20 QUESTIONS with JASON TRACEY
Twenty things you (probably) didn’t know about Elementary writer/producer, Jason Tracey
1. My first job was… T-ball umpire. I was 11 and I looked 8. Didn’t stop some parents from yelling at me.
2. If I wasn’t a writer, I would likely be… looking for a job in an NBA front office.
3. I collect… Pez dispensers and books.
4. My favorite word is… Festooned.
5. I’m a big fan of… Ryan Adams, Tina Fey, and steak.
6. The single best piece of (writing related) advice I have ever gotten… You don’t have to be your own toughest critic, but you’ve got to be in the top 5.
7. I have always wanted to… dunk.
8. The best thing I have ever read, (but did not write) is… probably Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.
9. People often tell me that I… forgot to empty the dishwasher last night.
10. I really think that my best work (published or not) is… Original Gangster, a pilot I’m working on.
11. I find inspiration in… music, most reliably. But inspiration isn’t hard to come by. It’s everywhere. Motivation is the trickier ingredient.
12. The best thing about being a professional writer is… it’s never boring. If it’s boring, you have only yourself to blame.
13. I spend way too much time… reading comments online. I spend very little time doing it, but any time spent reading comments is way too much.
14. The most interesting person in my cell phone is… President Barack Obama. (I just put the White House telephone number in my phone so I could avoid answering this question and offending all but one of my friends and family.)
15. It really bothers me when… people dodge the tough questions. Man up, you know?
16. The worst thing about being a professional writer is… Deadlines. Especially arbitrary deadlines.
17. One mistake that most aspiring writers make is… Undervaluing scene description. It’s true that dialogue is what most readers focus on, but well crafted scene description is such an easy way to set your script apart from the rest of the pile. Be concise, be evocative, and ape the style of your favorite screenwriter.
18. If I knew the apocalypse were coming in 24 hours, I’d… Hang around the house with my wife and kids. We don’t have big plans for the apocalypse.
19. The three websites I visit most often are… ESPN, Google, Liartownusa
20. You’d be surprised to know that I… Isn’t all of this coming as a surprise? Nobody knows who I am.
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