by Trevor Mayes | Jun 12, 2010 | Scenes, Writing |
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. *** The Mixed Martial Arts Screenwriter Mixed martial arts (MMA) is one of the world’s...
by Trevor Mayes | May 18, 2010 | Scenes, Writing |
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...
by Trevor Mayes | Apr 13, 2010 | Scenes, Style, Writing |
Short And Sweet I’m fortunate enough to have two friends named Donna. Curiously, they both share a trait: they get straight to the point — no padded sentences or beating around the bush. I love it. You always know where you stand and it saves a ton of...
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by Trevor Mayes | Mar 10, 2010 | Diversions, Scenes, Writing |
The Wow Factor Want to know a surefire way to impress someone reading your script? Surprise them! That doesn’t mean coming up with a twist ending. That means ensuring there are surprises in every scene. Yes, EVERY scene. Surprises can take on many forms: Actions...
by Trevor Mayes | Nov 17, 2009 | Humor, Scenes, Style |
There’s a real joy that comes with learning an inside trick of the trade. In film school, one of the first such screenwriting secrets I remember learning was that funny things are made ten times funnier by showing reactions to them — reaction shots1. Show...
by Trevor Mayes | Nov 6, 2009 | Characters, Dialogue, Scenes, Style |
There’s an old adage in screenwriting — show, don’t tell. If there’s a key character trait, event, or setting that the audience needs to know about, provide that information visually. Why? Humans are visual — we learn things more quickly...
