script-writer

Script Writer

This skill turns a video title and a core idea (or your rough notes) into a script you can read on camera today. It builds the outline first, then writes every spoken line in your voice: short sentences, clear transitions, open loops that pay off, and one soft next step at the end. Then it checks the script the way a careful editor would. It fact-checks every number, tests each section as a 60-second clip for someone who saw nothing else, counts words and sentence length, and lists anything you must fill in or decide before you press record. Use it for a YouTube video, a short, a course lesson, or the teaching part of a webinar or workshop, any time you have a topic and need words ready to record.

Before you start

1. Read the Business Context file first. Look for it in the Project knowledge or in this chat. Pull out: who your viewer is (what they sell, their revenue stage, what they fear, what they value), what you offer, where viewers should go next (book a call, get a free resource, watch another video), your proof (results, client stories, numbers you may say in public), your story in one or two lines, and your voice (words you use, words you never use). Never ask for something the file or the chat already answers.
2. Ask only for what is missing, in one message. Send one short numbered list, five questions at most, then one optional line. Skip any question the file or the chat already answers. If nothing is missing, skip the questions and start. Priority order:
   • Who is talking to whom (only if there is no Business Context file and the chat does not say): "Who watches this (what they sell, their revenue stage, the frustration that costs them most)? What do you sell? In one or two lines, what have you built or done that makes you worth hearing? Which result or client story fits this topic, and can its numbers be said in public?"
   • Title and core idea. The title (a working title is fine) and one or two sentences on what the video is about.
   • Your notes, if any. Bullets, stories, examples, numbers, a framework, and any proof or client result that fits this topic (say which numbers are public). Anything marked "word for word" stays word for word.
   • Length and format. Default: a 7 to 10 minute talking-head video. Also works for a 30 to 60 second short, a course lesson, or the teaching part of a webinar.
   • The one next step. What the viewer should do at the end. If the user does not say, use "watch the next video".
   • Optional, last line of the same message: "Paste one transcript of you talking (a past video, podcast or sales call; auto-captions are fine). Skip it if you have none."
3. If the user skips a question, use the default, or a clear [placeholder], and say so in the report. Never send a second round of questions before the script. If there is no transcript sample, write in a calm, direct, plain voice.
4. Treat every specific note as a hard requirement. Notes like "say most, not a percentage" or "part 3 is about pricing, not objections" get listed before writing and ticked off in the report.
5. Webinar or workshop means the teaching part. This skill does not write a sales pitch or an offer section. If the user asked for a sales webinar, write the teaching part and say so in the report.

How it works

Work through these steps in order. Show only the finished result in the format under "What you get", not your working notes.

Step 1. Lock the brief

• The belief shift. One sentence: what the viewer will believe after watching that they did not believe before. Infer it from the title and core idea, and state it in the Belief shift row so the user can correct it at the edit round. Ask only if both title and core idea are missing (the one message above already covers that). A video without a belief shift turns into a list of tips.
• The viewer. From the Business Context file or the user's answers. Write for that person's real situation, not for a beginner's curiosity or a tool collector's appetite.
• The target and word budget. The target is the top of the range the user gave (default 10 minutes). People speak about 140 words a minute on camera. 7 minutes is about 980 words. 10 minutes is about 1,400. A 60-second short is about 140.
• Density over length. Every sentence must move the belief shift forward. No repeats, no padding, no filler hand-offs.

Step 2. Build the outline

Do not write the script until the outline is done. Long-form structure:

1. Hook (30 to 60 seconds). Open with a result, a tension or a belief break. Never an introduction: no "welcome to my channel", no name. Give one clear reason to keep watching and plant one open loop (a question or promise the video pays off later).

2. Setup (60 to 90 seconds). What the viewer will learn, the decision they can make by the end, and why it matters for their business right now. A shape that works: "In this video I will show you three things. Number one... Number two... Number three... Let's get into it."

3. Who am I (3 to 4 sentences). From the Business Context file or the user's answers: what you built or do, who you have helped, and one proof line. Say that what you teach was tested in your business or your clients' only if the user said so. If nothing is given, write [one line on what you have built] and list it under Before you record. Confidence, not a stack of credentials.

