Write On Time - Newsletter | George Blackman

Write On Time

Create more engaging videos with simple, actionable scriptwriting tips.

Join 4000+ scriptwriting nerds reading “Write On Time”. Insights from writing for multi-million subscriber YouTubers sent to your inbox every Friday.

"I started a Chess channel and applied some things from your newsletter. In the first month I'm doing over a million views on long form content and have 3 videos cracking the 100k views mark."

Chess Nuke

@chessnuke

30k+ Subcribers

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This week, I recorded myself writing an entire YouTube script from start to finish.

And honestly? It was brutal.

It took 2hrs and 39 minutes, including time spent brainstorming the content, packaging it, and structuring + writing the whole thing almost word-for-word.

(Btw, I’m uploading the full recording to the YTSP Bonus Module next week! I'll ping you when it's ready.)

Writing a whole script in one sitting was like a crash course in the biggest scriptwriting lessons I’ve learned over the last 3 years.

So, with that in mind, here’s how to write a killer YouTube script in 2025:

1/ Set a timer

I have been meaning to write my own YouTube content for months.

But it never happened.

Until, this week, I put a two-hour block in my calendar.

I set a timer… and wrote.

Technically, I failed - I had to give myself an extra 30 mins at the end to make edits.

But the time pressure forced a script out of me.

If scriptwriting felt like something you didn’t have time for in 2024…

…it will feel the same in 2025.

That is... until you make time for it.

2/ Use frameworks

Writing is hard, but YouTube scriptwriting is even harder.

So much of what you were taught in school is not applicable.

Writing for YouTube means learning entirely new habits.

So, to make the process less overwhelming, use proven structures and frameworks.

The problem is, if you spend time on social media, you’re barraged with endless advice from… well, people like me.

The best advice I can give is to use other people’s frameworks that resonate… but in the meantime, keep studying.

I took a huge amount of inspiration from Ed (Creator Booth / Film Booth) when learning how to write better scripts (and had the privilege of writing a few videos on his CB channel).

But having spent 3 years studying retention graphs, writing for different niches, and meeting hundreds of new creators in my course/community… my own frameworks have developed.

Now, I have frameworks for:

Hooks
Setups & Payoffs
Idea framing
CTAs
Script editing (inside YTSP)

…and many more.

I couldn’t have written a fully word-for-word script in two hours without them.

3/ Lean on AI

I’m not an avid AI user, but here’s what I used during my 2.5hr scriptwriting session:

ChatGPT

Good for brainstorming video ideas, script contents and titles.

Let’s take titles:

Feed ChatGPT a bunch of proven title formats, e.g. “What your [XYZ] means for [thing you care about]”.

Then, describe the video you’re working on and ask ChatGPT to brainstorm titles for that video in the style of the proven formats.

You can also use my free GPT “ScriptHook” to make hook writing easier.

1of10

I’ve been using 1of10 for over a year, and am now proud to be partnered up with them.

They have a free Chrome extension to help you spot “outlier” videos on YouTube itself, and a paid tool (see below) where you can search for specific, high-performing videos in your niche.

(It also has AI features that will generate titles and thumbnails for your channel specifically, based on the inspiration you feed it.)

I use 1of10 for literally every idea, every script and every packaging brainstorm… and I highly recommend arming yourself with it in 2025.

4/ Write Blob Scripts

Don’t lose momentum trying to find the “perfect word”.

Instead, write “blob scripts”.

Put simply, once you start writing and get into a flow state, allow yourself to skip certain words.

If pausing to think of a "fancy adjective" or the "perfect verb" is going to ruin your flow, then it's not worth it.

If you’ve got momentum, don’t lose it.

Instead, write "X" or "Y" or "[thing]" and keep writing.

Real example from a script I worked on this month:

You can always come back to those tiny gaps later.

5/ Take a break

After 60 minutes of writing, I took 10 minutes away and made myself a cup of tea.

I won’t bang on about this… you know taking breaks is essential.

Writing is mentally exhausting, so don’t push it.

Break at least once in a 2-hour stint, and come back at least 12 hours later to edit your script further.

6/ Be vulnerable… ask for feedback

The moment my script was written, I threw my hook over to my scriptwriting community.

Ngl… I was apprehensive about opening up the comments this morning.

But that’s the feeling you have to sit with and get used to.

Yes, it’s scary… but feedback is a gift 🎁😆

Whether they’re in your niche (or not); whether they have more subscribers than you (or fewer)… getting feedback is the fastest way to find your blind spots.

Combine a 12-hour break + feedback from peers… and your final draft will improve radically.

[As you know, you’re always welcome to share what you’re working on inside the YTSP community.]

[You can join 160+ YouTubers inside my community here, or simply find a group of peers who are willing to give honest feedback.]

It’s a superpower ✨

7/ Know your audience

This is at the heart of every YouTube script.

Second-guessing every sentence often comes from a lack of clarity about who you’re “speaking to”.

The fact that you’ve already enrolled on my free avatar-building email course puts you in a good position here.

My 2.5 hour scripting session would have taken twice as long had I not known the problems and desires of my audience.

8/ Make it sustainable

We end with the most important point:

You do not have to write word-for-word scripts.

If doing so will kill your love for YouTube, don’t do it.

There are only three things you ought to write WFW:

Hooks
Setups
Payoffs

Beyond that, you can use bullet points.

Yes, riffing is harder than most people expect.

And, the less written your script is, the harder it might be to film/edit.

