There’s a UFC event tonight, so I thought it would be appropriate if I posted the following article I recently wrote for the Scriptwriters Network June newsletter.

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The Mixed Martial Arts Screenwriter

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is one of the world’s fastest growing sports. As the “mixed” part of the name implies, athletes must integrate and excel at a variety of combat disciplines — from kickboxing to wrestling to jiu-jitsu.

That’s similar to screenwriters, who must hone a variety of skills from structure to style to dialogue. Indeed, to be successful in Hollywood, screenwriters have to create scenes that rise above their competition.

As a passionate screenwriter and mixed martial arts practitioner, I can tell you there are a number of lessons that can be learned from MMA to elevate your screenwriting game and make your scenes leap off the page like a flying side-kick.

If you think of your scenes as “fights” between characters — where each character wants to win (i.e. achieve their goal for the scene), your scenes will be much more powerful.

Add Conflict

When fighters don’t engage each other, they usually receive a chorus of boos from the crowd. The screenwriting equivalent is that your readers get bored, skim pages or stop reading your script.

A surefire remedy to keep them interested, is to up the conflict. That doesn’t mean throwing a fight into every scene, it means adding a realized (or threatened) element of verbal or physical “combat.”

Take this scene:

Kinda boring, right? But if we add some simple conflict?

More interesting now right? A little bit of conflict or tension goes a long way.

A Different Agenda

Quite often you’ll see a classic striker versus grappler match. The striker wants to keep the fight standing, while the grappler wants to take the fight to the ground.

Giving the characters in your scene, two different agendas, can make your scenes more engaging.

Avoidance

There’s a UFC fighter named Lyoto Machida. Until recently he had not only won every single fight he had ever been in — he had won every single round! That’s quite an achievement. He did it by avoiding his opponents.

One way to add tension to your scenes is to have one of your characters try to avoid the “attack” (i.e. agenda) of another character. If one character is trying to set something up and the other character isn’t biting, it makes the scene more interesting.

Actions Not Words

In MMA there’s always a lot of trash talking before the fight (and often during the fight). But when the cage door closes, actions speak louder than words.

Try going through your scenes to see if any of them would be stronger if one or all of the characters simply let his actions do the talking.

Tap Out

Let’s review these screenwriting mixed martial arts lessons for improving your scenes:

• Add Conflict
  Find a way to add conflict to your scenes and you’ll engage the “crowd.”
• A Different Agenda
  Give your characters different agendas in your scenes, to ratchet up the tension and interest.
• Avoidance
  Have one of your characters completely avoid or ignore another character’s attempts accomplish something in the scene.
• Actions Not Words
  Sometimes the most powerful statements aren’t made with words.

Hone your full set of screenwriting skills, have your characters fight to “win” each scene, and your script may be in fighting shape to win you a contract.

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The Scriptwriters Network, founded in 1986, is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization created by writers for writers and industry professionals.  The Network serves its members by enhancing their awareness of the realities of the business, providing access and opportunity through alliances with industry professionals, and furthering the cause and quality of writing in the entertainment industry.

For more information, please visit their website.

Some movies are unstoppable

I’m not talking about runaway box office successes. I’m talking about those movies that can hold your rapt attention in every scene until the closing credits — whether you want them to or not.

Sometimes I’ll flip channels late at night, just to “quickly” see what talk show guests are on. Inevitably, I’ll stumble across one of my favorite movies.

That’s when the fight begins; the fight to stop watching.

I’ll keep telling myself, “The TV goes off at the next commercial.” After all, I already know what happens. And I really need to get some sleep. I’ll just watch one more sequence.

Then of course when the closing credits roll, I stagger to bed, bleary-eyed, in the wee hours of the morning.

The movie was literally unstoppable.

Is your screenplay like that?

Here are some questions you need to ask yourself about each and every one of your script’s scenes.

Does it…

• … flow from the previous scene?
• … address a specific goal of the main character?
• … contain an inherent question as to what will happen?
• … drive the plot forward?
• … support the theme of your movie?
• … handle any exposition in an organic, succinct and engaging manner?
• … surprise the reader in some way?
• … show the reader something they’ve never seen before (or in a way they’ve never seen it)?
• … contain tension, conflict or humor?
• … have high enough stakes?
• … make the reader feel something? (Fear? Joy? Anger? Sadness? Compassion? Curiosity?)
• … end on a button? (A punchline? An intriguing question? A powerful moment?)
• … flow into the next scene?

There’s no such thing as a throwaway scene in a great script or movie. Make every one count, and your script will be unstoppable.

What are some movies that you find are unstoppable?

For me it’s The Shawshank Redemption, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Usual Suspects, The Matrix, Aliens, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, The Incredibles, The good, the bad and the ugly, and for some damn reason — Kung Fu Panda. If I tune in at any point in any of those movies, I’m stuck watching until the end.

See if you can stop watching this scene from The good, the bad and the ugly halfway through?