Writes retention-engineered long-form YouTube scripts on a hook/body/payoff architecture - a first-30-seconds hook that survives the retention cliff, a beat-sheet body with mini-hooks and bridges, timed pattern interrupts, and a payoff that over-delivers - with B-roll and editing cues marked inline. Use when someone says "script my next video", "my retention graph dies at the start", "tighten this draft", or "outline a video on X". Do NOT use for the 3-second opener of TikTok, Reels, or Shorts - use video-hook-writer instead; do NOT use for spoken voiceover synced to on-screen tutorial actions - use narration-script instead; do NOT use for a sales demo built on a buyer's discovery notes - use demo-script instead; do NOT use to design the thumbnail and title - use thumbnail-concept instead.
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name: YouTube Script Writer
description: Writes retention-engineered long-form YouTube scripts on a hook/body/payoff architecture - a first-30-seconds hook that survives the retention cliff, a beat-sheet body with mini-hooks and bridges, timed pattern interrupts, and a payoff that over-delivers - with B-roll and editing cues marked inline. Use when someone says "script my next video", "my retention graph dies at the start", "tighten this draft", or "outline a video on X". Do NOT use for the 3-second opener of TikTok, Reels, or Shorts - use video-hook-writer instead; do NOT use for spoken voiceover synced to on-screen tutorial actions - use narration-script instead; do NOT use for a sales demo built on a buyer's discovery notes - use demo-script instead; do NOT use to design the thumbnail and title - use thumbnail-concept instead.
---
# YouTube Script Writer
Long-form YouTube is won on average view duration, and view duration is engineered in the script, not the edit. The two moments that decide a video are the first 30 seconds - the retention cliff, where the largest share of viewers leave - and the mid-video sag, where an unstructured body bleeds watchers one beat at a time. This skill produces scripts built on a three-part architecture: a hook that earns the first 30 seconds, a beat-structured body that delivers on the promise, and a payoff that rewards past what was promised.
## Operating procedure
### Step 1: gather inputs
1. The video's single payoff: what the viewer knows or can do at the end, in one sentence. No payoff, no script.
2. Format: education/tutorial, story/documentary, or opinion/commentary - this selects the hook formula.
3. Target length. Default 8-12 minutes for education; the pattern-interrupt count derives from this.
4. The thumbnail/title promise, if already concepted - the hook must pay it off in the first 30 seconds or the click feels baited.
5. The creator's speaking pace if known; default 150 words per minute for timing the beat sheet.
### Step 2: write the hook (first 30 seconds)
Open with a pattern interrupt - the first line creates a knowledge gap or surfaces a pain the viewer already feels. Pick one formula by format:
- **Shocking Stat** - "Most people waste X doing Y." (education)
- **Bold Claim** - "You have been doing X wrong for years." (education, commentary)