But think of it like a dial:

Your last video was barely scripted and a pain to film? Dial up your scripting.
Your last video felt stunted and awkward because it was written WFW? Dial down your scripting.

Take this with a pinch of salt... your first time reading from a teleprompter or riffing will be weird and difficult (so don't give up on either approach right away).

But over time, with practice and iteration, you'll find the approach that's right for you.

YouTube is a long game, and if you want to create content consistently in 2025, you must make the process sustainable.

That's all for this... year!

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season (if that's your thing), and I'll see you in 2025 🤩

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

Scripting Frameworks

This week’s tip in a nutshell:

When you write the first segment of your script, templatize it, then re-use the format throughout the script.

For more detail + examples, read on…

Context: check out this newsletter where I explain what I mean by script “segments”.

So, when I say “templatize” a script segment, what does this look like?

Well, I frequently talk about this 3-part segment structure:

Setup
Tension
Payoff.

Every segment should follow this structure.

But templatizing a segment means identifying more clearly what setup, tension, payoff looks like for the script you’re working on.

Example!

Let’s say I’m working on a video about how to build a treehouse.

Each segment of the script would probably cover a different part of the treehouse structure (wood, ropes, bolts, etc).

So let’s imagine that, in segment 1, we’re talking about “bolts”.

Instinctively, I’d think about setup, tension, payoff like this:

Setup - “Bolts are the most important part of your build. Doesn’t matter how strong the wood is if your bolts don’t hold it together. Yet my clients usually make the same mistake when attaching their first five bolts… which leads to a treehouse that could literally collapse at any moment.
*Tension - [Explain what the mistake is. Identify why this causes a problem. Guide the viewer towards the proper technique for attaching bolts.]
Payoff - “So that’s why it’s absolutely critical to attach your bolts like this, not like THIS.”

*This is written in a “draft” state. Of course, in the full script, this would be expanded.

So, that's segment 1.

But now I’ve put all this mental energy into establishing a segment format I like, it’s easy for me to reverse-engineer what I’ve done and create a template I can re-use throughout the video.

Create the Template

^In this case, if I break down the format I just created, it’d look like this:

Setup - highlight common technique problem and establish stakes.
Tension - Explain what the mistake is. Identify why this causes a problem. Guide the viewer towards the proper technique.
Payoff - Show the right + wrong techniques side by side.

Now, I can lean on this template for each segment (if I want to).

To be clear, we don’t want the script to be dull.

Pattern interrupt is a huge part of keeping people watching, and it might seem like repeating the same format for every segment is a recipe for boredom.

But there are two reasons why this is not a problem:

You don’t have to use the template in literally every segment; it’s there to help if you’re staring at a blank page and struggling to make progress.
You can easily disguise the template.

Disguise the Template

Let’s quickly imagine segment 2, where we’re now talking about “ropes”.

While still relying on the templatized version of my setup ("highlight common technique problem and establish stakes"), here’s how I can easily present it in a different way:

Setup - “So let’s talk about ropes. First, look at how I’ve tied this knot and decide whether you think this would hold someone’s weight. [Pause. B-Roll, me stepping on the rope - it gives way!] Ok, so why didn’t it?

We’ve created the same effect...

...except now we’re opening with a direct question, then showing the stakes instead of simply explaining them.

It's the same template, but we've disguised it - and created pattern interrupt in the process!

My old headmaster used to bang on about working "smarter, not harder".

He was a bit of a [REDACTED], but that advice was solid.

Little shortcuts like this will make the scriptwriting process feel way easier over time.

YouTube Strategists Reveal: How to Grow Your Channel in 2025

Scriptwriting is intrinsically tied to every other aspect of YouTube - ideation, packaging, editing, etc.

That’s why I’m delving deeper into YouTube strategy at the moment.

(I got some worried emails last time I mentioned this btw - super kind of you, but don’t worry; my focus will always be scriptwriting.)

In any case, I quizzed my strategist friends on the most important tips for growing a channel faster.

Gwilym has been Bryan Johnson's head of YouTube for ~2yrs, and Jamie has produced for Ali Abdaal and Gordon Ramsay.

Check out the conversation:

🎥 Watch It Here 🎙️

That's all for this week.

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

Scripting Frameworks

Hey!

Newsletters are great, but they're forgettable.

Most weeks, I skim through even my favourite newsletters on the train...

...but rarely make notes or commit to taking action on them.

So today, I've combined a bunch of content from previous weeks.

That way, you don't need to scroll through tonnes of newsletters to get the full picture - instead, you can bookmark a single resource and see it build up over time.

Hopefully that makes this week's edition feel less disposable than your average newsletter 🤞

So.. here's my approach to ideation, selection, packaging and scriptwriting (in 4 steps) so you can steal it.

I use 1of10 to make this process faster, but you can follow a similar approach without it if you prefer!

1/ Find good ideas

Initially, these are just ideas that have the potential to do well. I made a 7-minute video showing you how.
It doesn't necessarily mean you'll want to make them. That, you'll decide in step 2...

2/ Select ideas YOU love

Use my S.E.V. framework (Subject, Expertise, Views) to narrow down ideas.
Only move forward with concepts that satisfy this framework.

3/ Package the idea

First, brainstorm these freely, without thinking about other "outlier" titles or thumbnails. It'll help you be creative.
Next, do brainstorm using outliers. You'll see me doing this for titles at 3:58 in this video and for thumbnails in this article.

4/ Write the script

Compare videos with similar packaging, but where one is performing poorly vs another performing well.
Look for clues in the script - particularly in the hook. What are they doing differently? How will you approach your script as a result?
I demonstrate the technique in this short video.

Ultimately, all of this is possible without 1of10... it'll just take a lot longer.

If you're still making your first 10-20 videos, you probably don't need 1of10 yet.

But when you're ready to take channel strategy more seriously and find inventive ways to improve your scriptwriting...

...I can't recommend it enough ✨

To see all the resources I mentioned above in one place, click here.

Remember, you can get 1of10 with 50% off by using "GEORGE50"

⚡️To get 1of10, click here ⚡️

That's all for this week.

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

‍

Scripting Frameworks

It’s hard being so smart, isn’t it?

When writing about their specialist subject, I often see YouTubers struggling to decide what information is actually important for the script.

After all, you’re an expert in whatever you’re talking about. You know there’s a tonne of nuance you could put into in every video.

I’ve struggled with this feeling, too. Staring at a script, thinking:

“I can’t trim this more than I already have. Every piece of information is completely essential.”

But 99% of the time, if you feel like this… you’re wrong.

”Forced Prioritization”

The feeling is summed up in this quote:

“Forced prioritization is really painful. Smart people recognize the value of all the material.

They see nuance, multiple perspectives - and because they fully appreciate the complexities of a situation, they're often tempted to linger there.

The tendency to gravitate towards complexity is perpetually at war with the need to prioritize.”

This is from Made to Stick, a book recommended to me by my friend Gil Hildebrand.

Never has a quote (that's NOT written about YouTube scripts) so perfectly summed up the struggle of writing YouTube scripts 😂

I often see students and clients get in their heads about some imagined critic complaining about their scripts:

“Erm, excuse me, you didn’t caveat [point X] with [point Y]!”

Gradually, they start to second-guess everything they’re writing.

And this slows their writing speed to a crawl.

But remember - you’re writing a YouTube script, not a college essay.

Yes, you should strive for accuracy and fairness in your videos.

But there will be times when certain nuances or tangents must be consciously ignored.

Made to Stick argues that we must learn to tell the difference between “critical” and “beneficial” information.

The goal is not to remove nuance completely.

It’s to accept that some level of nuance will usually need to be sacrificed, which might mean not all “beneficial” information will make the cut.

Let's look at the difference between "critical" and "beneficial" information using a practical example.

But first!

Find viral video ideas in seconds.

Get 50% Off 1of10 (forever)

Every single week, I use 1of10 to find high-performing ideas for channels I work with.

Check out this 8min video showing exactly how.

They recently added an AI thumbnail generator too (and it's surprisingly good).

So if you struggle with finding new ideas for your channel, 1of10 will make your life 10x easier.

Just use the discount code 'GEORGE50'.

Get 50% Off 1of10 Now

Critical vs Beneficial

To identify the difference, you need to have a clear picture of your audience avatar.

I’m still ruminating on the best way to define each term, but right now I think of it like this:

“Critical” information is highly likely to convince your target audience to keep watching.
“Beneficial” information is something which they might find interesting, but which won’t specifically cause them to keep watching.

Example - Strong Coffee Lovers

So, let’s look at “critical” and “beneficial” information in action.

Imagine an audience of coffee lovers whose primary desire to to brew strong coffee.

They’re not fussed about diverse flavours - they just want something that’s gonna give them a kick up the butt.
They already have a basic home setup, but prefer not to spend more money on additional gear.
Speed is important to them - they don’t have time to learn any complex new brewing techniques.

I’ve just written a hook for an imaginary video, but have deliberately included “beneficial” information in red.

Notice how this information still fits pretty nicely in the hook, but doesn’t appeal directly to my audience avatar:

Version 1 - with "beneficial" information left in.

Why is it so hard to brew the perfect filter coffee?

You’ve probably tried everything in the book - changing the grind size, cleaning your conical burrs and watching every James Hoffman video under the sun - but each cup still comes out weak and you can’t detect any of the interesting flavours they mentioned on the bag.

So in this video, I’m going to show you how changing the way you prep your tap water will completely alter the strength and flavour of your coffee.

It’ll take you five minutes, you won’t have to spend a penny, and you’ll be shocked that you didn’t think to try this sooner. Prepare to start making cafe-grade coffee from the comfort of your own home.

Compare this to the below rewrite where “beneficial” info is removed.

Now, the focus is on the strength of coffee, saving money and speed.

Version 2 - focused on "critical" information.

Why is it so hard to brew strong filter coffee?

You’ve probably tried everything in the book - changing the grind size, cleaning your conical burrs and watching every James Hoffman video under the sun - but each cup still comes out weak.

So in this video, I’m going to show you how changing the way you prep your tap water will completely alter the strength of your coffee - it’ll take you five minutes, you won’t have to spend a penny, and you’ll be drinking cafe-grade coffee at home for the rest of your life.

Both hooks are pretty similar, and it’s not as though the first one includes any irrelevant information.

But the key is identifying and prioritizing the “critical” information.

Action Point

The one thing I want you to take away from this week’s newsletter?

Next time you realise you need to delete some “beneficial” information from your script, say to yourself:

“I am consciously removing this piece of information, and that’s alright.”

You must accept that removing a caveat here or a piece of nuance there is not only “ok”, but necessary to write a better script.

You can't go down every rabbit hole.

Focus on what your audience cares about, and prioritise creating a more memorable experience for them.

