John and Craig consider all the words they have to write and ask, how do you know when something deserves your best effort? They offer a useful rubric for deciding when something is worth perfecting, and when over-optimization is a waste of time. We also follow up on compulsive writing habits, industry euphemisms, back issues, and the impact and legacy of the WGA's 2019 agency negotiations. In our bonus segment for premium members, it's a new year! John looks back at things he accomplished in 2025 and his goals for 2026, while Craig sighs and gestures in the direction of The Last of Us. Links: <ul> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlqhD0lnols">Jamie Lee Curtis says "Trauma"</a></li> <li><a href= "https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1047840X.2016.1082418?utm_"> Concept Creep: Psychology's Expanding Concepts of Harm and Pathology</a> by Nick Haslam</li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GLDBdpJ41E">Young Connor Storrie on YouTube</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnrJzXM7a6o">Steve Jobs introduces the iPhone</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=464puoD09dM">Elon Musk announces the Cybertruck</a></li> <li>Valentina Vee on <a href= "https://www.tiktok.com/@valentina_vee">TikTok</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/valentina.vee">Instagram</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.wetheart.games/">Birth</a> by Madison Karrh</li> <li>John's <a href= "https://johnaugust.com/2025/what-i-did-in-2025">What I Did in 2025</a></li> <li><a href="https://scriptnotesbook.com/">Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book!</a></li> <li><a href= "https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast">Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!</a></li> <li><a href="https://blog.quoteunquoteapps.com/">Check out the Inneresting Newsletter</a></li> <li><a href="https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/">Become a Scriptnotes Premium member</a>, or <a href= "https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts">gift a subscription</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@ScriptnotesPodcast">Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube</a></li> <li>Scriptnotes on <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/">Instagram</a></li> <li>John August on <a href= "https://bsky.app/profile/johnaugust.bsky.social">Bluesky</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en">Instagram</a></li> <li><a href= "http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros">Outro</a> by Eric Pearson (<a href= "http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed">send us yours!</a>)</li> <li>Scriptnotes is produced by <a href= "https://www.drewmarquardt.com/">Drew Marquardt</a> and edited by <a href="https://www.matthewchilelli.com/">Matthew Chilelli</a>.</li> </ul> Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode <a href= "http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/719standardV3.mp3">here</a>.

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

719 - When Good Enough Isn't Enough

Scriptnotes Podcast

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews