Here's what I told Ali Abdaal's community on Monday...

On Monday, I ran a guest session inside the Part Time YouTuber Academy to 100+ creators.

The students asked a lot of great questions, so today I'll reveal how I answered these 4:

• How do I make boring topics interesting?
• How do I script for challenge videos?
• How do I use AI to make scriptwriting faster?
• How do I make scripts interesting if the "big reveal" only happens at the end?

But first, I'm super excited to announce...

I'm now posting content on Instagram! 🤳

If you want more bite-sized scriptwriting advice - you'll enjoy the skits we've got coming!

My first proper reel is about "blob scripts" - my unusual method for writing a V1 hook without getting overwhelmed! 👇

I'd be over the moon if you could show it some love!

You can follow @GeorgeBlackmanYT for more:

Follow me on Instagram!

So, onto the questions that came up at my guest session...

How do you keep boring topics interesting? 😆

The person asking this was making a video called "5 worst cars to buy in 2025".

In any sort of listicle (or any "dry" topic), I'm always looking for the drama.

Sure, droning on about the specs of the cars might be boring:

"Moving on to car number 3. It goes 0-60 in 8.5s, and it's got a 7 inch long handbreak. Despite its German manufacturer's reputation for excellence, I don't like the angle of the windshield..." 😴

But finding the worst or weirdest or most expensive thing and using that as the curiosity-inducing crux is not:

"Moving on to number 3 - and this car did something so bizarre during my test drive that I will never get in a Mercedes again."

How do you script for challenge or vlog-style videos? 📸

Unlike educational scripting, a lot of entertainment scripting happens after filming.

I worked with Mike Shake back in 2023 - before filming, they wouldn't plan much more than locations and "props".

Then, they'd shoot for 2-3 days.

After that, it was my job as the scriptwriter to review that footage and help them create the story by:

• Deciding which footage should be cut.
• Writing voiceover to convey Mike's emotions, tease upcoming moments, and tie everything together.

You're not trying to fake anything... you're just being brutal about what footage your audience will actually care about.

They were some of the most fun scripts I ever got to work on 😆

How do you use AI to speed up or templatise scripts?

Right now, it's mostly focussed on hooks.

If you haven't already, check out:

• ​ScriptHook - writes 70% usable hooks.
• ​StakeBake - helps you hone in on the "stakes" that will keep viewers watching.

But I have so much more I want to do. I'm currently working on GPTs that:

• Generate an audience avatar you can feed to other scriptwriting GPTs.
• "Predict" your retention before you film by reviewing your script.

How do you apply the "setup, tension, payoff" structure when the "big reveal" is at the end (like in a video essay), and you don't want to give it away too early?

This question assumes the most exciting thing has to happen at the end, which is rarely the case.

For video essays or educational content answering a single question, the audience might not understand the "main question: until the end...

...but the individual (smaller) questions posed throughout the video can be equally exciting.

Imagine a video essay exposing a famous con-artist.

The "big reveal" might be the moment they finally get exposed.

But there's a TONNE of drama in the build up - examples of the different cons they've pulled, maybe a story from their childhood that explains their current behaviour, perhaps an occasion they were nearly caught, etc.

Or, take a dry example like "how I built my new shed" (bad title, don't steal it).

The big reveal is... the finished shed.

But the 10 steps it took to build it - including the delays, weather problems and an accidentally stubbed toe - they're all interesting moments in the build up to that final reveal.

It's about finding the drama and story (yes, story - even in the dryest educational topics) during the small moments, not thinking you have to make the final moment the most exciting.

That's all for this week.

Any questions? You can to reply to this email and I'll get back to you.

Speak soon,
George 👋