As they say in Made to Stick:

A common mistake […] is that they get so steeped in the details that they fail to see the message’s core - what readers will find important or interesting.

I’m finding this book unbelievably useful for YouTube scriptwriting and highly recommend you give it a read.

If you want to grab a copy, feel free to use my affiliate link!

That's all for this week!

But if you're locking in for a scriptwriting-centric Friday, you can also check out the latest episode of my podcast, Making It.

**YouTube Scriptwriter Reveals Viral Writing System**

Watch Now
‍

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

‍

Scripting Frameworks

Hey!

In recent months, the best lesson I've learned about writing YouTube scripts came from watching a band I love write music.

This slightly weird tactic will help you write hooks more easily.

You'll stop overthinking every single word and will create the hook structure much faster.

Find the melody

Ok... I’m not a musician.

So I instinctively assumed the lyrics would always be the first thing a musician came up with when writing a song.

Which is why I found it fascinating to learn that musicians often create the melody first.

When watching behind-the-scenes footage, you'll see bands improvise their way to a sound that feels good - one that conveys the emotion they're trying to express.

Then, afterwards, they create lyrics to match the melody.

It's such an interesting process to watch - particularly when you see footage of a band creating a song you know incredibly well...

...back when they had 0 lyrics and were just "feeling out" the sound.

They hum along, occasionally throwing in a phrase that you know will eventually become "that famous part" of the chorus... but their priority is nailing the melody.

Without meaning to, this is how I have started approaching YouTube scripts.

🛠️ Tool Shoutout

Quick side-note...

I'm experimenting with affiliate marketing at the moment, so I thought I'd kick off by shouting out my favourite screen recording software.

If you communicate a lot using screen-recordings, I massively recommend Tella.

I switched to Tella over a year ago and have used it to record over 200 videos:

If you want prettier screen-recordings for quick comms, tutorials or filming courses, give Tella a try.

(I'm an affiliate, so you'll get 30% off and I'll get a financial kickback too!)

Get 30% Off Tella

Ok, let's get back to it...

Blob scripts

Because YouTube is such a visual medium, I can often see a kind of "blob" version of a video in my mind before I know exactly what I want to say.

It probably comes from having watched a LOT of YouTube… but I can almost visualise the ebb and flow of the hook before I’ve thought about the words.

Imagine I’m writing a script about a 5-step system to help students pass their exams.

Immediately, my brain starts to imagine something like this:

“Dum dah, dum dah, dum system.”

“A system that’s gonna blah.”

“And once you dee dee dee dee doo”

“Your grades are gonna dum dum dee!”

This might sound a bit mad.

But remember, as viewers, we rarely remember a video because of the words alone - we remember the pacing, the visuals, the sounds... all the stuff that comes together to create a video's "melody".

And considering you’ve probably watched a lot of YouTube [FIRST NAME GOES HERE], you’ll have an intuitive sense of how hooks often flow.

But how does this makes writing easier?

Quite simply, once I start writing and get into a flow state, I allow myself to "skip" certain words.

If pausing to think of a "fancy adjective" or the "perfect verb" is going to ruin my flow, then it's not worth it.

If I've got momentum, I don't want to lose it.

I'll write "X" or "Y" or "[thing]" or whatever I need to breeze over if it'll keep my flow state going.

I can always come back to those tiny gaps later.

My priority is nailing the script's "melody".

Here’s an extract from an actual hook I wrote a few weeks back… the first time I tried to “sound out” how it would flow:

Not only does this approach generate faster progress…

…but it also gives you a better chance of writing a video that looks and feels like you dreamed it would when the idea first came to mind.

Rather than a video that has perfect verbiage but no soul.

Give this a try and let me know how you get on.

That's all for this week!

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

‍

Hook

Hey

This is probably the most "real talk" newsletter I've written for months.

It started out as me journalling to myself, but the more I wrote, the more I realised I wanted to share this...

Scriptwriting is a weird part of YouTube.

Especially as a “freelance scriptwriter”, you’re basically “subbed in” to keep an existing train rolling.

You’re not really expected to grow the channel.

Good scriptwriting is necessary to grow a channel faster, but it’s not sufficient.

This has pros and cons:

On the plus side, if a video completely bombs, it’s probably an issue with the core idea, how it’s framed, or how it’s packaged.

It’s rare that you can point to the script and say “this is the main reason the video failed”.

On the flip side, just as you can’t really be blamed for a video flopping, you can’t really take credit for a video going viral either 😂

You occupy a weird middle ground where your value is probably quantified more by your ability to free up your client’s time than it is by your ability to write “viral scripts”.

Protecting your reputation

This is why I get a bit uncomfortable when I’m introduced on podcasts as “the writer behind 25,000,000 views!”

Like, sure, it’s not a “lie”. But it’s not nuanced either.

I mean, who could have guessed that my time working with viral video machine Mike Shake would suddenly add another 10m views to “my” view counter?

It comes down to this:

Your reputation is more important than anything else, especially if “proving your value” isn’t completely straightforward.

Your “view count” (which is often misleading) is way less influential than what influential people say about you.

I still have relationships with creator teams I worked with literally once, even if the script went kinda badly.

Yes, good work is important, but how you conduct yourself both during the relationship AND in the aftermath (on Twitter, podcasts, etc) has a longer-term impact than anything.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t shout about how many views you’ve contributed to.

But don’t use it as a crutch.

And definitely don’t inflate the number of videos you say you’ve worked on just to sound more impressive.

