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That which makes you different could be that which makes you valuable.

If it’s not unique to you, they don’t need it from you.

Author

Enda Mac Nally
September 26, 2024 • Read it in: 5 minutes

No Losing Momentum.

I’m one full day late with this email, but still moving.

Busy this week- clearly.

Will have a longer one for you next Wednesday.

Enjoy,
- Enda

This weeks’ highlights, if you’re short on time:

  • How AI might create a ‘K-shaped’ economy.

  • How to ask.

  • Some sick and twisted comedy recommendations.

That which makes you different could be that which makes you valuable.

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,"

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),”

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.

Image taken from 5-Tweet Tuesday

Ask specifically.

"Life punishes the vague wish and rewards the specific ask,"

Exploit unrecognized simplicity.

I can’t find the original source of this quote, but I love it:

"Most geniuses—especially those who lead others—prosper not by deconstructing intricate complexities but by exploiting unrecognized simplicities."

🤣 ‘Such Brave Girls’ on BBC [TV Show]
Crass, disgusting (and recently BAFTA-winning) comedy.

🚨 ‘Rebel Ridge’ on Netflix [Film]
Tense and gripping action thriller from Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room, Blue Ruin). Be patient for the first 30 mins- it goes wild from there…

🛶 ‘The End’ by Samuel Beckett [Novella]
Moving, hilarious, horrifying… I’ve never read Beckett’s shorter prose, and honestly, I was expecting minor works. This one is incredible- the wild swing from pathos to bathos makes it feel like Ulysses condensed down to 20 pages.

They can sign up for the next one right here:

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Get in touch.

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