Should you use AI to help you write a play?

Kimberley Andrews discusses whether emerging playwrights should use AI to write a play.

With easy access to AI, it can be tempting to think it can be used as an easy editing tool for playwrights. But is it really useful? Is it really writing? Is it it improving your work or diluting your unique voice? 

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Transcript

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Hello, and welcome to Playwriting Real Life, the podcast from London Playwrights. I'm Kimberly Andrews, your host for this podcast, and this is where we talk all about the challenges playwrights face living in the world today. So welcome to the podcast. I just wanna say a huge thank you for all your support lately, for our new listeners, subscribers, and members, that we have-- we're so grateful for all of your support. And it's been really exciting lately to welcome lots of new listeners and members from all over the world. We've got lots of you in the US now, Australia, New Zealand. It's very, very exciting for us at London Playwrights. And I'd like to say a big welcome to all of you. It's so great to reach playwrights all over the world and to share the challenges and the triumphs with you, and to share all of the challenges and have those brilliant conversations with you and to, and to try and support your work as emerging writers. If you are new to this podcast and you don't know about our work, head to londonplaywrightsblog.com where you can find out about all the work that we do to support emerging writers. You'll find loads of resources, advice, information, and you can also join our lovely community of supportive playwrights who all help each other out on this journey. Now, today, I wanna talk about the contentious issue of AI and playwriting. I'm seeing so many conversations about this at the moment on Facebook groups that I'm in, in the news, in the media. It is a big topic of conversation, and it's really important, so I wanted to address it today to talk about some of the things that I am seeing as a dramaturg, script consultant, and somebody who works with playwrights all the time. Now, there's a lot of conversations about AI and writing in general out there at the moment. I saw Seth Rogen made a comment this week he said, "If your instinct is to use AI to write scripts or stories, you shouldn't be a writer, and you should go do something else." It's a good, strong comment there, which I do agree with. I mean, if you're a top Hollywood writer and you're being paid a fortune for your work and getting the credit for it, of course you should be writing it yourself or you shouldn't be a writer. I mean, where does that leave new writers? You know, if all the work that we end up seeing on our screen is AI generated, that doesn't feel fair. And of course, if you're being paid that much, you're being paid for your talents, and that's what we wanna see. So I think in terms of the conversation around Hollywood writers, TV writers who are being paid for their work, that's their career, I think for me the conversation's quite cut and dry there. I feel like, of course, AI shouldn't be used. However, what I wanted to do today was to narrow down the conversation and talk about it specifically in terms of emerging and new writers because that is a different set of people. It's a different story. There are different considerations, and I wanna talk about that a bit more today. So when we're talking about emerging writers, we are not usually talking about people who necessarily make a living from playwriting directly. They might be juggling a day job along with trying to write. They might be completely new to writing and not know much about theater. Might be confidence issues as well when you're just starting out and you're not sure if your work is any good. So I think, for me, I wanna approach this conversation today with a bit more nuance, a bit more empathy, and to talk about the considerations carefully, but without judgment because I know that some of you might have used AI to help you write a play. You might have used it to try and get a bit of feedback, and you might have even used it to help you edit. And I don't want to judge you for that. Don't stop listening if you think that's you because you think I'm judging you. I wanna open up the conversation, but I wanna talk about some of the concerns that the use of AI for emerging writers is bringing up for me as someone who reads a lot of plays So I know that some people are using AI to help them edit their work. Now, how do I know this? So I read lots of plays per week. I read plays as part of my work at London Playwright. So I work as a dramaturg and a script consultant, and we also have plays coming in from new writers as part of our submission window as well. So in any week, I read quite a large number of plays and I have noticed in the past few months that some of the plays that have been sent to me have similarities. Now, I don't want to accuse anybody, and I'm no Sherlock Holmes here. So there's some things that I've picked up and thought, "Hmm, these plays have a similarity." And what I think is happening that perhaps new writers who haven't maybe sent their work to anybody before are maybe popping their script into ChatGPT or something, um, for a round of editing, perhaps before sending it to me. I don't know if they-- I, I don't think that any writers are using AI to actually write their whole play. Maybe they are. Who knows? How would I even know that? But what is flagging up to me is that some plays are displaying striking similarities to one another, and I want to point that out today. So I'm not saying that writers are necessarily using AI to write their whole play. I am wondering if new writers, before they perhaps send their work to me as a script consultant, are running their play perhaps through ChatGPT to get a bit of editing done first. So what I have noticed is some similarities popping up. Now, of course, this could just be new trends in writing. Perhaps I'm wrong. But some things are popping up to me that I wanted to point out. So for me, things that I'm noticing is dialogue that is almost too, I don't wanna say too good, almost too polished, too neat, too articulate, um, too analytical. That's something that's popping up to me. Dialogue that's perhaps too witty and articulate for the character who's speaking it. And the other thing I'm noticing is stage directions. Stage directions