Back yourself as a person and as a creative to do good work - your reputation will carry you forward.

That's all for this week!

I definitely owe a few of you replies from the last couple of emails.

I'll get back to those - and any thoughts you have on this one - next week ✌️

Speak soon,
George 👋

Business of Scriptwriting

Hey!

I run a community of 150+ scriptwriting-focused YouTubers, and it should come as no surprise:

The thing we spend the most time workshopping is hooks.

I’ve been so impressed by the quality of feedback my students offer each other.

So, I’ve collated (and anonymised) some hooks my students have shared, and the feedback we’ve offered to help improve them.

These are the 4 most common hook-writing problems I see every month.

Problem #1 - Specificity:

The last thing we want is an ultra-general hook that doesn’t give the viewer clarity about how you’re going to tackle their problem.

So always be precise when you’re outlining the video’s structure to make it feel more digestible.

Before:

"I've uncovered a few key insights that will help you lose body fat."

After:

I've uncovered five simple, science-backed strategies that will help you lose body fat.

“A few key insights” might sound ok at first.

But the community raised concerns that this phrase was too vague to be engaging.

Instead, be specific about the structure (”five”) and emphasise why the audience should care (”science-backed strategy”).

Problem #2 - Stakes:

The big question:

What is at stake in your video? What does your audience (or the character in the video) stand to lose?

Playing on these emotions is critical to keep viewers watching.

In the community, we’ve noticed a tendency to imply the negative implications of not doing X, Y or Z, without calling out the target audience's fears directly.

Before:

You definitely don't want to mess this cake up, so pay close attention to every step.

After:

Until you learn to follow these steps, your cake will taste dry and bland, or worse - it’ll just collapse completely.

Make it easy for your viewer to picture what’s at cake.

(Ok, I’ll leave.)

But of course, it's only worth perfecting your hook if the idea itself is clickable...

Find viral video ideas in seconds.

Get 50% Off 1of10 (forever)

Every single week, I use 1of10 to find high-performing ideas for channels I work with.

Check out this 8min video showing exactly how I do it.

They recently added an AI thumbnail generator too (and it's surprisingly good).

So if you struggle with finding new ideas for your channel, 1of10 will make your life 10x easier.

Just use the discount code 'GEORGE50'.

Get 50% Off 1of10 Now

Problem #3 - Relevance:

It goes without saying - when writing a hook, we have a matter of seconds to entice the audience to keep watching.

So always ask yourself:

Does every sentence need to be there? Is it obvious why I mentioned [X]?

Here’s an example where a couple of sentences felt a bit out of place:

Before:

I recently listened to a podcast with [figure of authority] - she wrote [impressive book].

She has spent years speaking on how to build and maintain powerful professional relationships.

My goal for the next 3 months is to build stronger professional relationships here is how I’m going to do it.

After:

[Show clip of [figure of authority] offering a nugget of wisdom - enough to pique curiosity.]

This is [figure of authority] - she wrote [impressive book].

Her business does over $10,000,000 in revenue each year, which she attributes to the strength of her network.

So my plan is simple…

Over the next 90 days, I'm going to follow [figure of authority]’s advice to strengthen and expand my network - and I’ll reveal whether this actually generates additional revenue for my business.”

So what changed here?

Well, one of my community members gave this sage advice:

“Don’t add details unless it’s clear why they’re necessary.”

Before, it wasn’t obvious why the hook began by referencing that particular figure of authority.

Yes, they were related to the topic.

But you could just as easily have started the hook without the first two sentences and it would have made no difference.

In the rewrite, we circle back to that figure of authority at the end of the hook, which makes it clear that her specific advice will play an integral role in the video.

Problem #4 - Proof:

Promising a solution to a particular problem?

You’ve got to ask yourself why should the audience listen to you specifically.

(Especially if you’re competing in a saturated niche.)

But how do you do this if you’re worried your experience doesn’t sound impressive enough?

For example, one of my community members is a fantastic music tutor, but because he only likes to work with a limited number of students at once, he was concerned that saying “I’ve coached [X] students…” would sound a bit lame.

So let’s workshop some alternatives if you’re in a similar position:

Before:

“I’ve coached more than 50 pianists…”

After:

“I’ve been a professional pianist for 30 years…”
“I’ve composed more than 500 songs on the piano…”
“Since starting this channel I've helped hundreds of songwriters level up their piano playing…”
I’ve played some of the world's biggest concert halls in my career…”
“I’m not a famous pianist, but my music has been streamed more than one million times…”

You can always get creative with how you “prove” your expertise during the hook.

That's all for this week!

Don't forget to use "GEORGE50" if you decide to join me and thousands of fellow YouTubers using 1of10!

And let me know... which problems have you noticed in your hooks (and how did you fix them?)

Speak soon,
George 👋

‍

Hook

Hey,

Ever been stuck in a YouTube scriptwriting rut?

Where each paragraph feels completely soul-sucking and the result is a hot mess?

Me too.

So here are three tried-and-tested ways to get out of a YouTube funk:

1/ Set Constraints

One of my students, Martin, had become frustrated that he would always get "carried away" with the script.

I can't seem to find a good way of doing a simple [script] outline... I end up coming up with good hooks, sentences that flow well and since I'll never remember them when I riff… it becomes easier to script the whole thing. - Martin

But this was making the process unsustainable.

Not only was this taking way more time, but he actually felt constrained by the word-for-word scripts he’d end up with.

So here's a quick exercise to force you to write scripts faster.

