Scriptnotes is a long-standing podcast on screenwriting, from John August (Big Fish, Go) and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl, The Last of Us).
I’ve only ever dipped in and out of it, but have always found something worth listening for.
This recent episode on ‘finding your voice as a writer’ didn’t disappoint:
"There is nothing else you can offer as a writer except that which is unique to you. If it’s not unique to you, I don’t need it from you,"
Craig Mazin - Scriptnotes Podcast
This is true for most fields, but in the world of screenwriting, it’s essential. If you’re mimicking someone else’s voice- someone already known, and more successful- why shouldn’t the studio simply hire that person?
It also links in nicely with a Tweet I spotted Shaan Puri sharing via his 5-Tweet Tuesday email:
(FYI- for any non-nerds, ‘Cursor’ is an AI code editor that is making a lot of web developers panic about the long-term security of their jobs…)
Shaan expands on this by predicting how the growth of AI might impact most industries:
“AI is about to create a K-Shaped Economy…
80% of your “job skills” will plummet to zero value (replaced by AI).
20% of your “job skills” will become 10x more productive (enhanced by AI),”
- Shaan Puri
It has never been more important to understand what you uniquely bring to the table. And much like the screenwriter looking to find their unique voice, most workers might soon need to lean into the core oddness they may have learned over the years to hide, and put it on display instead.
If ChatGPT can do it, why hire you to do it?
If it’s not unique to you, they don’t need it from you.