Blogocentric Formulations

Specialists vs. Jacks (and Jills) of all Trades

In the film industry, there's a pretty big controversy over what kind of a screenwriting career is the best to pursue. Should one be a specialist and focus on one particular area of expertise (horror, comedy, action, etc.), or should one be a jack-of-all-trades and have the broadest possible range of experience?

The argument for specialists is that, in this day and age, people want experts to write for them. They don't want the guy who kind of knows how to write horror, they want the guy who has written horror, who's an expert in horror, who's been recognized for his accomplishments in horror. For much the same reason one would want a cardiologist and not a general practitioner to do their heart transplant, people like experts in their field.

Of course, the counterpoint to that argument is that a specialist is, by definition, limiting himself to what jobs he's considered for. A heart surgeon may be very much in demand for heart surgeries, but what about sprained ankles, sore throats and stomach aches? Nobody wants to pay a heart surgeon (or anyone else for that matter) for specialized medical treatment when a general practitioner can, in most cases, treat all of these ailments.

In the world of screenwriting, it's much the same. When a production company wants to produce a horror movie, their obvious preference is for a horror specialist to work on the script. But the problem is, that production company may not choose a horror movie for their next project. Their next film might be a thriller, or a sci-fi epic, or an action movie.

So it is better to be that horror specialist, and be more favorably considered for fewer jobs? Or is it better to be the versatile writer who may not be at the top of the list for any one specific project, but has the breadth of experience necessary to be considered for more job opportunities?

I'm genuinely interested to know your opinion on this issue, loyal readers. It actually seems my professional life has fallen into a similar predicament. In the film business, I have a very broad range of experience, covering everything from business affairs to corporate operations to marketing to physical production. And while that qualifies me for more job opportunities than some of my colleagues, I'm finding that I'm losing out on a lot of those positions (especially in this economy) to those colleagues who have more targeted experience in a particular field.

So what say you all? Is it better (as a writer, or in life) to focus on one specialty, or to get as broad a range of experience as possible?