I remember seeing Stand by Me, when I was around 12, and just feeling like, “This is so refreshing to see kids swear and smoke cigarettes like my friends.” It just felt much more real than the Sesame Street version of childhood that I’d been spoon-fed.
To try and imagine that I’m another person is always going to be hard – whether I’m writing about a truck driver or someone who is gay, who’s trans, who is of a different ethnicity or creed. But it would be boring if I always had to write about myself and my limited viewpoint.
The longer I’ve been writing scripts, the more I find that you have to give the artist more leeway or else you’ll just be disappointed. You can’t force them to draw every image that’s in your head.
I’m 40 now, and I have children of my own. Before I forget my own childhood completely, I want to take some time to take a look at the ’80s and think back.
After 9/11, I knew I wanted to write about power and identity and the way Americans on all sides of the political spectrum often mythologize our leaders, which are themes that the superhero genre has always handled really well.
![Brian K. Vaughan Quote - We describe [Paper Girls] as Stand By Me meets Terminator.It’s a story about nostalgia and childhood, but with an action-packed, sci-fi bent.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/we-describe-paper-girls-as-stand-by-me-meets-termi.jpg)
