I say writing, but really I also mean the ideating, the research, the editing and the polishing because “writing” is really a multi-step process to create a 10+ minute video that has days of work behind it.
This is particularly true of any channel that concerns itself with accuracy so saving time isn’t about “cutting corners” but about making your process more efficient so you don’t sacrifice quality or credibility.
Ergo, if you feel like writing a video script is taking too long, it’s probably because something is up with your process.
1. Not Testing Your Ideas.
Because you know yourself and your channel, approving ideas is probably partially an intuitive process. You know your channel best and have a sense for what you and your audience will be intrigued by.
But if you don’t sit your idea down and interrogate it before moving further along in your process, you will run into much bigger problems down the line which can mean scripts take a lot longer, or have to be scrapped altogether.
This is largely a result of having an idea that is a bit too unfocused. I specify unfocused because you could have a video idea about a broad topic like what’s out there in space, but if it’s focused to an angle and presented in a way your audience will engage with, then it can absolutely work.
To avoid that, you can establish a few structural touch stones.
- How long do you want the video to be?
- Who is the video meant for?
- What’s the main question that the audience is asking themselves and how do I want to answer it?
If you can answer those three questions with confidence, it’s a pretty good sign that you’re heading in the right direction.
A quick scan of the ideas you currently have in your backlog will help you filter out what could be developed which will also naturally help you tighten your Channel’s voice and identity because you are spending more time really digging into the behind the scenes of why certain videos work.
2. Spending Too Much Time on Unhelpful Research
Most of the creators I’ve worked with get lost in research spirals for two main reasons:
- Not knowing what to research and getting lost trying to find out.
- Knowing what they have to research but going way beyond what they need to write the script.
The biggest piece of advice I can give here is to go from broad to narrow.
- Research your video title directly to get a lay of the land.
- Then pinpoint two or three subtopics that relate directly to the video idea and to the thesis.
- Go deeper into those subtopics.
- Outline the script based on the information you have and research to fill gaps.
The idea of this approach is that it keeps you focused because the point of research is to be confident enough to be able to inform other people on the topic, not to become an expert.
Nobody expects you to have a PhD in the topic you’re writing about. Just make sure that your sources are verified. Some channels even include sources in their description, which I would really encourage particularly for educational and analysis scripts that dig into any form of theory or studies since this helps you build credibility with your audience.
Most of all, remember that you are human. It is naturally for you to get something wrong, as long as you accept that with grace and know that the information you had at the time of writing the script is verified, you don’t have anything to worry about.
3. Not Having Clear Writing Phases.
When it comes to the actual writing there is a lot of advice out there but I think the most important thing is that you need to be working in phases.
I’m not talking necessarily about having set research, outline, writing etc… phases of writing but more about keeping similar tasks grouped together.
A productivity study called “Multicosts of Multitasking” shows that we work better when our brain is switched into one gear for a longer period of time.
That looks like taking time to do your research in a couple batches and not having that research interrupted by switching your brain from researching to outlining or vice versa.
The idea is to give your brain enough time to really get into deep focus so you can be more efficient and work in a way that your brain likes best.
This of course depends from person to person. I would urge you to look into different productivity strategies and see what it works for you.
4. It’s Okay if It Takes Time.
At the end of the day, there is no avoiding it. Writing takes time. Getting faster at writing takes skill, which also takes time.
There is no such thing as somebody pumping an award winning script out in 2 days and if they are I truly worry for their health because a well-crafted well-researched script takes time.
So do not feel that you are doing things wrong if writing takes too much time and know that it is something you will get better at. That being said, if you reach a ceiling where time truly becomes an issue (particularly since you wear a lot of hats as a creator) you may want to look into hiring a scriptwriter or chatting with one to get a sense of what your scripts to well, and what they could do better.