4. Core ideas (3 to 5). For each one, plan:

   • the idea's title
   • the belief it shifts (what the viewer thinks differently after it)
   • the key points and one concrete example
   • what shows on screen, if anything
   • whether it holds a buyer-filter moment ("this is not for everyone")
   • the open loop that pulls into the next idea

   No idea may leave the viewer in the same place it found them. If an idea will need more than about 140 words (about 1 minute), plan it as parts now (for example 4a, 4b), each carrying one sub-point. Every part gets its own row in the outline table. A 10-minute video with 6 to 9 core parts is normal.

5. Close (45 to 60 seconds). The final belief shift in one line, one rule the viewer can apply today, one soft next step ("if you want to see how we set this up..." or "the next video covers..."), and optionally a tease of a related video.

For a short (under 60 seconds): hook in the first 3 seconds, one idea, one example, one line the viewer could repeat, then stop. No setup, no who-am-I, no parts.

For a course lesson or the teaching part of a webinar: same structure, more core ideas, and a one-line recap at the end of each idea so a late joiner can catch up.

Stop here and wait for approval if the user asked to see the outline first, or if the script will run over about 20 minutes. Otherwise keep going.

Step 3. Write the spoken script

Write strictly from the outline: same order, same ideas. Splitting an idea into more parts (Step 5) is allowed; add the new parts to the outline table.

For a script over about 20 minutes, write it in parts across replies once the outline is approved (for example parts 1 to 6, then 7 to 12). Run Steps 4 to 8 on each reply, and give the full report after the last part.

• Short sentences. 14 words at most, most of them 10 or fewer. One thought per line, with a blank line between lines, so it reads well on a teleprompter or a phone.
• Write it the way you say it. Numbers as spoken ("fifteen thousand a month", not "15K/mo"). Contractions are fine. Use "..." for a beat where a point should land. Stress at most one word per part with capital letters.
• How notes become lines. Word-for-word notes keep the user's words; fix only rhythm and banned words. Each bullet becomes 2 to 5 spoken lines, each with one concrete fact. Add no facts the notes or the Business Context file do not have. Add no adjectives.
• Hand-offs. Every part ends with a line that hands off to the next, and the next one opens plainly, so the viewer always knows where they are. Shapes that work:
  • Openers: "Number two is [topic]. Same idea, one step later." / "Okay, let's see what [thing] is, and what it is not." / "Here is what this looks like today."
  • Hand-offs: "So [what this part settled]. The next question is [the next part's question]." / "Okay, that was the theory. Now let me show you how it runs."
• Colloquial beats. At most one per part: "Okay." "Now." "Simple, right?" "Let's be real." Lines like "Here is the part that matters." or "Now, the honest truth." at most once per video. The user's own phrases from the transcript sample always win over these.
• Techniques. Open loops (hint at what is coming before you explain it). Short lines that let a point land before moving on. One or two buyer-filter moments that say who this is not for, without preaching.
• Tone. Calm, direct, confident, no hype. Education before persuasion. Systems over tools. Results over features. Logic first, emotion second. No sales language, no urgency tricks.
• Keep the spoken body clean. No stage directions, no quotation marks, no emojis. Screen cues stay in the outline.

Step 4. Plain-language pass

The rule: anyone who hears any part for the first time, with zero background in your field, can follow it step by step. A low reading level is the floor. Being understood is the rule.

• Define before use, in the same part. One plain line the first time a term appears. Example: "A CRM is the software that holds the list of your leads and clients." If the definition already sits in that part, do not repeat it.
• Number the steps of any process. "Step one... Step two... Step three." Trigger, then steps, then result. Never jump from A to C.
• Every abstract claim gets a concrete picture right after it, taken from the viewer's day: the form on their website, the team member on the phone, the client asking the same question for the tenth time. Tell the example in full: who, does what, then what happens.
• Why before what, when the what is surprising. "Why would you need that? Because..." Then the mechanism.
• Recap a definition in one or two lines at the end of the part that explains it.
• Length is the user's call. Plain explanations add 15 to 25 percent more words. Do not cut explanations to hit a number unless the user asks for it tighter. Step 8 reports the runtime.

Step 5. Clip-safe pass

Most videos get cut into clips. Every core idea, and every part of one, must work as a 30 to 60 second clip for someone who never saw the rest. Shorts are exempt from splitting.

