20 QUESTIONS with ADAM BEECHEN

Twenty things you (probably) didn’t know about Batman Beyond and Ben 10 scribe, Adam Beechen.

1.  My first job was… washing dishes in a Phoenix, Arizona pizza parlor.

2.  If I wasn’t a writer, I would likely be… washing dishes in a Phoenix,Arizona pizza parlor.  No, I’m not sure…I’d love to work at the Basketball Hall of Fame.

3.  I collect… original comic book art, and pro basketball memorabilia.

4.  My favorite word is… Zamboni.

5.  I’m a big fan of… concerts.  Sporting events.  The theater.  Events where you feel part of a community, all there for the same purpose.

6.  The single best piece of (writing related) advice I have ever gotten… don’t be precious about your writing.  Always serve the story and the characters.

7.  I have always wanted to… write a book about pro basketball in the 1970s.  Or be a playwright.

8.  The best thing I have ever read, (but did not write) is… there are so many to choose from…The plays of Martin McDonagh, Stephen King’s “The Body,” and “Lonesome Dove,” by Larry McMurtry.

9.  People often tell me that I… can be too sensitive and defensive.

10.  I really think that my best work (published or not) is… a ten-minute play about two arrogant scientists who are convinced they’ve transported themselves to another dimension, only to learn they’ve just blacked out their own lab.

11.  I find inspiration in… writing with energy behind it, that doesn’t feel formulaic, that stays one step ahead of me.

12.  The best thing about being a professional writer is… the wide variety of material on which I get to work, especially the properties I’ve loved since childhood.

13.  I spend way too much time… on the Internet, reading basketball and other sports history.

14.  The coolest person in my cell phone is… my wife (Awwww!).  And Harlan Ellison and Felicia Day.

15.  It really bothers me when… the Lakers beat my beloved Phoenix Suns.  Historically, that’s been pretty often.

16.  The worst thing about being a professional writer is… not always being able to work on properties I love so much as much as I would like.

17.  One mistake that most aspiring writers make is… not knowing how to take a note.  Be gracious.  Don’t respond with defensiveness or outrage immediately.  Take a while to digest it.  Then try to be objective about your work (It’s the hardest thing to do).  Even if you don’t agree with the note, something tripped your reader up.  Try to see the forest for the trees.

18.  If I knew the apocalypse were coming in 24 hours, I’d… tell the important people in my life how important they are to me.  I try to do that anyway, but I definitely don’t tell them often enough.

19.  The three websites I visit most often are… Facebook.com, azcentral.com/sports/suns/, grantland.com

20.  You’d be surprised to know that I… juggle when I get stuck on a script.  It calms me down and helps me organize my thoughts.

 

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