that are very specific, analytical, and direct from the page, and that is something that I will talk about in a bit more detail later on in this episode. So those are two things that I'm noticing. I'm noticing dialogue that is too neat, stage directions that are very prescriptive, very deep, very analytical, Because I'm seeing these similarities in several plays over a long period of time, I am putting two and two together here, coming to the conclusion that the writer has used AI to help them with editing. Which I wanna say, I just wanna, I just really wanna double down and say that I'm not judging here, because I really do understand what it is like to put your work out there. I also understand that many writers can't afford to pay a dramaturg for several rounds of feedback and notes. So I wanna say that I get it. It's free, it's tempting, and if you think you're making your work better, then I can understand the temptation to do that. However, it is raising concerns for me I'm wondering as well, I mean, writers could have used AI to help them with their structure, but that's probably harder for me to decipher when I'm reading it. I think things like dialogue, stage directions obviously pop out a lot more. Now, this is raising concerns for me because-- and this, really what I wanna do, rather than judge a writer for using AI, is point out that it could be doing you more harm than good, and there's a few reasons for that. So firstly, if I can tell, I'm not claiming to be some kind of genius who can spot AI a mile off, but if it's obvious to me, it's obvious to literary managers, directors, those reading your play in theaters, wherever you submitted it to. If I can see it, they can see it. Particularly as well if you're submitting, for example, to a competition where they're receiving perhaps thousands of plays. If a percentage of those writers have used AI to help them those patterns that AI has generated, that's gonna be really apparent to readers who are reading a lot of plays. So if it's noticeable to me, it's noticeable to others as well, and I think that is a major concern. You know, theaters aren't looking for generic scripts. Theaters are looking for something unique, something different. They're looking for something that stands out. So in a way, if you're making your play stand out less, if you're making it more uniform, if you're diminishing your unique voice, you are self-sabotaging, because what you actually want is your play to stand out as something unique and something different. So that's a major concern for me. And like I say, I wanna talk more today about the concerns I have for emerging writers than judging anybody for using AI to help them to write. That is a really important part of this conversation. So if you are making your work stand out less, making it less unique, then you really are putting yourself on the back foot when you submit your work. I also think, this is another big concern for me, that the use of AI to help you edit a play is really playing up to the imposter syndrome that I see a lot of writers have. Now, as I say, I speak to writers all the time, whether that's through script consulting, whether that's through some of the writers programs that I run, workshops that I run, and to some degree, in nearly all writers that I encounter, that there is some imposter syndrome there. There is a feeling that their play isn't good enough, That is amplified even more with really new writers who perhaps haven't written a play before. I meet writers who theater isn't their background. They perhaps didn't study theater or writing at university, maybe didn't go to university, maybe from a completely different walk of life to playwriting. And there is that feeling that they don't know enough about theater and their play isn't gonna be good enough and everybody else's play is better than theirs. And put that together with the rejection that writers have to deal with all the time, and that is a breeding ground for imposter syndrome. So I see that a lot, but I think that rather than helping writers with that, the use of AI is pandering to that almost because It's allowing you to have that belief that AI can write your play better than you. One of the questions I always ask writers at the beginning of their writing process and when they're redrafting is: why are you writing this play now? So why are you, not anybody else, why are you? And it's all about the connection to the idea, the passion for the idea, and that motivation to write a play. So if you're clear on all of those reasons for writing a play, why on earth do you think AI is better at writing your play than you are? Firstly, it's not creative. It's drawing upon all the language that is already out there. It's not new. It's not collaborative. It's not bringing you anything to your work that is unique. So why do you think it knows better than you? So that is something that I'm seeing. You know, when I, when I see these plays that I suspect maybe AI's been used in the editing process, I'm actually thinking, why did this person think that ChatGPT can do a better version of redrafting than they can? One of the things that always stands out to me when I work with writers is how they are usually instinctively right about their work. When people apply for our script consulting services, they fill out an application form where they can list any concerns that they have about the draft of their play. Nine times out of ten, when I read their play, their instinct on that application form about what needed to be done on their play, absolutely correct. You know, they might say, "I feel like there's a hole in my plot." And then it's my job then to say, "Actually yes, this bit didn't make sense." But nine times out of ten, writers are usually instinctively right about what they need to do on their play. So taking AI as an authority on what is best for their work is not necessarily the right thing to do. It's not necessarily creating a better version of your play than you can, because you invented it. You came up with the idea. You fleshed out these characters. You've been driven to write a whole first draft of this play. So AI isn't necessarily gonna be better than you are. So I really do think it plays into that imposter syndrome we all have. And I just wanna say, if you are thinking about editing your work using ChatGPT, by all means if you want to, do it as an experiment, but please don't assume that what it churns out for your play is better than