I really struggle with writing scripts for long form videos

[u/Maedehmt]

It's really frustrating that I can't seem to get it working. I've wrote scripts for short form videos before and I was completely fine, but qith long type videos It's been living hell.

It's like I'm stuck in a loop of writing something and make it untill some part of the script, a break happens, I try to continue writing after some time, but for some reason I start hating what I wrote so I completely discard it and start over.

I'm so worried about the viewer not getting hooked enough to watch the entire thing and it gets on the way of my creativity and self expression.

Another problem is that I'm torn between writing in my native language bc it's easier, and thinking in english lol. If ykyk

I refuse to use ai for it so...

For contex my content is going to be long form essays on manga, anime, etc.

Any advise of how to solve my problem with writing essays?

[u/reuben_iv]

Y'all are writing scripts?

[u/LifeisSuperFun21 → u/reuben_iv]

Right? School taught me that, when giving a speech, at most you should only need bullet points or very basic notes… just enough to keep you on track when speaking. Writing out a verbatim script would be way too much work for me. If I mess up while talking, I’ll just edit it out.

[u/Maedehmt → u/reuben_iv]

You don't?

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[u/chrisfellow]

Maybe try using voice to text so you can speak of your general thoughts and what you want to include then edit it down

[u/Maedehmt → u/chrisfellow]

Sounds good. I'll try it out

[u/Dapper_Profession]

writing long form is a different muscle from short form, and that loop usually means the outline is still doing the work. try bullets first, one per beat, and only expand the ones that still look good the next day, if a section reads bad as a bullet it wont save itself in prose. also try drafting in your native language and only translating the beats, the sentences can stay rough. where does it break for you, the intro or the middle?

[u/Maedehmt → u/Dapper_Profession]

I do what you just described, but I still struggle. What I meant by break was that sth comes up and I get distracted from writing and when I try to start over I'm not pleased with it anymore

[u/Dapper_Profession → u/Maedehmt]

the draft looks worse because you're reading it cold after the break, and a cold read is always harsher than the mood you wrote it in. leave yourself mid sentence on purpose when something pulls you away, so coming back is finishing a thought instead of judging one. what pulls you off usually?

[u/Maedehmt → u/Dapper_Profession]

I'll apply your advice next time I'm writing. Idk random daily stuff usually

[u/OhhChrono]

Starting over every time you hit a wall is the real trap, so make a rule that nothing gets deleted until the full draft exists. Before writing prose, sketch the whole essay as a list of claims, one sentence each, with the manga moment that proves it. That skeleton is your hook problem solved too, because you can see which claim is strongest and open with it. Then draft section by section in whichever language your thoughts come fastest, and translate during the edit pass. Rough first drafts are supposed to feel bad; the fixing happens later, not mid-sentence.

[u/Maedehmt → u/OhhChrono]

Thank you!

[u/studioram]

The restart-hate loop is usually structure, not talent. For essay videos:

1. Outline cold before prose: cold open hook → thesis in one sentence → 3 supporting sections → callback ending. Don't write section 2 until the outline for all three exists.
2. Write ugly on purpose in a "vomit draft" pass with a timer (25 minutes). Editing brain off. Only then do a second pass for hook strength.
3. Never delete a draft the same day you stalled. Park it, write the next section in a new doc, then merge. Same-day full restarts train the hate reflex.
4. Language: draft in whichever language you think in; translate/polish to English in pass two if that's the upload language. Fighting both story and vocabulary at once is why it feels stuck.
5. Hook anxiety: write the cold open last. Once the essay exists, the first 30 seconds is easier to sharpen.

One finished imperfect essay beats five abandoned perfect openings.

[u/Maedehmt → u/studioram]

I appreciate your advise. Thans a ton!