Pick a "safe" topic similar to a video you’ve made before.
Challenge yourself to a 10-minute brainstorm. In that time, create a super basic bullet point structure - maybe as few as 1 bullet point per segment.
Limit yourself to a 50-minute script editing session. Bulk out the most important parts first.

From here, yes - you can spend more time on the script.

But by acting as though you only have 60 minutes in total, you’ll be surprised how much LESS you overthink.

The priority is getting draft 1 finished without pausing to perfect each sentence.

Once you’ve practised this with your “safe” topics, you’ll find it easier to repeat with any video.

2/ Do Something For You

Meet another student of mine, Jeff.

An uber-talented guitar teacher, Jeff was looking for ways to inject new forms of creativity into his videos to prevent the process from becoming "stale".

So he:

Found a hill.
Walked up it.
Recorded a guitar lesson in a field.

There's plenty of evidence to show that changing environment contributes to improved mental well-being, and studies suggest a positive correlation between well-being and productivity.

Plus, ‘Attention Restoration Theory’ tells us that natural environments are amazing for replenishing cognitive function and reducing brain fog.

Now that's how you put the ‘content’ back into ‘content’. (This joke works better out loud.)

So, if you can - why not film your next video somewhere totally different?

By the way, if you’re interested in joining Martin, Jeff and 150+ scriptwriting-focused YouTubers inside my scriptwriting community, you can learn more about YTSP Pro here.

3/ Take the Pressure Off

Let's end on this quick nugget of wisdom from O.G. YouTube strategist, Denver Moore:

As he puts it, every YouTuber should "have a channel where you don’t have to care what people think."

It goes without saying: give your audience what they want on your main channel.

Meanwhile, test crazy strategies and experiment creatively on your second channel - without giving a *cough* about what people think.

The only rule?

Just have fun with it.

Matt D’Avella recently started a second channel here for exactly this reason.

This comes shortly after the release of this video, where he explains the dwindling creativity and diminished passion that comes with scaling a YouTube channel.

Remove the stakes, and you’ll remove the stress!

So there it is - your blueprint to revitalised YouTube zest:

Constrain the time you're allowed to spend scripting.
Film in a new location.
Experiment freely on a second channel.

Anyway, that's all for this week!

I wanna know - have you tried any of these strategies before? Hit reply and let me know!

Next week, I'm diving into the most common hook problems students from my scriptwriting community have experienced (and how we fixed them)!

Speak soon,
George 👋

‍

Business of Scriptwriting

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This week, I recorded myself writing an entire YouTube script from start to finish.

And honestly? It was brutal.

It took 2hrs and 39 minutes, including time spent brainstorming the content, packaging it, and structuring + writing the whole thing almost word-for-word.

(Btw, I’m uploading the full recording to the YTSP Bonus Module next week! I'll ping you when it's ready.)

Writing a whole script in one sitting was like a crash course in the biggest scriptwriting lessons I’ve learned over the last 3 years.

So, with that in mind, here’s how to write a killer YouTube script in 2025:

1/ Set a timer

I have been meaning to write my own YouTube content for months.

But it never happened.

Until, this week, I put a two-hour block in my calendar.

I set a timer… and wrote.

Technically, I failed - I had to give myself an extra 30 mins at the end to make edits.

But the time pressure forced a script out of me.

If scriptwriting felt like something you didn’t have time for in 2024…

…it will feel the same in 2025.

That is... until you make time for it.

2/ Use frameworks

Writing is hard, but YouTube scriptwriting is even harder.

So much of what you were taught in school is not applicable.

Writing for YouTube means learning entirely new habits.

So, to make the process less overwhelming, use proven structures and frameworks.

The problem is, if you spend time on social media, you’re barraged with endless advice from… well, people like me.

The best advice I can give is to use other people’s frameworks that resonate… but in the meantime, keep studying.

I took a huge amount of inspiration from Ed (Creator Booth / Film Booth) when learning how to write better scripts (and had the privilege of writing a few videos on his CB channel).

But having spent 3 years studying retention graphs, writing for different niches, and meeting hundreds of new creators in my course/community… my own frameworks have developed.

Now, I have frameworks for:

Hooks
Setups & Payoffs
Idea framing
CTAs
Script editing (inside YTSP)

…and many more.

I couldn’t have written a fully word-for-word script in two hours without them.

3/ Lean on AI

I’m not an avid AI user, but here’s what I used during my 2.5hr scriptwriting session:

ChatGPT

Good for brainstorming video ideas, script contents and titles.

Let’s take titles:

Feed ChatGPT a bunch of proven title formats, e.g. “What your [XYZ] means for [thing you care about]”.

Then, describe the video you’re working on and ask ChatGPT to brainstorm titles for that video in the style of the proven formats.

You can also use my free GPT “ScriptHook” to make hook writing easier.

1of10

I’ve been using 1of10 for over a year, and am now proud to be partnered up with them.

They have a free Chrome extension to help you spot “outlier” videos on YouTube itself, and a paid tool (see below) where you can search for specific, high-performing videos in your niche.

(It also has AI features that will generate titles and thumbnails for your channel specifically, based on the inspiration you feed it.)

I use 1of10 for literally every idea, every script and every packaging brainstorm… and I highly recommend arming yourself with it in 2025.

4/ Write Blob Scripts

Don’t lose momentum trying to find the “perfect word”.

Instead, write “blob scripts”.

Put simply, once you start writing and get into a flow state, allow yourself to skip certain words.