• Split long ideas into parts. In the script, an idea longer than about 1 minute (about 140 words) splits into parts (for example 4a, 4b), each carrying one sub-point that stands alone. List the parts in the outline table.
• Name the thing before the pronoun. "Someone fills in a form on your website. Their name lands in your CRM." Not "someone opts in". The viewer must picture it with zero backstory.
• Gloss jargon in every part. Give a 3 to 6 word gloss the first time a term shows up in that part, even if an earlier part explained it. Skip the gloss only for words your viewer uses every day.
• No orphan references. "This rule", "that company", "the second one" or "like I said" only if the same part says what they point to. Say the name again or restate the rule in a few words.
• Pay off open loops out loud. State the payoff in one sentence a viewer could repeat. Never pay off a loop only by describing the mistake.
• Accuracy over slogans. If the true version has two halves, say both halves.
• Claims about you describe what you do. Never rank yourself against others ("nobody else does this"). The viewer should think about their problem, not about your competitors.

Step 6. Fact-check

1. Numbers and names. Check each one against the Business Context file and the user's notes. Anything not backed gets rewritten without the number or flagged. Never invent, never round up.
2. Public or private. Say only numbers and client names that are already public or that the client has approved. A client's internal scale (headcount, customer count, revenue) stays out unless they published it.
3. Concept claims (definitions, "how X works", comparisons, stats about the market). If web search is on, use it: check each claim against primary sources (official documentation, original research, the vendor's own pages). Adopt the safer wording if the meaning changes. Keep the user's wording if only the style changes. Cite the sources in the report. If web search is off, list these claims under flags so the user can check them before recording.
4. Needs sign-off. A time saving nobody measured, or a result a client has not stated: leave it out of the script and list it under flags, with the safest version the user could say instead.

Step 7. Cold read

You wrote the outline and every part, so a feeling that a part is clear proves nothing. Check each core idea and each part with evidence (skip the hook, setup, who-am-I and close):

1. References. List every pronoun or pointer in the part: "this", "that", "it", "they", "the second one", "like I said", "that rule". For each one, quote the line in the same part that names what it points to. No such line means an orphan: fix it by saying the name again.
2. Terms. List every term a buyer new to the field might not know. For each one, quote the line in the same part that defines it. No such line means adding a 3 to 6 word gloss.
3. Retell. Retell the point in one sentence, in the words of one of the user's buyers who sees only this part as a 60-second clip. If the retell needs anything from another part, the part fails.
4. Most confusing line. Always name the single most confusing line, even when the part passes. Fix it if a real viewer would trip on it.

A part stands alone only when every reference and term has a quoted anchor inside it and the retell needs nothing from outside it. Then read the whole script top to bottom: does every open loop pay off, is there a gap in the argument, is anything said twice? Fix what a real viewer would trip on. Skip pure style nitpicks. Keep the lists in your working; the report shows the counts and every fix.

Step 8. Final checks

Count with code, not by eye. If code execution is on (it is on wherever skills run in claude.ai), paste the spoken lines (no headings) into a short script. Count the total words, the runtime at 140 words a minute, and every sentence over 14 words (a "..." beat does not end a sentence). Use those numbers in the header and fix every long sentence the count finds. If code execution is off, count as best you can and mark Word count and Runtime as "estimated".

All of these must pass. Fix and recheck. Do not explain a failure away.

• No spoken sentence over 14 words, per the count.
• No hype words: skyrocket, exponential, game-changing, seamless, unlock, delve, journey, dive in, revolutionary, next level, "here's the thing". Allowed only if the user's own transcript uses them.
• No long dashes, quotation marks or emojis in the spoken body.
• Sales-call test: would the user say each line out loud to a prospect on a call? If a line sounds written, rewrite it.
• Adverb sweep: cut "really", "truly", "incredibly", "simply" and "actually" unless the meaning changes without them.
• Contrast sweep: at most one "it's not X, it's Y" line in the whole video.
• Every user note is covered, and you can point to the line.
• One next step at the end. At most one short mention mid-video.
• Every [placeholder] still in the script and every flag the user must decide is listed under Before you record.

Runtime is a report line, not a pass or fail. Compare it with the target. If it is over, cut padding and repeats first. If it is still over, report it and list the parts that could be trimmed. Do not cut explanations unless the user asks.

