Top Tips for Writing Scripts

Let your imagination go wild like a wild unicorn! Our young writers share their top tips for writing scripts, as part of out Audio Stories project.

Number 1: Let your imagination go wild like a wild unicorn!

Try to think deep into your imagination and whatever you do, don’t be boring. Be open minded and give things your own twist to make them unique. Remember, anything can happen in your story!

Number 2: Get inspired!

You can find inspiration in all kinds of places. Talk to interesting people that you know, read lots of books, watch films or TV shows. Just make sure you don’t copy.

Number 3: Be inspired by your own life too.

Think about all the amazing things you’ve done, people you know or places you’ve been. For example, for a good setting, you could combine your favourite real-life places with places that you imagine.

Number 4: Write down all your ideas.

Your first idea won’t always be your best one, so keep track of all the brilliant things you think up. Maybe have a notebook or scrapbook to collect things in so you don’t lose them. You could talk to a friend or teacher about your ideas to help you decide which ones you like the most.

Number 5: Put yourself in your character’s shoes.

When you’re making up a character, try to imagine what they’d think and feel in different situations. You could make a list of questions and work out how your character would answer them. Are they different from you, or do you have lots in common?

Number 6: Think of your character’s voice.

What is special about the way your character speaks? Are there words that they like to use a lot? Try writing something in the first person as your character to get to know them. First person means using ‘I’ instead of ‘he’ or ‘she’.

Number 7: Think about all five senses when you’re describing things.

For example, if you want to describe a setting, think first about what you might see, hear, feel, taste and smell in that place. Try to make your description as detailed and exciting as possible.

Number 8: Use a variety of sentence lengths.

Your writing will be more interesting if you do this. Sometimes be quick! And sometimes use longer sentences, which can help you to express more complex ideas.

Number 9: Read your work out loud.

When you’ve done your first draft, find someone you can read it to. That way, you can hear whether everything makes sense and the people you share with can give you advice and ideas. After you’ve done that, make changes to make your story even better.

Number 10: Eat lots of chocolate so you can vomit a story!

If you want to make a recording of your story, chocolate – or any kind of food – is perfect. That’s to make sure you don’t have any awkward tummy gurgles whilst you’re trying to record; they just wouldn’t sound right. By the way, vomiting a story doesn’t mean you have to puke; it’s a metaphor.