man, John, who was super cool and helpful with the writing tips.

Here’s an interesting little fact: You can see my head back when I had blond highlights as I shifted in my massively uncomfy heels!

Lilia Fabry is the author of Ordinance 93, a novel set in a world where having a baby without permission is against the law and the first four people to break it. She also writes about everything from reaction injection molding to low fat recipes while indulging her need for creative outlets including novels and screenplays. Find out more on Twitter.