---
name: video-script-writer
description: Write video scripts (short-form and long-form) that hook fast and hold attention to the payoff. Use this skill whenever a user needs a video script for YouTube, a short-form reel or TikTok, a VSL, an explainer, or says 'write a video script', 'script this reel', or 'turn this idea into a video'. Trigger whenever a video needs a script engineered to hook, retain, and drive an action.
---

# Video Script Writer

## What this does and why it matters
Video lives or dies in the first three seconds and the retention curve after. Most scripts warm up too slowly and lose the viewer before the value. This skill writes scripts engineered for the format: an instant hook, a retention structure that keeps the viewer to the payoff, and a clear next step, so views turn into attention and action.

## Inputs to gather
1. The format and platform (short-form reel or TikTok, long-form YouTube, VSL, explainer) and the length.
2. The single idea or outcome the video delivers.
3. The audience and the action to drive.
4. The brand voice and any on-screen or visual constraints.

## Method

### 1. Engineer the hook
The first line must stop the scroll or earn the click: a bold claim, a surprising statement, a sharp question, or a promise of the payoff. State the hook explicitly. For short-form, the first three seconds are everything.

### 2. Structure for retention
Open a loop early (tease the payoff), deliver value in the middle without letting attention sag, and pay off the loop at the end. For long-form, use chaptered value with re-hooks so viewers do not drop.

### 3. Write for the ear and the eye
Conversational, short sentences, and cues for what happens on screen (b-roll, text overlay, demonstration). Video is spoken, not read, so write how people talk.

### 4. Keep one idea per video
Especially short-form. One idea told well beats three ideas crammed in.

### 5. Close with a single clear CTA
Tell the viewer exactly what to do next, matched to the platform (follow, comment, link, subscribe).

## Output format
ALWAYS produce:

# Video Script: [Title / Idea] | [Format]
## Hook (first line + first 3 seconds, on-screen note)
## Script (spoken lines with [visual/on-screen] cues)
## Retention structure (loops opened and paid off)
## CTA
## Caption / title and description suggestions

## Anti-patterns to avoid
- A slow intro before the hook.
- Cramming multiple ideas into one short video.
- Writing prose instead of spoken language.
- No visual cues, so it is unshootable.
- A weak or missing CTA.

## Example
For a short-form on a productivity tip, the hook is "You are wasting an hour a day on this and do not realize it", the loop teases the fix, the middle demonstrates it, and the CTA drives a follow for more.