MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Jay Williams

An interview with screenwriter Jay Williams regarding the Writers Network Screenplay & Fiction Competition Writing Competition.

A: THE SPARTAN

A: It promised a lot, and it's run by Fade In Magazine, so I assumed that gave it some extra credibility.

A: I was very disappointed. My prize winnings were twice claimed to be lost in the mail, and the check finally arrived almost exactly one year after the win. My real frustration, was their near lack of communication--that was the worst of insults--and their not following through with the promise of representation.

(If this is how Fade In treats the winners, what do they do to those that don't win?--go over to their house and beat the crap out of them with a club?!)

The great thing about the first place, however is that they gave me detailed notes on the winning script, and also on a second one, and that helped me make them both better. But I would otherwise recommend against the Fade In contests. There are better contests out there.

A: It took me forever! At least three years (but then I have a very poor work ethic.) And yes, I did several outlines before hand; I used every technique ever proposed by any writer ever to find the story!

After I had a good solid first draft (which was really maybe draft four or five if I was to count) I sent it off to Robert Flaxman of Deep feedback and after his extensive help I knew I had a script that was really good. (It was crap before.) He should have almost gotten a co-writing credit after his help!

A: I use Movie Magic and have from the beginning. I also have Dramatica but I still haven't mastered it enough for it to help.

A: I try to write five days a week and my goal is always four hours per session, but I'm usually relieved if I've even managed a couple. Sometimes though I'll get on a tear and crank out six or eight hours staight. But not often enough. A lot of times I go several days--even weeks-- without managing anything. (I think I like the thought of writing more than the act itself;) I'm going to turn this around though.

A: I often do. I'm a perfectionist and I think that's helpful in doing good work, but it's murder on productivity. It's something I'm working on all the time.

I deal with it by steeping myself in strong coffee and the music of Gloria Estefan and Michael McDonald, but that only helps so far.

A: I've spent a lot of years in real estate, writing a lot of ad copy (was no help) and have completed my fourth project this month, a comedy called SELLING SEATTLE that I think will do really well. I've also written a sit com pilot that was once optioned, and then my first script, SEMPER FI, which was a semi-finalist at the Nicholl Fellowships.

That's when the phone really rang off the hook! To even advance to the quarter-finals at Nicholl gets you lots of attention--it's the greatest contest of them all by far. I'm in awe of the people who can actually win that!

A: No, and I don't plan to. I live up in Spokane, so it's only a short flight to get there anytime I need to get there.

A: I'm trying to find my next story--I've got lots of ideas, like a comedy of a couple of guys trying to break into Mexico to find work, or the story of the boxer Sugar Ramos, who had to live with the death of two men he killed in the ring. I think I may write them both at the same time, but I'm not sure on anything yet.

God bless to you all, and happy writing!

Posted Wednesday, October 27, 2010