We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Danielle Iman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Danielle, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

First, I think it’s important to note that I believe success is a subjective notion. It looks different for everyone, and I believe if someone is on the journey to be successful, it may help to understand how you define success for yourself. For me, I believe being successful requires a few habits. The first is to constantly be in a state of learning. Absorb everything, be curious, and always maintain the capacity and bandwidth to expand your knowledge. Travel, read, watch, taste, explore, experience. That way, you leave room for growth and growth is how you evolve into a better, more refined, more educated version of yourself. The second habit is to work your ass off. Be relentless in your pursuit so that you leave no stone unturned, and no opportunity wasted. Put in so much effort that you have no regrets about the journey you’ve undergone and the outcome. The third habit is to absolutely love what you do. Make sure it fulfills you in a way that makes you feel incomplete without it. The more passion you have for what you want to do or who you want to be makes the grind feel less of a grind. The last habit is simple: be a nice person. Treat others the way you’d want them to treat you. Carry yourself with grace, dignity, and leave an imprint on others that will create a legacy you can be proud of.

Danielle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m from Alexandria, Virginia. I was raised by a clan of bold, artistic, and driven women who fully embraced every ounce of my tomboyish-ness and supported all of my interests, which were a ton! As a kid I was into everything. I loved writing, I played five different instruments, and had a serious addiction to watching TV and movies. I was very driven by the arts, but I was also drawn to sports. I duel sported in basketball and track and field and eventually earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Virginia, after which, I moved to Atlanta after accepting a position as a Production Assistant intern for Fox Sports South. While there, I became a freelance editor for NBA TV and honed my craft as a video editor. I loved working in post-production and still edit on the side today, but I knew I had stories of my own that I wanted to tell. So, I merged my love of storytelling with my love of TV and film. The more I wrote, the more I learned, and the more I loved being a writer. From that point on, I never looked back.

I made the move to LA after I was accepted into USC’s John Wells Division of Writing for Screen and Television MFA program. After graduating, I worked as a Writers’ PA on Grey’s Anatomy, a WGA Writers Trainee for Swagger (Apple TV+) and was selected as a fellow for the 2019 HBO Access Writing Fellowship. Since then, I’ve written for shows like Marvel’s Moon Knight (Disney+), Panhandle (Roku), Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (Max) and Riverdale (CW). I’ve also written a Lifetime feature called Caught In His Web, which was executive produced by Whoopi Goldberg. It’s been a challenging time for writers who’ve just gone 148 days on strike, but fortunately once we return to work, I will be writing for season two of Alert: Missing Persons Unit on Fox.

Even with all its ups and downs, this entire journey has been greater than I could’ve ever imagined. I learned so much and met so many unique artists who are now my close colleagues and friends. I think I’m most proud of establishing myself as well as I have in an industry that’s already so difficult to break into, especially for people of color. I’m proud that I was able to use my life experiences as meaningful inspiration for my work and my perspective as a writer. Mostly, I’m proud of the original projects I have written or come up with, and I’m very much looking forward to sharing them with the world one day. It’s been a crazy, amazing, adventure thus far and honestly, I can’t get enough.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Ever since I was young, my favorite movies and shows were ones that featured characters who looked like me or shared perspectives that mirrored my own. These innovative and beautiful works of art were lifechanging to see and left a lasting impression on me. So even before writing became my career path, I understood how much influence TV and film had. Now as a writer, it’s always been my mission to create stories with women of color and people of color at the forefront of narratives where we may not usually see them driving the story. It’s so important to be able to see yourself reflected on screen, and if I can play a role in setting that standard, I will. I’ve always craved to see more women of color in untraditional, dynamic, and fresh ways that expand our world and culture. So now that I have the opportunity to do so, I truly feel like I am filling a void that I’ve had as a viewer, but also creating narratives that are just dope, original, unique, and fun!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

So much of being a writer has rewarding moments. Since I can’t choose just one, I will pick my top three. What many people don’t understand about this industry is how hard it is to get something sold, produced, and seen by the world. There are so many steps a project must go through before it’s released to the world in its final form. Therefore, whenever something I’ve written actually gets made, I take that as a huge win. To see your words, characters, and storylines come to life on screen is a remarkable feeling that I can’t quite put into words. So, having your own work produced, whether it’s self-produced or not, is easily one of the most rewarding aspects of being a writer.

Another very rewarding aspect of being a writer is having the ability to work with the most interesting, creative, and talented people in the entertainment industry. So much of what I do requires collaboration, and because of that, I’m constantly meeting people who teach me new things or share their unique perspective on the work we create. Conversing, creating, and rubbing elbows with so many fascinating people challenges me to be a better writer and producer. The best part is that many of these artists have become my mentors or closest friends in the industry.

The third most rewarding aspect of writing comes when strangers, family, or friends are positively impacted by something you had a hand in creating. Knowing that your work could be entertaining while also having an emotional or cultural impact is the greatest honor. It makes me want to be better, but also makes me feel like I’m contributing to something greater than myself. It’s immensely gratifying and rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.danielleiman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamdanielleiman/?hl=en