Prompts for YouTube Script Writing: Hooks to Final Drafts

Prompts for YouTube script writing produce better results when they start from a real video concept — a specific question your audience is asking, a problem they face, a decision they need to make — rather than a topic keyword. An AI given a specific concept and a channel brief can write a hook, develop an outline, and draft a script that fits your style. An AI given only a topic keyword will produce the most common version of that video. Tools like fenbs let you keep the channel brief, editorial decisions, and the prompt library that has proved reliable in one place, so every writing session starts from the same foundation.

The prompts below cover the full script-writing workflow: developing a video concept, writing a hook, building an outline, drafting the full script, adapting to a Short, and running a final check before recording.

What belongs in your channel brief before scripting

Before any script prompt, establish the channel brief. This is the document that tells the AI who you make videos for and what makes your take different from the ten other channels covering the same topics. Without it, every script prompt starts from zero.

Your brief should cover: the target viewer and their specific problem or interest, the channel's distinctive angle (not just the topic, but the approach), the tone and presentation style, and the formats you typically use. Three short paragraphs is usually enough. A brief that is too long gets ignored; one that is too vague produces generic output.

For broader channel planning prompts — generating ideas, building a content calendar, and checking format consistency — see prompts for YouTube channels. This page focuses on the writing itself.

Prompts for developing a video concept

A video concept is more specific than a topic. "Productivity" is a topic. "Why most productivity systems stop working after three weeks and what to do instead" is a concept. A concept names the specific problem or question the video answers, which makes everything else in the writing process easier.

Channel brief: [paste brief]
Topic I want to cover: [topic]

This topic is broad. Help me develop it into a specific video concept by answering:
1. What is the most common misconception or mistake your target viewer makes about this topic?
2. What does your channel's angle reveal that most videos on this topic miss?
3. What is the single question this video should answer?

From the answers, write three possible video concepts in this format: [the specific problem or question] + [what the viewer will understand by the end]. Choose the concept that is most specific to our channel's angle and would be least likely to exist already.

Prompts for writing a hook

The hook is the first 20–45 seconds of a YouTube video. Most viewers decide whether to keep watching within the first few seconds. A hook that takes too long to get to the point, starts with generic preamble, or relies on a question the viewer does not yet care about will lose the audience before the video begins.

Video concept: [paste the concept you developed]
Channel brief: [paste brief]

Write three different hooks for this video. Each hook should be 20–40 seconds at speaking pace (roughly 60–100 words). A hook must do one thing: make the viewer want to keep watching.

Hook A: Open with the problem or pain point the viewer already feels.
Hook B: Open with a counterintuitive claim the video will explain.
Hook C: Open with a short specific story or example that sets up the video's central question.

For each hook, write the words to speak and one sentence explaining why this hook works for this specific viewer.

Read each hook aloud before deciding. A hook that reads well on screen can still feel awkward spoken. The best hook is the one that sounds like you and makes the viewer want the answer badly enough to keep watching.

Prompts for building an outline

An outline is the most important step to get right before writing the full script. A good outline means the full script draft will have the right structure. A weak outline produces a draft you will rewrite anyway.

Video concept: [paste]
Channel brief: [paste]
Hook chosen: [paste the hook you selected]
Sources I am drawing from: [list sources or key points — do not invent facts]
Target video length: [e.g., 8–12 minutes]

Build an outline with:
- Hook: [paste hook]
- Setup (what the viewer needs to know before the main content)
- Main content: 3–5 sections, each with a one-sentence description and the key point it makes
- Close: the summary and call to action
- Estimated time per section at a comfortable speaking pace

For each main content section, list the evidence or example that will support it. If the sources I provided do not cover a section, flag it rather than inventing support.

Review the outline carefully before scripting. A section with no evidence listed in the outline will produce a scripted section that either invents support or is too thin to hold attention. Fix that problem at the outline stage, not after drafting.

Prompts for drafting the full script

With a strong outline and a chosen hook, the full script draft prompt can be focused on language and pacing rather than structure. Tell the model what the script should sound like, how formal the language should be, and any vocabulary or phrases to avoid.

Channel brief: [paste]
Approved outline: [paste outline]
Hook: [paste]
Tone: [describe, e.g., conversational and direct, warm but not casual, expert but not jargon-heavy]
Vocabulary to avoid: [list any words or phrases out of step with your voice]
Speaking pace: approximately 130 words per minute

Draft the full script following the approved outline. Write it to be spoken, not read — short sentences, natural pauses, direct address to the viewer ("you" not "one" or "viewers").

After each section from the outline, add a brief director's note in brackets: [Note: ...] on what this section is trying to achieve and any visual or edit cue the section requires.

Prompts for adapting to YouTube Shorts

A YouTube Short (vertical, 60 seconds or under) is not a compressed long-form video. It has a different structure: the hook is the first second or two, the payoff must arrive before the viewer swipes, and there is no room for setup. An AI that adapts a long-form script to a Short by cutting length will usually produce something that does not work as a Short.

Here is the main concept from my video: [one sentence summary]
Here is the strongest single point from the full script: [paste the section or key claim]

Adapt this into a standalone YouTube Short script (under 55 seconds, roughly 110–120 words):
- Hook (first 2 seconds): an immediate hook that works without setup — a claim, a question, or a visual moment
- Core content: the single point, explained clearly in under 40 seconds
- Close: one sentence that ends definitively — not "learn more" but a complete thought

Write as spoken text. Do not reference the longer video.

Prompts for a pre-recording check

Before recording, a pre-recording check prompt reviews the script for problems that are easier to fix now than in the edit.

Channel brief: [paste]
Script to check: [paste]

Review the script for these issues:
1. Any section that takes more than 30 seconds without giving the viewer something concrete (a claim, an example, a question answered)
2. Any jargon not explained on first use
3. Any claim not supported by a source provided in the outline
4. Any section that sounds like it is for a different audience than your brief describes
5. Anything the hook promises that the script does not deliver

For each issue, quote the phrase, name the problem, and suggest a fix in one sentence.

How to do this with fenbs

1. Create a free account and add a project for your YouTube channel.
2. Add the channel brief as a context note and any standing editorial rules — format requirements, vocabulary guidelines, claim standards — as Decisions.
3. Save the concept-development prompt, hook prompt, outline prompt, and full script prompt as Skills with short titles.
4. Connect your AI app over MCP from Integrations. Before each writing session, ask the assistant to read the project context so it has your brief and editorial rules.
5. After each video, record any new editorial decisions made during the writing or review process. These become the rules the next session reads first.

fenbs does not upload scripts or manage a YouTube account. It keeps your brief and editorial decisions that make each writing session produce scripts that fit your channel rather than generic AI video content. For broader channel planning alongside script work, see prompts for YouTube channels.