By eaSun Team • 14 July 2025
Scripting is one of the most important, yet overlooked, parts of the video creation process. According to George Blackman—a scriptwriter for top creators like Ali Abdaal and Mike Shake—a great script gives you full creative control and is the foundation of audience retention. This guide breaks down his professional framework for turning a simple topic into a compelling, high-retention video script.
A great video starts long before you write the first line. It begins with framing your idea. A topic is not an idea. The idea is the unique angle you take on that topic.
Instead of a generic approach, reframe your topic to make it personal and intriguing for the viewer. Ask yourself:
Example: Instead of asking, "Why does Hollywood keep making reboots?" (Answer: money), ask, "Why do *we* keep paying to see reboots we know we'll dislike?" This reframes the topic as an introspective look at the viewer's own behavior.
The most common writing mistake is failing to provide consistent payoffs. The audience needs to know what they are waiting for at all times.
If there are long stretches where the audience isn't learning anything or doesn't know what's coming next, they will click away.
George uses a four-part process to structure his writing, mentally "wearing" a different hat for each stage to stay focused.
This is the free-flowing, creative stage. Get all your ideas onto the page without worrying about structure or flow. Your only goal is to brain-dump everything you might want to include and identify the video's Grand Payoff.
Now, bring order to the chaos. Review your ideas, eliminate weak points, and arrange the strong ones into a logical sequence. This is where you build the structural blueprint of your video, mapping out the necessary steps to reach the final payoff.
With the structure in place, begin writing the full script. Connect the dots between your architectural points, ensuring every paragraph moves the story forward, backward, or creates an emotional shift. Focus on getting a complete draft from start to finish that makes narrative sense.
This is the final, retention-focused editing stage. Go through your script and highlight every single payoff moment. If you see large sections of text with no highlights, you've found a "boring" part. Rearrange the structure, add reveals, insert metaphors, or rephrase sections to ensure there are consistent "aha" moments to keep the viewer hooked.
To keep your audience engaged, make them feel smart. Don't just give them an answer and then explain why it's correct. Instead, turn your content into a puzzle.
Example: A boxing coach making a video about fighting a taller opponent shouldn't say, "The technique is to get in close." Instead, he should first demonstrate the technique visually and ask the audience, "Can you see what I'm doing here?" before explaining it.
This engages the viewer's brain, allows them to solve the puzzle, and gives them a satisfying dopamine hit when their guess is confirmed.
To get viewers to watch another video, don't just say "thanks for watching." Use this proven three-step formula at the end of your video:
