What does it actually mean for a writer to balance the fire of inspiration with the math of craft, and how does voice emerge from that collision?
That question sits at the center of Jake’s conversation with Steven Bagatourian.
Together, they explore why instinct alone leads so many scripts to drift, and why structure alone leaves so many feeling lifeless.
The work is learning how to let the fire burn hot enough to reveal who your characters really are, while developing the technical precision to shape that heat into something playable on the page.
Steven speaks to the emotional realities writers often overlook: the overworked reader on script four of the day, the actor skimming only their introduction, the executive who vaguely remembers the first act and is searching for clarity.
Craft, in this sense, becomes math, not formula, but intention. Status, rhythm, compression, the way a single choice telegraphs character or undermines it.
These aren’t boxes to check; they are the architecture that allows the fire of a writer’s instincts to actually reach another human being.
At the same time, Jake and Steven challenge the myth that voice or “talent” is something you either have or don’t.
Rather, voice is excavated from within the writer. It grows from the parts of yourself you’ve sanded down, the idiosyncrasies you hide, the emotional truths you fear won’t make sense on the page. It grows through rewriting, not polishing, but reshaping, draft after draft, until what’s left is the version of the story only you could tell.
This is why a “blueprint” approach fails: it erases the strangeness, ferocity, and specificity that make a script worth reading in the first place.
This conversation is more than a deep, wide-ranging exploration of the intersection of fire, craft, and voice; it’s also a glimpse into the kind of work Jake and Steven will be doing together at the LA Screenwriting Weekend this January.
✍️ What You’ll Learn
How Jake and Steven break down the gap between voice and craft, and why learning to balance both is essential for professional writing.
Why empathy for readers, actors, and collaborators is one of the most overlooked tools in the industry.
The real reason slow burns rarely break new writers into Hollywood, and what to do instead.
Why treating a screenplay as a “blueprint” kills the emotional experience your script needs to deliver.
How to identify and amplify your authentic voice, rather than sanding down the edges that make you unique.
How to build scripts that actors want to play, through intensity, specificity, and layered character introductions.
Why status games are one of the most powerful tools for creating conflict, structure, and character depth.
How to navigate (and decode) the notes you receive from executives, producers, and peers.
Why rewriting, not writing, is the core of the job, and how to approach it without losing your voice.
How to avoid the trap of outlining as a substitute for discovery, and when an outline actually becomes useful.
Why great scripts feel like “conversational poetry” and how to achieve that balance of rhythm, precision, and intention.
LISTEN NOW for practical ways to strengthen your instincts, refine your craft, and uncover the voice that’s already yours.
Join Jake for free every Thursday night at Thursday Night Writes, RSVP here
and check all of our classes!
