--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With Milch fully in charge of the writing…" description: "\"“With Milch fully in charge of the writing process — or, in many cases, the rewriting process — it became all-consuming. When Milch and Lewis replaced ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/854/alan-sepinwall-43569_writing_with-milch-fully-in-charge-of-the-writin_3017076.jpg" --- # With Milch fully in charge of the writing process — or, in… ![“With Milch fully in charge of the writing process — or, in many cases, the rewriting process — it became all-consuming. When Milch and Lewis replaced Bochco on Hill Street, Milch had developed a working method that he would continue to use for the next several decades: he would lie on the floor of…” quote by Alan Sepinwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/854/alan-sepinwall-43569_writing_with-milch-fully-in-charge-of-the-writin_3017076.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/854/alan-sepinwall-43569_writing_with-milch-fully-in-charge-of-the-writin_3017076.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/854/alan-sepinwall-43569_writing_with-milch-fully-in-charge-of-the-writin_3017076.jpg) > ““With Milch fully in charge of the writing process — or, in many cases, the rewriting process — it became all-consuming. When Milch and Lewis replaced Bochco on Hill Street, Milch had developed a working method that he would continue to use for the next several decades: he would lie on the floor of the writers’ room (Milch has a bad back, which can make sitting for long periods difficult) while a typist scrolled through each script at his instruction; Milch made changes line by line, word by word. By the early days of NYPD Blue, it was understood that regardless of whose name was on the script, the bulk of the words — and, almost as importantly, their order— came from Milch.”” [Alan Sepinwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sepinwall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Milch’s hands‑on, line‑by‑line revision method dominated the writing process, making his voice the primary source of dialogue and structure. **In simple terms:** Milch controlled script wording and order. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of a dominant creative voice. Themes authorship collaboration process control writing Mood intense reflective critical Type analytical observational When to use this quote - TV writers’ rooms - showrunning - script editing - creative leadership Key Concepts script revision authorial dominance creative workflow Questions to Reflect On - How does a single dominant voice affect a team’s creativity? - What balance is needed between guidance and collaboration? A Different Perspective Such intensive control can stifle other writers’ contributions and limit diverse perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-process/) ## Related quotes > [My writing is a process of rewriting, of going back and changing and filling in. in the rewriting process you discover what's going on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-writing-is-a-process-of-rewriting-of-going-back-and-changing-and/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [My writing process is very feedback-based. When I do stand-up, I listen to the audience. I try to understand what's connecting, what's not connecting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/my-writing-process-is-very-feedback-based-when-i-do-stand-up-i-listen/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [“Sometimes we don't know where we are going until we get there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-simon-gunn/sometimes-we-don-t-know-where-we-are-going-until-we-get-there/) [Jacqueline Simon Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-simon-gunn/) > [“Q: Do you have any advice for upcoming writers who want to pen weird stories? A: READ, damn it. Fill your brain to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-grau/q-do-you-have-any-advice-for-upcoming-writers-who-want-to-pen-weird/) T.E. Grau > [When the writing is good, a book becomes a mirror. The reader will see an uncanny familiarity and respond accordingly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-knox/when-the-writing-is-good-a-book-becomes-a-mirror-the-reader-will-see/) Jen Knox > [“I wrote the last sentence of The Patron Saint of Liars in early April and stumbled out of my apartment and into the beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-wrote-the-last-sentence-of-the-patron-saint-of-liars-in-early-april/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“The writer’s life requires courage, patience, empathy, openness. It requires the ability to be alone with oneself. Gentle with oneself. To be disciplined, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dani-shapiro/the-writer-s-life-requires-courage-patience-empathy-openness-it/) [Dani Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dani-shapiro/) > [Enter the writing process with a childlike sense of wonder and discovery. Let it surprise you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ghigna/enter-the-writing-process-with-a-childlike-sense-of-wonder-and/) [Charles Ghigna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ghigna/) > [“I know it's difficult in the beginning. But, listen. If you have the impulse to write, do yourself a favor, do the world a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-hall/i-know-it-s-difficult-in-the-beginning-but-listen-if-you-have-the/) [Christy Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-hall/) > [In a lot of senses, things are definitely changing in my life, and with what's going on around me. But I still feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-olsen/in-a-lot-of-senses-things-are-definitely-changing-in-my-life-and-with/) [Angel Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angel-olsen/) > [“You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-can-always-edit-a-bad-page-you-can-t-edit-a-blank-page/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The sooner you finish procrastinating, the sooner you can get back to your art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-lennox/the-sooner-you-finish-procrastinating-the-sooner-you-can-get-back-to/) [Stephanie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-lennox/) > [If we were truly in the studio making a record, it would have been more time consuming, and certainly I would have been more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-dayne/if-we-were-truly-in-the-studio-making-a-record-it-would-have-been/) [Taylor Dayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-dayne/) > [But for any writer worthy of the name there are moments during the writing process when the rest of