Guerrilla Tactics: Interview With Author & Screenwriter Max Adams
(December 10, 2012)
~ by Nancy Bilyeau
In the middle of attempting to write my first screenplay, I bought a paperback called The Screenwriter’s Survival Guide: Or, Guerrilla Meeting Tactics and Other Acts of War, by Max Adams. It was a fast, smart read, very funny, with an insider’s wisdom about how to get off the ground as a screenwriter.
Max, I learned, had won the two hottest screenwriting contests—the Nicholl Fellowship and Austin Film Festival—in the same year, sold a spec script for real money that made it onto the big screen, and scored a whole bunch of studio assignments. She also taught writing, and so when I saw her name in the faculty list for Gotham Writer’s Workshop online, I jumped.
Max has taught me an incredible amount on writing visually, creating characters and plotting. Before I took a swerve into fiction, I got pretty far with the Nicholl myself, reaching semi-finalist twice, and getting some producers to read my scripts. Who knows? Someday one of those stories could be at a movie screen near you.
Now Max is back with an updated version of her book The New Screenwriter’s Survival Guide. This is not one of those cases where the author wrote a few new paragraphs for the Introduction. Max overhauled her book, making it even more useful and on target. Chapters range from “What You Really Get Paid” to “Writer Speak Versus Mogul Speak.”
I chased her down–no easy feat–and persuaded her to submit to an interview on her new book. I’ve met Max in person as well as participated in her invite-only online workshops, and, well, Max has a conversational style like no other, one I wanted the blogosphere to experience. As you can see from this photo, she’s not shy. What you can’t see is she swears by killer shoes — :::continue reading:::
house of blues
May 31, 2011
10 years?
December 30, 2010
The Screenwriter’s Survival Guide;
Or, Guerrilla Meeting Tactics and Other Acts of War
2011 is the 10 year anniversary of the book’s publication. I do not know whether to yay or groan there, jeez, seriously, ten years? It does not seem like I OR the book can be that old. But —
It is good news for you. I am putting out a new revised edition late this year so am clearing the book hoard and that means a deal for you:
10 years | 10 bucks | Yay!
You still have to pay shipping, sorry the Post Office is just tiffy about paying postage so what can I do?
[If you are international we have to talk more about shipping.]
Still, it’s a pretty good deal for boxed first editions.
Grab ‘em while they last.
on visual writing
December 26, 2010
Readers are entirely dependent on you. There is no movie unless you put it on the page. So, you have, absolutely have, to give readers a visual.
This does not mean a map of the furniture layout in the protagonist’s room. This means an impression of the location.
Is the furniture out of Salvation Army or out of a French showroom? Does this location scream cash? Or last dime? What does the location tell you?
The three most important elements of location are, space, light, texture.
Consider these two examples:
INT. KITCHEN – DAY
The kitchen is ugly, small, cramped beyond thought, one small bare bulb overhead tries to illuminate the dirty linoleum floor and old Formica table without any help from windows.
INT. KITCHEN – DAY
The kitchen is huge, spacious, whoever lives here has more money than God. More than modern refrigerators with glass doors going on forever line the wall, frosty interiors illuminated by harsh artificial light….
Those are examples from yours truly just making up two very different kitchen locations on the fly. Notice how different the locations are using just three elements: Space. Light. Texture.
•Excerpted from the lecture series “On Visual Writing” by Max Adams
•Academy of Film Writing | Visual Writing
upcoming max classes
December 9, 2010
MASTER CLASSES IN SCREENWRITING ||
from screenwriter max adams
JANUARY2011
THE ART OF THE PITCH
ONLINE 6 week master class | the art of the pitch |
START DATE 01.11.11 || •this class is full || *next class 09.13.11
VISUAL WRITING
ONLINE 6 week master class | visual writing |
START DATE 01.11.11 || •now registering || open
MARCH2011
HIGH CONCEPT WRITING
ONLINE 6 week master class | high concept writing |
START DATE 03.15.11 || •now registering || open
CHARACTER WRITING
ONLINE 6 week master class | character writing |
START DATE 03.15.11 || •now registering || open
MAY2011
NON STATIC WRITING
ONLINE 6 week master class | non static writing |
START DATE 05.17.11 || •now registering || open
STRUCTURAL WRITING
ONLINE 6 week master class | structural writing |
START DATE 05.17.11 || •now registering || open
hollywood vs. mama
December 2, 2010
This is pretty entertaining. It is a satirical look at the PJ McIlvaine/20th Century Fox sitch and if you have missed that [how?] you can read up on it :::here:::
classes ahoy
February 16, 2010
There are —
Two new classes on the horizon: Non-Static Writing via SeeMaxRun starting March 9 and Accelerated Screenwriting: The Crash Course via PASIC starting June 1.
5150 has an open chair
January 31, 2010
There is a chair —
Open in the 5150 online screenwriting workshop founded and run by yours truly. Anyone interested should check the info at :::workshop::: read the entirety of the information and if interested, email yours truly.
I look forward to hearing from you.
*ps yes i know exactly what 5150 means thank you for writing me en masse [ahhh!] what else do you call a person with a talent and a pen except a danger to self & others now go use your inky powers for good instead of evil
where the art work comes from :
that is from the scattered image
the other place
April 13, 2009
It is odd —
The things that hit and take while writing.
Not writing.
Thinking.
This story is in my head but it is amorphous, a cloud, thoughts, images. And I walk through the world not here. I mean. One moment I am here. Shoving quarters into a laundry machine. But. Another. I am there. In another place.
That has no edges.
I am seeking the edges, the concreteness of the other place.
where the art work comes from :
that is from bmw photography
celluloid blonde 