Identify the value at stake in the scene and note its charge, positive or negative, at the opening of the scene.

Structure and character are interlocked.

an ironic climax is a single action that makes both a positive and a negative statement.

The final cause for the decline of story runs very deep. Values, the positive/negative charges of life, are at the soul of our art. The writer shapes story around a perception of what’s worth living for, what’s worth dying for, what’s foolish to pursue, the meaning of justice, truth—the essential values. In decades past, writer and society more or

the inner world is where the highly educated spend a large amount of time.

The Spine is the deep desire in and effort by the protagonist to restore the balance of life.

Good actors will not step in front of a camera without their subtext.

All scenes must be thematically or structurally justified in the light of the Climax. If they can be cut without disturbing the impact of the ending, they must be cut.

the protagonist must be the most dimensional character in the cast to focus empathy