If pausing to think of a "fancy adjective" or the "perfect verb" is going to ruin your flow, then it's not worth it.

If you’ve got momentum, don’t lose it.

Instead, write "X" or "Y" or "[thing]" and keep writing.

Real example from a script I worked on this month:

You can always come back to those tiny gaps later.

5/ Take a break

After 60 minutes of writing, I took 10 minutes away and made myself a cup of tea.

I won’t bang on about this… you know taking breaks is essential.

Writing is mentally exhausting, so don’t push it.

Break at least once in a 2-hour stint, and come back at least 12 hours later to edit your script further.

6/ Be vulnerable… ask for feedback

The moment my script was written, I threw my hook over to my scriptwriting community.

Ngl… I was apprehensive about opening up the comments this morning.

But that’s the feeling you have to sit with and get used to.

Yes, it’s scary… but feedback is a gift 🎁😆

Whether they’re in your niche (or not); whether they have more subscribers than you (or fewer)… getting feedback is the fastest way to find your blind spots.

Combine a 12-hour break + feedback from peers… and your final draft will improve radically.

[As you know, you’re always welcome to share what you’re working on inside the YTSP community.]

[You can join 160+ YouTubers inside my community here, or simply find a group of peers who are willing to give honest feedback.]

It’s a superpower ✨

7/ Know your audience

This is at the heart of every YouTube script.

Second-guessing every sentence often comes from a lack of clarity about who you’re “speaking to”.

The fact that you’ve already enrolled on my free avatar-building email course puts you in a good position here.

My 2.5 hour scripting session would have taken twice as long had I not known the problems and desires of my audience.

8/ Make it sustainable

We end with the most important point:

You do not have to write word-for-word scripts.

If doing so will kill your love for YouTube, don’t do it.

There are only three things you ought to write WFW:

Hooks
Setups
Payoffs

Beyond that, you can use bullet points.

Yes, riffing is harder than most people expect.

And, the less written your script is, the harder it might be to film/edit.

But think of it like a dial:

Your last video was barely scripted and a pain to film? Dial up your scripting.
Your last video felt stunted and awkward because it was written WFW? Dial down your scripting.

Take this with a pinch of salt... your first time reading from a teleprompter or riffing will be weird and difficult (so don't give up on either approach right away).

But over time, with practice and iteration, you'll find the approach that's right for you.

YouTube is a long game, and if you want to create content consistently in 2025, you must make the process sustainable.

That's all for this... year!

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season (if that's your thing), and I'll see you in 2025 🤩

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

This week’s tip in a nutshell:

When you write the first segment of your script, templatize it, then re-use the format throughout the script.

For more detail + examples, read on…

Context: check out this newsletter where I explain what I mean by script “segments”.

So, when I say “templatize” a script segment, what does this look like?

Well, I frequently talk about this 3-part segment structure:

Setup
Tension
Payoff.

Every segment should follow this structure.

But templatizing a segment means identifying more clearly what setup, tension, payoff looks like for the script you’re working on.

Example!

Let’s say I’m working on a video about how to build a treehouse.

Each segment of the script would probably cover a different part of the treehouse structure (wood, ropes, bolts, etc).

So let’s imagine that, in segment 1, we’re talking about “bolts”.

Instinctively, I’d think about setup, tension, payoff like this:

Setup - “Bolts are the most important part of your build. Doesn’t matter how strong the wood is if your bolts don’t hold it together. Yet my clients usually make the same mistake when attaching their first five bolts… which leads to a treehouse that could literally collapse at any moment.
*Tension - [Explain what the mistake is. Identify why this causes a problem. Guide the viewer towards the proper technique for attaching bolts.]
Payoff - “So that’s why it’s absolutely critical to attach your bolts like this, not like THIS.”

*This is written in a “draft” state. Of course, in the full script, this would be expanded.

So, that's segment 1.

But now I’ve put all this mental energy into establishing a segment format I like, it’s easy for me to reverse-engineer what I’ve done and create a template I can re-use throughout the video.

Create the Template

^In this case, if I break down the format I just created, it’d look like this:

Setup - highlight common technique problem and establish stakes.
Tension - Explain what the mistake is. Identify why this causes a problem. Guide the viewer towards the proper technique.
Payoff - Show the right + wrong techniques side by side.

Now, I can lean on this template for each segment (if I want to).

To be clear, we don’t want the script to be dull.

Pattern interrupt is a huge part of keeping people watching, and it might seem like repeating the same format for every segment is a recipe for boredom.

But there are two reasons why this is not a problem:

You don’t have to use the template in literally every segment; it’s there to help if you’re staring at a blank page and struggling to make progress.
You can easily disguise the template.

Disguise the Template

Let’s quickly imagine segment 2, where we’re now talking about “ropes”.

While still relying on the templatized version of my setup ("highlight common technique problem and establish stakes"), here’s how I can easily present it in a different way:

Setup - “So let’s talk about ropes. First, look at how I’ve tied this knot and decide whether you think this would hold someone’s weight. [Pause. B-Roll, me stepping on the rope - it gives way!] Ok, so why didn’t it?

We’ve created the same effect...

...except now we’re opening with a direct question, then showing the stakes instead of simply explaining them.

It's the same template, but we've disguised it - and created pattern interrupt in the process!

My old headmaster used to bang on about working "smarter, not harder".

He was a bit of a [REDACTED], but that advice was solid.