what you could have done yourself. And actually, like I say, because it's drawing upon all the language that is out there, you're getting a watered-down version. You're not getting anything unique. Now, As a script consultant and somebody who runs a resource for emerging writers, I think I'm in a quite a unique position here about balancing ethics with our paid services. So London Playwrights was created as a support for emerging writers, and it still is. We send out our newsletter for free every week. We have a website full of opportunities for playwrights. We have loads of free resources. On the other hand, we have to pay for the running of the website, we have to pay for our business and all of the boring running costs that comes with that. And of course, I work as a dramaturg and a script consultant. And of course, like anybody else, I have to pay my bills, I have to live. So I always try and balance out the kind of free resources and the good we do in, in the community with that paid work as well. And I think there's a careful balance there. I don't wanna take people's money. I don't wanna take money from new writers unless I am offering something of real value. So as a script consultant, I don't wanna receive a play that you've written on ChatGPT, and then you pay me to give you feedback on that because I'm-- because am I offering anything of value? I'd much rather see your work, even if it's in, in a really raw state, and give you proper feedback on that, that you can really think about. I don't really wanna have to give you feedback to undo all the work ChatGPT has done to your script. I wanna give you real feedback. And also that feedback that I give doesn't just help you to write that play and make that play better, it helps you to learn the craft-- it helps you to learn the craft of playwriting even more. So if you don't allow yourself to make those mistakes as a new writer and to write stuff that maybe doesn't work and that you can improve on, if you just put it through ChatGPT and get it to try and make it perfect for you, you're not learning about the craft of playwriting, and you're not getting better as a writer. I always hope that the feedback I give writers doesn't only help them with that play, but it also helps them with future plays as well, and that's where the value really accelerates and comes in. So at best, I think that using AI to edit your work is kind of a waste of your time. It doesn't help you to develop your skills as a writer, but it's also diluting your work and making it less unique. I also think as well, the use of AI in playwriting is actually gonna be a bit of a nightmare for actors. So I work with a lot of actors through the table readings that we organize, and the beauty of those table readings, so what we do is we get a script, we get actors in the room or on Zoom, and they read that script. It's very raw, it's unrehearsed, but then the actors give their thoughts on the characters and the play so the writer gets loads of feedback. Now, the joy of those readings is that the actors bring a whole new level of creativity to the play. The playwrights involved always say how valuable it was to hear how actors interpret their work and bring a whole new perspective to it than that perhaps they'd even thought of themselves as the writer. So if you write a play that doesn't have unique dialogue, that is actually really from the perspective of your characters, and if then it includes stage directions that are highly prescriptive and doesn't allow space for actors to interpret and create the characters, you're missing out on some really good collaborative work that will enhance your play, enhance your knowledge of playwriting, and bring a new, bring a whole new dimension to your play. And particularly, if you use AI and then you do a table reading, and if you're paying for that table reading as well, you're paying for something that you're not getting the full value out of because you're missing out. And I think that, I mean, I think that if a play that's used AI and it has all of these stage directions in there that are highly prescriptive, gets to the rehearsal stage, I suspect that most directors will just cross them out anyway. So what I'm talking about here is some of the plays that I've seen that I think have used AI. The stage directions will... If there's a pause, for example, it will explain what the actor should do during that pause, or what the actor is thinking. It will tell the actor what to do in that space. It might tell them that they, it makes them remember something about their past, or they take it all in, or they consider it. Um, and you don't need to tell actors that, they know, and it should all be in your text. You know, it should, all of that information for actors should be in your dialogue. It should be in your play itself, and actors take that on board, and they do something creative with it. So I do think it, it's potentially posing a bit of a nightmare for actors and directors, and it's infusing your play with stage directions that don't need to be there, and also it's quite recognizable as AI as well. So that's just something to look out for So my, a summary of my thoughts on this is that I know it's difficult to edit a play, and I understand when there's this free resource there that there will be a temptation to use it. But I just think sticking to the basics when it comes to editing is the way forward. Write your play, take a little break from it for a little while. Come at it with fresh eyes. When you feel like you've done as much as you can on it, seek out feedback. That might be from a peer group. You don't always have to pay for feedback. You know, join a writing community like ours. You can swap scripts. And then, of course, you can use paid services like script consulting, writing courses, and things like that. By all means, if the temptation is too strong and you really do wanna use ChatGPT to edit your work, that is up to you. It's your play, do what you like with it. But please don't assume that it knows better than you. You wrote the play. You came up with the ideas. You carefully crafted those characters. You know them inside out. You're writing perhaps in your regional dialect or another regional dialect that you've done loads of research on. You are the fountain of knowledge when it comes to your script. So please do not assume that ChatGPT knows more about your script than you do. That is what I would urge you to think about when using AI