Guides
Practical notes on briefing, outlining, drafting, timing and revising scripts for live video segments, written for people who write for presenters and producers.
The guides expand on what the modules teach, from the questions to ask before drafting to ways of shortening a script on the day. A new article appears about once a day, so there is always something to read.
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How to Run a Clean Draft-and-Revision Cycle for a Live Segment Script
A practical walk through a full draft, one round of feedback and a focused revision, so a spoken script improves with each pass instead of drifting away from its approved outline.
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A Checklist for Judging a Briefing Before You Approve the Outline
Before an outline goes to a producer, a writer should be able to answer a short list of questions about audience, topic and duration. This checklist helps you decide whether the brief is ready.
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Common Mistakes in Presenter Introductions and How to Avoid Them
Most weak introductions fail in the same few ways: too much biography, unchecked facts, sentences too long to say aloud. Here is what goes wrong and how to repair it before air.
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What Timing and Live Flexibility Costs, and What Drives the Price
A plain look at what shapes the price of timed, flexible live scripts: duration, number of cut points, revision rounds and how fixed the running order is on the day.
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How Priya Fixed the Gaps Between Her Three Live Segments
A short account of one learner who arrived with three good segments and awkward joins, and how she rebuilt the links so the programme moved from topic to topic without a pause.
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Writing for the Ear: Preparing Your Spoken Scripts This Autumn
Mid autumn is when new programme seasons begin. A guide to sharpening short sentences, rhythm and plain wording so presenters can say every line aloud without stumbling.
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What a Revision Round Actually Means in Live Scriptwriting
A revision round is not a rewrite from scratch. Rebecca Alvarez explains what the term covers, what a round leaves untouched, and how a draft improves pass by pass.
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Short Brief or Full Questionnaire: Two Ways to Start an Outline
A one-page conversation brief and a longer written questionnaire both lead to an approved outline. Here is how they compare, and which one I recommend to learners in these autumn weeks.
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How a Presenter Introduction Gets Written, From Guest Notes to Final Line
A look at the working steps behind a short presenter introduction: what we collect about the guest, how the draft is built, and how it is checked before anyone says it aloud.
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Why Does My Ninety-Second Script Run Two Minutes Long?
The question we hear most about timing: why a script that looks right on paper overruns on air, and how counting words to seconds fixes it before the rehearsal.
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What We Changed in the Programme Transitions Module This Term
Daniel Okafor explains how the Programme Transitions module now asks learners to write the link first, then the segments around it, so a live running order moves without gaps.
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The Tools We Use to Teach Writing for the Ear
A look at the read-aloud methods, markings and plain materials that help learners turn written sentences into lines a presenter can say without stumbling.
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A Checklist Before You Commit to a Full Draft and Revision Rounds
Before you start drafting and revising a live script, run through these questions about your brief, outline, timing and feedback so each round of changes has a clear purpose.
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Briefing and Outline Approval: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Most script trouble starts before the first line is drafted. Here are the briefing and outline mistakes writers make most often, and the habits that keep an outline moving to approval.
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What Presenter Introductions Cost and What Moves the Price
A plain look at how writing a presenter introduction is priced, which choices raise or lower the cost, and what to settle with your writer before drafting begins.
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A Ninety-Second Link That Had to Stretch and Shrink: Priya's Case
Priya wrote a presenter link for a live cultural talk and learned to count words to seconds and mark cuts. Her case shows how timing and live flexibility work in practice.
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Linking Segments Smoothly Through the Autumn Programme Schedule
Mid autumn brings new seasons, schedules and themes. Rebecca Alvarez explains how to write transitions that carry a live programme from one topic to the next without jarring gaps.
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Reading Distance: The Rule That Keeps Spoken Sentences Short
A plain-words explanation of reading distance, the trade rule that tells a writer how far a presenter can carry a sentence in one breath before the words start to tangle.
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One Big Draft or Several Small Rounds: Choosing How to Revise a Script
Two ways to work through a live segment script, a single full draft with one review or short staged rounds, compared by cost of change, clarity and calm, with a clear recommendation.
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From First Call to Signed-Off Outline: How a Briefing Really Runs
A look at what happens between the first conversation with a producer and an outline everyone agrees on, and why the briefing hour shapes every page of the script that follows.
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Presenter Introductions: Your Most Common Questions Answered
Daniel Okafor answers the questions learners raise most often about writing presenter introductions: length, guest accuracy, tone, and how to leave room for a live presenter's own voice.
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Timing and Live Flexibility: What Changes in the Course This Autumn
A look at how the Timing and Live Flexibility module now runs: counting words to seconds, marking optional cuts and preparing scripts that can shrink or stretch on the day.
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The Tools Behind a Clean Programme Transition
A look at the rundown, the link ledger and the spoken read-through that Daniel Okafor relies on when joining one live segment to the next without a jarring gap.
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A Practical Guide to Reading Your Script Aloud Before Anyone Else Does
A step-by-step read-aloud routine for spoken scripts: where presenters stumble, how to mark breath points, and how to fix awkward lines before the rehearsal.
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Six Draft and Revision Mistakes That Slow Down a Live Script
Most weak scripts fail in the revision rounds, not the first draft. Daniel Okafor walks through six common mistakes and shows how to run a cleaner draft-and-revise cycle.
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