Little shortcuts like this will make the scriptwriting process feel way easier over time.

YouTube Strategists Reveal: How to Grow Your Channel in 2025

Scriptwriting is intrinsically tied to every other aspect of YouTube - ideation, packaging, editing, etc.

That’s why I’m delving deeper into YouTube strategy at the moment.

(I got some worried emails last time I mentioned this btw - super kind of you, but don’t worry; my focus will always be scriptwriting.)

In any case, I quizzed my strategist friends on the most important tips for growing a channel faster.

Gwilym has been Bryan Johnson's head of YouTube for ~2yrs, and Jamie has produced for Ali Abdaal and Gordon Ramsay.

Check out the conversation:

🎥 Watch It Here 🎙️

That's all for this week.

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

Hey!

Newsletters are great, but they're forgettable.

Most weeks, I skim through even my favourite newsletters on the train...

...but rarely make notes or commit to taking action on them.

So today, I've combined a bunch of content from previous weeks.

That way, you don't need to scroll through tonnes of newsletters to get the full picture - instead, you can bookmark a single resource and see it build up over time.

Hopefully that makes this week's edition feel less disposable than your average newsletter 🤞

So.. here's my approach to ideation, selection, packaging and scriptwriting (in 4 steps) so you can steal it.

I use 1of10 to make this process faster, but you can follow a similar approach without it if you prefer!

1/ Find good ideas

Initially, these are just ideas that have the potential to do well. I made a 7-minute video showing you how.
It doesn't necessarily mean you'll want to make them. That, you'll decide in step 2...

2/ Select ideas YOU love

Use my S.E.V. framework (Subject, Expertise, Views) to narrow down ideas.
Only move forward with concepts that satisfy this framework.

3/ Package the idea

First, brainstorm these freely, without thinking about other "outlier" titles or thumbnails. It'll help you be creative.
Next, do brainstorm using outliers. You'll see me doing this for titles at 3:58 in this video and for thumbnails in this article.

4/ Write the script

Compare videos with similar packaging, but where one is performing poorly vs another performing well.
Look for clues in the script - particularly in the hook. What are they doing differently? How will you approach your script as a result?
I demonstrate the technique in this short video.

Ultimately, all of this is possible without 1of10... it'll just take a lot longer.

If you're still making your first 10-20 videos, you probably don't need 1of10 yet.

But when you're ready to take channel strategy more seriously and find inventive ways to improve your scriptwriting...

...I can't recommend it enough ✨

To see all the resources I mentioned above in one place, click here.

Remember, you can get 1of10 with 50% off by using "GEORGE50"

⚡️To get 1of10, click here ⚡️

That's all for this week.

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

‍

It’s hard being so smart, isn’t it?

When writing about their specialist subject, I often see YouTubers struggling to decide what information is actually important for the script.

After all, you’re an expert in whatever you’re talking about. You know there’s a tonne of nuance you could put into in every video.

I’ve struggled with this feeling, too. Staring at a script, thinking:

“I can’t trim this more than I already have. Every piece of information is completely essential.”

But 99% of the time, if you feel like this… you’re wrong.

”Forced Prioritization”

The feeling is summed up in this quote:

“Forced prioritization is really painful. Smart people recognize the value of all the material.

They see nuance, multiple perspectives - and because they fully appreciate the complexities of a situation, they're often tempted to linger there.

The tendency to gravitate towards complexity is perpetually at war with the need to prioritize.”

This is from Made to Stick, a book recommended to me by my friend Gil Hildebrand.

Never has a quote (that's NOT written about YouTube scripts) so perfectly summed up the struggle of writing YouTube scripts 😂

I often see students and clients get in their heads about some imagined critic complaining about their scripts:

“Erm, excuse me, you didn’t caveat [point X] with [point Y]!”

Gradually, they start to second-guess everything they’re writing.

And this slows their writing speed to a crawl.

But remember - you’re writing a YouTube script, not a college essay.

Yes, you should strive for accuracy and fairness in your videos.

But there will be times when certain nuances or tangents must be consciously ignored.

Made to Stick argues that we must learn to tell the difference between “critical” and “beneficial” information.

The goal is not to remove nuance completely.

It’s to accept that some level of nuance will usually need to be sacrificed, which might mean not all “beneficial” information will make the cut.

Let's look at the difference between "critical" and "beneficial" information using a practical example.

But first!

Find viral video ideas in seconds.

Get 50% Off 1of10 (forever)

Every single week, I use 1of10 to find high-performing ideas for channels I work with.

Check out this 8min video showing exactly how.

They recently added an AI thumbnail generator too (and it's surprisingly good).

So if you struggle with finding new ideas for your channel, 1of10 will make your life 10x easier.

Just use the discount code 'GEORGE50'.

Get 50% Off 1of10 Now

Critical vs Beneficial

To identify the difference, you need to have a clear picture of your audience avatar.

I’m still ruminating on the best way to define each term, but right now I think of it like this:

“Critical” information is highly likely to convince your target audience to keep watching.
“Beneficial” information is something which they might find interesting, but which won’t specifically cause them to keep watching.

Example - Strong Coffee Lovers

So, let’s look at “critical” and “beneficial” information in action.

Imagine an audience of coffee lovers whose primary desire to to brew strong coffee.

They’re not fussed about diverse flavours - they just want something that’s gonna give them a kick up the butt.
They already have a basic home setup, but prefer not to spend more money on additional gear.
Speed is important to them - they don’t have time to learn any complex new brewing techniques.