to edit your work. Please don't assume it knows better than you. Please don't assume it's gonna make your script better. And also carefully consider the fact that if you are using it, other writers are as well, and we are gonna end up with similarities. It will be noticed. If your play gets put on by a theater, they will have read your play loads of times. It will have gone through rigorous rounds of reading., It will catch up with you. Um, it will be flagged up. And I think that people wanna see something unique in the theater, and that is, That's why, in my opinion, theater isn't or shouldn't be at risk from AI because it's totally creative, it's live, it's about the human experience. And if you are writing dialogue that's so neat and tidy because you've tidied it all up using AI, we're not really connecting with those characters. We're not witnessing how humans interact. We're not seeing those raw moments where people lose it and can't articulate themselves. I think people want a real human experience from the theater, so do bear that in mind. That is what theater is about. It's human, it's collaborative, so don't let the, the use of AI kind of take that away from you. Now, on that note, I'm not totally against AI. I'm not, I'm not saying... You know, it's here. It's in our lives, and it's here, and it's not going anywhere. So there are some ways that AI can be useful to playwrights. I really wanna reiterate that I do not think it is that effective as an editing tool. I think there's a real danger that it's diluting your work, and that- You're also-- you're not growing as a playwright if you're using it. It's not helping you to grow. It's not helping you to develop. I do really strongly believe that. However, I think AI can be very useful for writers in different ways. So, I'm not necessarily against someone using ChatGPT to perhaps bounce around an idea or help them shape a structure of a play. The reason for that is because I think that structure is hard, and that maybe using it to shape your idea might give you some inspiration and motivation. I would avoid asking AI to plot out your play, because then is it even your story? But if you do feel the need to use it to bounce around ideas, I'm not necessarily against that entirely. I don't think it's a substitute for a chat with a writer friend or someone in your writing community because, again, it isn't a person. It isn't giving you anything new. It's just drawing on what's already out there. So, I'm not sure creatively how useful I think it is. That said, I think you can use it for things like helping you to write a pitch. That's hard. Maybe you wanna practice different tones. Maybe you find it difficult to, um, condense a pitch into a number of words. For example, if you are applying for a new writing scheme, and you have to write a two hundred word synopsis, and your synopsis is four hundred words, maybe you find that hard to narrow it down. So, maybe it will help you there. Um, maybe you have no experience of writing a pitch or filling out application forms. So, I think there is probably a bit of room for it in things like that, maybe the more professional side of things. I would always use with caution, though, because, I mean, I see it all the time. I'm sure you guys see this too Facebook posts, LinkedIn posts that have obviously been written on ChatGPT, and it's obvious. The sentence structure is similar to other stuff that we're seeing, and we can tell. So I would always use it with caution and make sure that you bring your individuality to any writing, you do. Again, it's always about not assuming that AI is gonna write something better than you can. It might just help you to condense something down, and then you can shape it a bit more. But don't assume that what that churns out is better than what you can come up with. The main area I think that AI can probably help writers is to enhance productivity in other areas of your life so that you have more time to write. Perhaps you can use it to manage your diary, to do other minor admin tasks that are taking up your time and eating into your writing time. As always, for new writers, time is one of our biggest challenges. Most of us have got day jobs, most of us have got other things going on. So if you can use AI to help you carve out more time in other areas of your life, that is absolutely fantastic. Use it for that, and then use that time to actually get some real, genuine writing done So just to summarize here, I think some people are using AI to help them write scripts. I don't know for sure. I'm not judging anybody, but I am-- but I did want to raise some concerns today and just make sure that you are not doing anything that is detrimental to your work as a playwright because your unique voice is so important. Your unique voice is what you've got. It's your USP. It's your thing. So don't do anything that is gonna dilute that. Instead, seek out ways to develop and improve your craft so that you can get that unique voice of yours down on the page in the most compelling way possible. So I hope that helps, and I hope it's raised some interesting points today. If you have any thoughts on this, I would love you to get in touch. I would love to open up more conversations about this, and I hope you found it useful today. So thank you so much for listening. And if you like this podcast, please do subscribe. If you enjoy this podcast, please do head to our website, londonplaywrightsblog.com, where you can find out more about our work. We appreciate any support you can give us. We are a small organization. We don't have any external funding. We rely on support from our members, subscribers, listeners, and anybody who engages with our work We are currently raising funds for our new website. If you can support us in any way possible, please see the link in the show notes for our Buy Me a Coffee page. We are also running a raffle where you can win 12 months of script development and a table reading of your play with professional actors. It's a brilliant prize. It's the biggest prize we've ever done. All the proceeds go into supporting our work and our projects and resources to support emerging writers. So you're doing a good deed by buying a ticket, but you're also in with a chance of winning an amazing prize. The link to buy tickets is also in the show notes for this podcast, and you can also find details on our website as well. Thank you for listening. Thank you for listening, and I'll speak to you all again soon