UPDATE

My writing has slowed down significantly lately. Maybe it's due to the covid lock downs. Maybe it's because of my new understanding of the story and character structure in movies and screenplays. It's forcing me to take 3 steps back before taking 1 step forward. Nevertheless my understanding is reaching critical levels that will propel me to a higher and more professional standard.

Moving forward, I will be adopting a new paradigm that I will term as the Storyteller's UNIFIED STORY THEOREM. It will help answers that have plagued not just me but all aspiring writers. I'm going back to fundamentals and breaking it all down to see how it all works. How do you design a character flaw? What is the villain's goal? How to work through the dreaded 2nd half of Act 2? How to weave your subplots in with your main plot and make them complement each other? How do you design your secondary cast (mentors, allies, rivals, antagonists etc.) around the protagonists? How do you add subtext to dialogue? etc. I believe each stage can be represented graphically with a design template.

My ultimate, lofty goal is to design a writing process that is almost like a major car factory assembly line mixed with Pixar. Get an idea, put it through the rigorous design and assembly process, and out comes a quality ideas vehicle. Sounds a bit ambitious, but after putting some initial work into it, I think it might actually will work.

Recently my friend asked me write a top ten movie list:

My personal top 10 Movies  that  are (almost) perfect in what they were trying to achieve with their idea, and sometimes going beyond.

1. Terminator 2 - Greatest Sci-fi/Action

2. Se7en - Creatively Dark and Shocking which includes the Best Unexpected Ending

3. Matrix - Mind Blowing Ideas and Action

4. Good Will Hunting - Best Crafted Script

5. Gattaca - Best Underdog Movie/Perfect Theme and Subplot Construction

6. A Few Good Men - Best Acting and Drama. Killer cast and Aaron Sorkin's first script.

7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Pure Imagination and Childish Wonder

8. Ninja Scroll - Best Animated Action Movie

9. Amelie - Best  Foreign Film

10. Saving Private Ryan - Greatest War Movie

I have analysed these movies with the UNIFIED STORY THEOREM and was amazed to find most of the principles are true and found in the best works!

Encouraged and buoyed by this result, I will applying the new model to all my future projects. I'm applying it to The Last Ninjas and the Mutants of Chernobyl which has resulted in completely redesigning and rewriting Acts 2 B and 3.