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I have a new best friend as a writer.
And it’s called ChatGPT.
I know what you’re probably thinking: “Isn’t that the thing that’s going to put screenwriters out of work by writing complete scripts with AI instead?”
Perhaps. Some day.
But for right now, it’s really useful. And it’s making my life so much easier.
And isn’t that the point of new technology? Rather than fearing and loathing it and what it could lead to, might we first explore and embrace how it can help us?
Let me explain…
I’m probably only scratching the surface of what this tool can do. I know people are using it for all sorts of things, including actually writing and rewriting in some contexts, as a kind of creative partner.
I’m not doing that at all. But I am partnering with it and relying on it, and finding it incredibly helpful.
I’m using it for research. Which sounds pretty straightforward. I ask it questions about something I need to know about for my story, and it answers. And then answers my follow-up questions.
I’m no longer going down a rabbit hole of various search results that only give me partial or skewed information I can rarely use. Instead it directly addresses what I want to know about by synthesizing the general knowledge that is out there and getting as detailed and specific as I want.
It’s really starting to replace simple web search for me in life generally, as it’s so much faster and more useful. But the difference is really dramatic when I want to understand a world I know nothing about.
In my current script, I’m writing about disabilities – as I have a main character who is a wheelchair user with spina bifida. I have absolutely zero real-life exposure to or knowledge of that.
But I have creative ideas – and I want to know how accurate or possible they are, and what else might be useful for understanding my character’s life situation.
So it’s teaching me about the potential life challenges for someone like him, how government assistance can work in various scenarios, and even the world of dating apps that pair “devotees” who are particularly seeking people with disabilities for romantic/sexual reasons. (This is an R-rated comedy.)
But telling me how things work or could work to add accuracy to my ideas is only one aspect of what it can do.
Where it’s really revolutionary is when I need new ideas. Which is a constant part of writing. It can help me find possibilities I wouldn’t have thought of. By simply asking it about the kind of thing I’m looking for.
That’s especially useful in my current state on this script. I’ve completed a first draft for me, that I can begin rewriting from. And even though it kind of works, I realize, as I often do, that I still know far too little about my characters.
This might well be a situation you’re in, too – and you might know it. It’s something I often talk about with my writer clients. Don’t only focus on the words on the page and the scenes and facts that will be in the actual script. That’s just the tip of the iceberg of what you need to know about the people and situations you’re writing about. (I think I got that analogy from Robert McKee.)
To write compelling, realistic, dimensional, authentic characters, you need to know and decide way more than what you’ll actually show the audience in your scenes. That means back story, psychology, personality types, wounds from childhood – and also what they might be thinking, doing and feeling in between the scenes you’re writing (or underneath what they’re actually saying in them).
In my first drafts, my characters tend to be tools of a plot I’m coming up with, where I only know what I need to know to make that plot work, on a surface level.
Then the real work begins. Or a different stage of the real work. Getting to know them much better, and rewriting in such a way that reflects that.
This process used to be a kind of aimless flailing where I didn’t know what I didn’t know, or what I needed to know, or how to decide these extra details to expand my understanding and their depth and specificity.
Now I have a brainstorming partner. ChatGPT is really up for this job. I can ask it anything, any weird query about possible people, situations, and relationships in the world and it will have so much to say.
And it’s not just factual information like you might get from Wikipedia about some topic. (Sorry, Wikipedia, I still do love and appreciate you.) It can go much deeper. You can ask it what might make a character feel a certain way. Or what might create a certain kind of dynamic you want for a relationship.
Here are various queries it’s responded to recently, each time blowing me away with the new possibilities it presented, the detail it went into, and even its seeming respect for my question!
- What kind of people might work as a receptionist in a gym, and what’s that job like?
- What are particular challenges for men in their 20’s today?
- What are some independent businesses where a 20-something man might help his mother?
- (A follow-up to that last question) What are some top-selling kitschy item categories on Etsy?
- Why might a parent decide to home-school their paraplegic child? What are the pros and cons?
These are questions that get at the heart of the things I need as a screenwriter. They touch on the human/emotional side and not just dry facts.
Or they delve into the craft itself and what might help me. I also asked it:
- Who are some up and coming comedic male actors (that I might imagine for a character)?
- What are the ingredients of a successful R-rated comedy? And are they making a comeback?
I could probably even ask it what back story facts about a character screenwriters should know to make them seem authentic.
In fact, I just stopped to do that, and got a 10-point numbered list with 2 or 3 bullet points under each. I don’t disagree with a word it said, and it definitely gave me food for thought I wouldn’t have come up with on my own.
