Goffman himself graduated from Emory College, but spent a semester at Harvard and later returned for a degree from the Kennedy School of Government.

Many students, hoping for a similar path to writing success, asked Goffman’s advice on the right way to put together scripts for getting a job as a writer in Hollywood. “Write as many spec scripts as you can,” Goffman advised, also emphasizing the need to constantly be thinking of new ideas.

“When you’re writing a spec script, you want to follow the basic structure of a well known show, but add some twist and excitement,” he said. “It’s a little like pornography because you have to have that excitement on the page.”

Goffman cautioned that getting a writer’s job in Hollywood is difficult: writers need to get an agent or be selected out of the thousands of candidates to partake in a workshop program held by one of the networks. “Most writers are lucky to even get two years on a show because they’re cancelled so easily,” said Goffman. “I’ve been lucky with ‘The West Wing.’”

Mark Goffman seemed as articulate as his characters, especially when discussing the show’s ideals. “We’d like to think the president is always weighing what’s best for America, for the situation and for the administration, just as President Bartlet does,” said Goffman.

“We always try to do the best show we can,” he added. “This is one of the few shows on television to portray the aspirations and nobility of government work.”