the planet might as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-lenhart/but-for-any-writer-worthy-of-the-name-there-are-moments-during-the/) Maria Lenhart ## More by Alan Sepinwall > [“Milch had a bigger cast, a bigger set (on the Melody Ranch studio, where Gene Autry had filmed very different Westerns decades earlier), and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sepinwall/milch-had-a-bigger-cast-a-bigger-set-on-the-melody-ranch-studio-where/) [Alan Sepinwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sepinwall/) > [“In that season’s finale, Milch wanted Sipowicz — who by this point had suffered the deaths of his eldest son, his partner Bobby, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sepinwall/in-that-season-s-finale-milch-wanted-sipowicz-who-by-this-point-had/) [Alan Sepinwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sepinwall/) > [“We’d been going home with television every night for years, but suddenly we had reason to respect it in the morning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sepinwall/we-d-been-going-home-with-television-every-night-for-years-but/) [Alan Sepinwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sepinwall/) > [It's become almost a cliche at this point that movies in the general sense are the place you go for superheroes and explosions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sepinwall/it-s-become-almost-a-cliche-at-this-point-that-movies-in-the-general/) [Alan Sepinwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sepinwall/) > [“Don hits rock bottom in the series’ finest hour, “The Suitcase,” which is essentially a two-character play about Don and Peggy stuck in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sepinwall/don-hits-rock-bottom-in-the-series-finest-hour-the-suitcase-which-is/) [Alan Sepinwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sepinwall/) > [The closer you get to what's happening in TV now and the ways it's evolving, the more danger you get into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sepinwall/the-closer-you-get-to-what-s-happening-in-tv-now-and-the-ways-it-s/) [Alan Sepinwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sepinwall/) > [When I watch medical shows or other shows where characters die, it kind of bums me out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sepinwall/when-i-watch-medical-shows-or-other-shows-where-characters-die-it/) [Alan Sepinwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sepinwall/) > [“Once upon a time, mystery fans had to solve puzzles on their own; now, you not only didn’t need to be the one to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sepinwall/once-upon-a-time-mystery-fans-had-to-solve-puzzles-on-their-own-now/) [Alan Sepinwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sepinwall/) [Explore all 9 Alan Sepinwall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sepinwall/) ## More Writing quotes > [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/) [John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The love religion is all that is written here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-love-religion-is-all-that-is-written-here/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I would drink gallons of coffee a day. Even now, off caffeine, I talk faster than anyone you've ever met. I finally recognized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-would-drink-gallons-of-coffee-a-day-even-now-off-caffeine-i-talk/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Regardless of the criticisms I receive from the left, the right and the middle, I think it's important to maintain a prolific writing jab,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/regardless-of-the-criticisms-i-receive-from-the-left-the-right-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it's addressed to someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-of-us-can-read-the-writing-on-the-wall-we-just-assume-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [If I don't know who I'm writing for, I make it up and pick somebody I'm writing for. That's really the only way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-mazin/if-i-don-t-know-who-i-m-writing-for-i-make-it-up-and-pick-somebody-i/) [Craig Mazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-mazin/) > [“The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goins/the-writer-must-earn-money-in-order-to-be-able-to-live-and-to-write/) [Jeff Goins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goins/) [Browse all 64,355 Writing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“With Milch fully in charge of the writing process — or, in many cases, the rewriting process — it became all-consuming. When Milch and Lewis replaced Bochco on Hill Street, Milch had developed a working method that he would continue to use for the next several decades: he would lie on the floor of the writers’ room (Milch has a bad back, which can make sitting for long periods difficult) while a typist scrolled through each script at his instruction; Milch made changes line by line, word by word. By the early days of NYPD Blue, it was understood that regardless of whose name was on the script, the bulk of the words — and, almost as importantly, their order— came from Milch.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Sepinwall" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sepinwall/with-milch-fully-in-charge-of-the-writing-process-or-in-many-cases/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Writing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sepinwall/with-milch-fully-in-charge-of-the-writing-process-or-in-many-cases/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/854/alan-sepinwall-43569_writing_with-milch-fully-in-charge-of-the-writin_3017076.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/854/alan-sepinwall-43569_writing_with-milch-fully-in-charge-of-the-writin_3017076.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/854/alan-sepinwall-43569_writing_with-milch-fully-in-charge-of-the-writin_3017076.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“With Milch fully in charge of the writing process — or, in many cases, the rewriting process — it became…” — Alan Sepinwall", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Sepinwall", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sepinwall/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“With Milch fully in charge of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sepinwall/with-milch-fully-in-charge-of-the-writing-process-or-in-many-cases/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sepinwall/with-milch-fully-in-charge-of-the-writing-process-or-in-many-cases/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```