I suppose, then, that before AI replaces us screenwriters completely, it might first replace those of us who try to explain what makes for good screenwriting – because it does seem to know. And is happy to tell us.
For now I suggest this: don’t be scared. The water’s fine. Give it a try. This craft is hard enough. Accept the help that’s out there. And by the way, it’s basically free… 🙂
Erik– Be careful. You’re on an icy path down a steep hill. I use your PROBLEM mnemonic all the time in analyzing my writing. I’ve also developed AI applications. Although I am retired from software, I understand chatGPT like tools all the way down to the linear algebra that it is based on. Only a human can feel what is punishing, relatable, life-altering, and meaningful to another human being. chatGPT only simulates those feelings, it does not have them. As a tool, it’s fine, but as soon as your sensors for PROBLEM start to be replaced by chatGPT’s simulation, your ideas begin to lose their human vitality. Be careful.
Hi Erik,
Your post was very “coincidental “, as I just decided a few days ago to start using ChatGPT for my new writing projects in January. My reason was that I had used another script analysis service, which uses ChatGPT, to review my script and was amazed at their result. First, IMHO, the review was the most informative of any I had received before…including a few Pro’s. Second, I could see where the speed of their report was unreal and would be very useful on new projects…once I learn to use it.
I appreciate your validating my decision. Happy New Year to you and yours!
Bob Woods
I was working (and I still am) on a logline and I asked ChatGPT to analyze it.
Wondering if you tried that. Does is do a good job?
I have not tried that yet, but now that you bring it up, I will!
Hey Ed! Good to see you here in the comments section. See you again soon on B2W XX
From my humble experience, it does help but it’s best not to take its “improvements” for face value. I questioned its new versions and feedback, asked it very specific questions or argued what its version is lacking or falling short of, and presented a new improved version of mine. This way, I worked my way to a version I felt to be pretty solid…and honestly wouldn’t have arrived at without the ChatGPT’s help.
thanks for the tip, Erik. I’ve been spinning my wheels for weeks now on a project, so hopefully ChatGPT can move things along.
This sounds like a far more intelligent – and prudent! – use of GPT, Eric. Though tempted, I’d be worried about feeding my script into it only to see my ideas and dialogues turn up elsewhere later, from what some of saying.
Great article, I could not agree more. The finished work is always labored over–every last word–by a creative human. But on the way there, A.I. is a fantastic tool, a helper, for so many uses.
It took some 80 years but wer’e finally here*, at the manifestation of the Memex.
I agree on everything you said about ChatGPT as a brainstorming partner and that while it still lacks the ability to discern the nuances in creative writing (and often lies convincingly about “facts”) its research and advisory skills are unparalleled by the likes of Google and Wikipedia.
[*Vannevar Bush introduced the concept of the memex in his essay “As We May Think,” published in the July 1945 issue of The Atlantic. An abridged version appeared in the September 10, 1945, issue of Life magazine.]
I have not used any kind of AI, I can agree it’s probably useful for research. And, I’d love to know what kind of answers it gave you regarding CP patients. I’m a nurse and I’ve worked with these types of patients in the past. So, I’m wondering what it told you. I guess my biggest question is, does it really replace an actual conversation or interview with someone who actually has real life experiences? Why not just ask people who have experienced what you want to right about? I’m sure that it’s a lot more convenient to use chatgp, but is it the same? And if it gives you an answer I would probably want to corroborate that with another source before I actually trust it.
THANK you!! Yes, it’s a useful tool about which no one need make doomsday prophecies. I myself am finding it useful in helping me write my novel. I take care of an elder, I have a full-time job, and I can’t do all the legwork I need to do. Besides, it’s about how your audience experiences your work, not the amount of work you put into it. I’m glad someone agrees with me. In fact, I just scheduled a blog post about it for a few weeks from now.
The only problem is that those answers you’re getting from ChatGPT might be lies. The more time goes by, the more likely that AI will deliver lies. That’s because it’s now training itself on its own output. That’s a major problem. At best, AI is a glorified plagiarism machine. It’s a mistake to use it, especially for writers, and especially if you care about the truth.
I have it open now. After reading from Greenlight, I could ask questions. It was amazing to view possible character arcs, visual motifs, etc. Then I ran out of question coins. I opened ChatGBT because I had more questions. I told it the situation and asked if it had suggestions for escalating scenes. It did. Whereas I find character and dialogue natural, genre tropes like mystery, car chases, etc., take more work. It’s fun to play with and it knows about commercial movies.
I want nothing to do with AI. They have already invaded my computer and I am not happy about it.
Great post. Happy New Year