LAB: THE PACING LAB A Two Hour Lab with Screenwriter Max Adams: LAB SUBJECT: The Pacing Lab LAB DATES: 09.17.22 LAB TIME: 8 PM EST *TIME HAS CHANGED TO 10 PM ET LAB FEE: $59.00 || LAB LOCATION: The is an online Zoom lab :::SIGN UP FOR SEPTEMBER LAB::: Schedule:...
GIFTS! Zoom Screenwriting labs with screenwriter & author Max Adams The Logline Zoom Lab With Max Adams The LookBook Zoom Lab With Max Adams REDEEM YOUR LAB OR CLASS GIFT Name Email Address Who gifted you the lab or class? Which lab or class (and lab or class date...
LAB: THE LOOKBOOK LAB A Two Hour Lab with Screenwriter Max Adams: LAB SUBJECT: The Lookbook LAB DATES: 11.19.22 LAB TIME: 8 PM EST LAB FEE: $59.00 || LAB LOCATION: The is an online Zoom lab :::SIGN UP FOR NOVEMBER LAB::: Schedule: FIRST HOUR: 45 Minute...
THE SCREENWRITER’S LOOKBOOK The key word in “lookbook” is “look.” For an artist (“artist” means you, writers) that means something someone may look at that conveys a sense of the film. Imagery, tone, big story moments that will be powerful on a screen — the...
It’s The Concept, Stupid “Most aspiring screenwriters simply don’t spend enough time choosing their concept. It’s by far the most common mistake I see in spec scripts. The writer has lost the race right from the gate. Months — sometimes years — are lost trying...
Passive VOICE PASSIVE VOICE — I get into trouble sometimes with students. I will tell a student something doesn’t work. The student will say, “Gotcha.” I will think all is well — Till the next time I see the student’s writing and the student will still be doing what I...
HIGH CONCEPT WRITING: THE CRICHTON MODEL HIGH CONCEPT WRITING: THE CRICHTON MODEL If there is one writer who regularly nailed high concept [and did it over and over again] it was Michael Crichton. Crichton was one of the first writers to write a story about a...
The Logline; Or, Contortions of the Modern Day Screenwriter THE LOGLINE; OR, CONTORTIONS OF THE MODERN DAY SCREENWRITER So I am talking to my students about pitching. And I’m talking about pulling information for a short one liner describing story. And someone...
A Rose by Any Other Name A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME — One of my most consistent comments on scripts is, I have difficulty differentiating between characters because characters have similar names. Listen. Character names have jobs. One job is to create an...
One Script ONE SCRIPT — At the AEB one year anniversary bash I was a guest speaker (thank you for inviting me AEB I had a great time) and there was a question and answer session after the talk and one question stands out to me. A woman said she got advice to write a...
Talking Heads TALKING HEADS — Talking heads is a term that, as I was told in the film school trenches, relates back to the early days of television when news was delivered by a solitary news announcer sitting behind a desk reading news reports to the camera off a...
LAB: THE LOGLINE LAB A Two Hour Lab with Screenwriter Max Adams: LAB SUBJECT: The Logline LAB DATES: 11.05.22 LAB TIME: 8 PM EST LAB FEE: $59.00 || LAB LOCATION: The is an online Zoom lab :::REGISTER FOR THE NOVEMBER LAB::: Schedule: FIRST HOUR: 45 Minute...
DISCOMFORT DISCOMFORT — I really enjoy Mark Wildman’s clips and I’ve always believed this particular clip, about becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable, has a lot of carry over into writing. Writing’s not easy. Not the kind of writing we’re doing at any rate,...
GOAL VS TASK GOAL VS TASK One thing to keep in mind plotting a story is that there is a difference between a primary story goal and tasks protagonists undertake to achieve the primary story goal. For example, looking at the film The Blues Brothers, (1980 starring Dan...
FIVE KICK ASS FEMALE CHARACTER INTRODUCTIONS DANCES WITH WOLVES, MICHAEL BLAKE EXT. INDIAN CAMP – DUSK Several travois are parked in a clearing. It’s a scene of terrible woe. On the travois are dead bodies. Women members of several families are grieving as they...
SOUTH PARK WRITERS SHARE THEIR WRITING RULE #1 SOUTH PARK WRITERS SHARE THEIR WRITING RULE #1 This is a great presentation from South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker on plotting using the key words “but” and “therefore.” It’s brilliant. Watch it....
RETURN OF THE SCREENWRITER’S UNIFORM The original screenwriter’s uniform blog post is lost in the interwebs somewhere (how does this happen?) but it keeps coming up in conversation. (Also, according to fashion experts, white sneakers are back! Whoah. Did not see...
RECOMMENDED SCREENWRITING BOOKS Screenwriting books you should have — A Martian Wouldn’t Say That ~ Leonard B. Stern Adventures in the Screen Trade ~ William Goldman Conversations With My Agent ~ Rob Long Creating Unforgettable Characters ~ Linda Seger...
ACTOR BAIT There’s a great anecdote in the book “Your Screenplay Sucks: 100 Ways to Make It Great.” It’s the year 2000 and William Akers, the author, is standing in line at a movie theater to see Finding Forrester. Two guys are in front of him and one says, “What’s it...
