Jesse Armstrong on the “Magical” Collaborative Process of Writing ‘Succession‘
Jesse Armstrong, the creator of the critically acclaimed HBO series Succession, has spoken about the intense and frequently enough self-doubt-filled process of writing the show. In a recent interview on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Armstrong described the collaborative writing experience as feeling “like you’re walking on the moon.”
he explained how a strong writing team can unlock creativity, stating, “You’re suddenly released from the thing that could take you a week to figure out at your desk on your own.” He continued, “You’re suddenly bounding around and picking up rocks and everything’s veined with gold and it’s like you can have these golden moments of the ideas coming from everyone and you’re all on the same wavelength and it can feel quite magical.”
Despite the benefits of collaboration, Armstrong acknowledged the challenges of writing alone, particularly when facing creative blocks. “You can get really good days and hours working writing alone, but when it’s not working and you feel you’re not going to equal the best version of the thing you’re trying to make, I woudl find that very, very difficult,” he said.
He also discussed the pitfalls of relying on past successes, noting that the comforting thought of “it’ll be all right as you’ve done it before” can actually hinder progress. Armstrong emphasized the hidden struggle behind perceived success, stating, “You don’t know how possible it is indeed for me to be a really bad writer as you don’t see all these drafts where it’s really bad.”
Succession, which aired from 2018 to 2023, garnered important critical acclaim, winning 19 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, and nine Golden Globe Awards.
Despite this success, Armstrong admitted to experiencing impostor syndrome. He noted that most good writers he knows are plagued by self-doubt and uncertainty about the quality of their work. “I think you go in maybe with this 70% feeling that it’s like: ‘Oh,this is going to be a disaster and I’m going to be exposed as the fraud I always thought I was all along’,” he explained.
However, he also emphasized the importance of maintaining a small degree of confidence – “10 to 20%, if you’re lucky, 30%” – that the work has the potential to be great.Armstrong believes that this belief, coupled with the understanding that negative feelings aren’t necessarily true, is crucial for navigating the challenges of writing.
The full interview with Jesse Armstrong is available on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4.
Worth a look