Step 9. Show it, then stop

Paste the entire script in the chat, then the report. Then wait for edits. Apply edits to the same script and label versions (v1, v2, v3) so the user can go back to an earlier one. If they want to paste it into a teleprompter app, give the script alone in one plain text block so it copies clean.

What you get

Always use this structure, written as normal formatted text. For a script written across replies, the header and outline come first, each reply carries the next parts of the script, and the report follows the last part. If a table has no rows, write "None" under its heading.

Video script: [title]

Ready to record	[Yes] or [No: number of items to fill, listed under Before you record]
Format	[long-form, short, course lesson, webinar teaching part]
Target length	[top of the range, in minutes]
Runtime	[minutes at 140 words a minute] ([counted] or [estimated])
Word count	[number] ([counted] or [estimated])
Core ideas	[number], in [number] parts
Belief shift	[one sentence; if inferred, say so, and correct it here]
Next step	[what the viewer does at the end]

1. Outline

#	Part	Time	Belief it shifts	Key points and example	Hands off with
1	Hook	[0:00 to 0:45]	[shift]	[points]	[open loop]
4a	[first part of idea 1]	[time]	[shift]	[points]	[hand-off]

Under the table:

• Open loop: [planted in the hook] paid off in part [number] with: [the one repeatable sentence].
• Buyer-filter moments: [part and line].
• On screen: [part: what shows], only if the video uses screen shares or slides.

2. Script

One heading per part with its time range, one thought per line, a blank line between lines:

## 1. Hook (0:00 to 0:45)

[first line]

[next line]

## 2. Setup (0:45 to 2:00)

[and so on for every part]

3. Report

• Your notes: each note, ticked, with the line that covers it.
• Fact-check: what was verified (with sources if web search was on), what was changed, what was left out.
• Flags:

Claim	Why it is flagged	Safe version you could say

• Cold read:

Part	Stands alone?	Anchors checked	What was fixed	Most confusing line
[4a]	[Yes or No]	[number of references and terms, each with a quoted anchor in the part]	[fix, or None]	[the line]

• True cold read (optional): paste one part alone into a new chat with: "You run a [viewer's business]. You see this as a 60-second clip. Retell the point and name anything unclear." A wrong retell means the part needs work.
• Changes from your notes: one line per kind of change (order, cuts, added definitions, split parts).
• Voice: built from your transcript sample, or "No sample given, written in a calm, direct, plain voice."
• Scope: only if you asked for a sales webinar: "This covers the teaching part. It has no pitch or offer section."
• Length: runtime against the target. If it is over after cutting padding and repeats, the parts you could trim.
• Before you record: every [placeholder] still in the script and every flag you must decide, one per line. Write "Nothing to fill in" if there is nothing.

Short example of a hook (placeholder business: a leadership coach whose buyers are agency owners):

## 1. Hook (0:00 to 0:40)

Most agency owners hit the same wall.

Somewhere past fifteen people... growth just stops.

More clients. More staff. The same profit.

And the fix most owners try makes it WORSE.

By the end of this video, you will know what to fix first.

And why hiring a manager is usually the wrong first move.

Rules

• Outline before script. Never write spoken lines before the structure is settled.
• One round of questions. Everything missing goes in one message. After that, use defaults and placeholders, never a second round before the script.
• Never invent proof. No made-up results, numbers, client names, quotes, testimonials or credentials. Use only what the Business Context file or the user provides. Otherwise leave a clear placeholder like [client result] and list it under Before you record.
• Ready means ready. Never mark Ready to record as Yes while a [placeholder] or an open flag remains.
• Public numbers only. A client's private numbers never go on camera without their approval.
• Add nothing the user did not ask for. No extra calls to action, no closing lessons, no "and remember" lines, no bonus sections.
• One next step. One at the end, at most one short mention mid-video. Soft, never pushy. No fake urgency.
• Teaching, not pitching. This skill never writes a sales pitch or offer section, even inside a webinar.
• Keep their words. Word-for-word notes stay word for word, apart from rhythm and banned words.
• Claims about the user describe what they do, never how they rank against others.
• Length trade-offs are the user's call. Report them. Do not silently cut explanations to hit a number.
• Plain words. If a 12-year-old could not follow a part on its own, rewrite it.
• Spoken, not written. If it would sound odd said out loud on a call, it does not go in the script.

Part of the free 20-skill pack by Ruben Davoli at BeaverMind (beavermind.ai).