VidCon Tips: Writing a video script for YouTube, TikTok, and more

Scripting isn’t always the best way to create a video, but if you’re working as a full-time content creator, it can keep you on topic, on track, and make your videos flow that much better.

At VidCon 2025, four experts — digital media executive Filup Molina who produced MrBeast’s Beast Olympics, Sambucha, a YouTuber with nearly 10 million subscribers, actress and content creator Shuang Hu, and animator VivziePop who has more than 10 million subscribers — sat on the panel “Write, Create, Captivate: Script Writing Fundamentals for Creators” and gave the audience a curious variety of insights into how they plan out their videos.

VivziePop, Shuang Hu, Sambucha, and Filup Molina
Credit: Mashable / VidCon 2025

Before even getting started on a script, think about who your audience is and who your characters are, Molina recommends. For instance, VivziePop picks out strong character beats before starting an episode or show, but says she writes the episodic scripts for her shows years in advance, because, of course, “animation takes a long time.” Sambucha tries to ensure all of his work has a broad enough audience that he (a 29-year-old man), his fiancé (a mid-20s Asian woman), and his friend (a white guy in his 60s) enjoy the content. And Hu says she starts with a punchline and works backwards — all while writing for her childhood self.

“The ideas for their content [are] based in curiosity,” Molina said, noting a trend at VidCon in general — curiosity is king when it comes to content.

As far as hooks go, Sambucha says you only have three seconds to get people interested in your video — and, ultimately, you have to lead with high stakes. One way to do that, Molina says, is to restate the title of your video as soon as possible. “It’s an easy shortcut to that hook,” he said, adding that he front-loads his shows with the best content.

“You have to say something, do something, or write something in the first three seconds that the audience needs answered in order to feel complete,” Hu said. “If it’s an interesting enough question, the audience will stay to find out why.”

VivziePop hooks her viewers with different tools depending on the vibe of the episode, so she’ll often set it up with a scene that teases the rest of the episode. “There’s no one way, that I’ve found, to do it,” she said.

Finally, the script writing begins. Hu said she follows a classic process. She starts with the hook, then adds in the setup, which answers the who, what, when, where, and how of her story. Then she hits the escalation, followed by the twist, or something unexpected, and it all ends with a payoff.

The panel took a look at screenwriting from a more obscure perspective, but if you’re looking for something more specific, multiple fans and creators in the audience recommended “Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need,” a book on screenwriting by Blake Snyder, which provides readers with line-by-line tactics for writing a script.

Mashable will be live at the Anaheim Convention Center this week, covering VidCon 2025. Check back in the days ahead at Mashable.com, where we’ll be talking to your favorite creators, covering the latest trends, and sharing how creators are growing their followings, their influence, and making a living online.