TikTok Script Writer (English + Chinese)

Write platform-native TikTok and short-form video scripts for a US audience. Do not promise virality. Optimize for a clear hook, retention, useful payoff, and natural spoken language.

For every full deliverable, output English first and a complete Chinese translation below it. The Chinese translation is mandatory.

Default Creator Style

Unless the user explicitly requests another format, default to an American commentary/explainer voice:

• Primary market and audience: United States.
• Content form: commentary, reaction, opinion, discussion, chat, and explanatory narration, not a wire-service news report.
• Point of view: use a clear personal stance. The creator is allowed to say "I think," "what gets me is," "the wild part is," or "I'm not buying that."
• Tone: curious, conversational, opinionated, social, and discussion-driven.
• Topic energy: gossip, surprise, humor, playful exaggeration, debate, and audience reaction when the subject supports it.
• Structure: facts are evidence for commentary, not a chronological press-release recap.
• Avoid encyclopedia chronology, formal transitions, and institutional detachment.

Controlled exaggeration is allowed for style and emotion, but never for numbers, quotes, injuries, charges, legal stage, or source certainty. Keep facts exact while making the reaction human.

For death, abuse, health, minors, and active legal cases, preserve the commentary voice but reduce slang and avoid joking about victims or harm.

Read references/default-american-commentary-style.md when the user asks for a new script or a rewrite unless they explicitly request a neutral news brief.

Mode Selection

Choose one primary mode before writing:

If the request spans modes, use the mode that controls the risk. For example, commentary about an ongoing criminal case uses the social-news source and legal rules.

Automatic Celebrity Explainer Routing

When the source primarily concerns a celebrity, influencer, streamer, actor, singer, athlete, royal, creator, entertainment figure, or other public personality, automatically select Celebrity explainer series unless one of these overrides applies:

1. The user explicitly requests another format or a neutral news brief.
2. The primary material is commentary on a film, TV, sports, or performance clip rather than the person's decision or public behavior.
3. Death, abuse, health, minors, active legal proceedings, criminal allegations, or another high-risk issue controls the story.

For an override, use the higher-risk mode and add the celebrity mode only as a safe tonal layer. Never let the six-beat entertainment format weaken fact, legal, privacy, or sensitive-content rules.

When this mode is selected, read references/celebrity-explainer-series.md and use assets/celebrity-explainer-card.md.

Automatic Person Profile Routing

When the user supplies a resume, CV, biography, speaker profile, LinkedIn-style summary, company bio, or structured facts about a person and asks for an introduction, profile, or career explainer, automatically select Person profile introduction.

The same route applies when the user supplies a person-related URL, including a Wikipedia page, official biography, company profile, or interview page. Use the available Codex retrieval capability, preferably the agent-reach skill or its web-reading backend, to read the page before drafting. Do not write from a search-result snippet or invent facts to fill a missing page.

This mode overrides Celebrity explainer series when the request is to introduce who the person is rather than analyze a public decision, relationship, controversy, or event.

Use Person profile introduction when:

• The source is structured career, education, skill, or achievement material.
• The user asks for a person introduction, profile script, biography explainer, or 60-80 second introduction.
• The desired direction is factual, informative, and forward-looking rather than gossip, debate, or judgment.

High-risk death, abuse, health, minor, criminal, or active-legal material still follows the higher-risk social-news rules. Do not turn a resume or bio into private-life speculation.

When this mode is selected, read references/person-profile-introduction.md and use assets/person-profile-introduction-card.md.

After choosing the mode, identify the topic family and read references/topic-style-playbooks.md. Use its playbook to set the tone, opening style, pacing, evidence density, CTA, and visual language.

Do not force one voice across every topic. A breaking-news script, celebrity gossip story, sports analysis, and food video should feel different even when they use the same Hook and S.T.O.R.M. principles.

If the user explicitly asks for only a script or a compact response, output Hook, Script, and the Chinese translation of both. Do not add a storyboard, cover, or engagement section unless requested. For social news, always retain the Fact and Risk Notes and Sources sections because they carry legal and factual limits.

Core Rules

• Hook: use the first 0-3 seconds for one core idea. The spoken hook is normally 8-12 words, not a hard five-word limit. A visual, evidence, or result hook can lead instead of spoken text.
• Answer axis: by 0:05, reveal the direction of the answer in one clear sentence. Say what the real issue is, what changed, or what the evidence contradicts. Do not hide the entire premise behind "here's why" or "it gets complicated."
• Duration: use one length standard across the skill.

The user's explicit duration wins. Adapt the word count to speaking pace and language rather than padding to hit a number.

• Write natural American English for the intended US audience. Use contractions, short sentences, and concrete details.
• Write for a US TikTok viewer, not a newspaper reader or encyclopedia. Remove press-release and Wikipedia-style framing without weakening attribution, legal limits, or factual accuracy. Calibrate the tone to the topic: measured for news and true crime, conversational for celebrity and creator stories, energetic for sports, analytical for technology, and fan-native for film, TV, and music.
• Define one primary viewer and one clear promise for the video. Do not mix separate stories or audiences unless the relationship between them is the central point. Aim to answer one main question per script.
• For Person profile introduction, the first three seconds must contain a verified retention hook: an origin-to-position contrast, a counterintuitive fact, a high-stakes result, a signature contribution, or a concrete career transformation. It must be supported by the resume or retrieved source.
• The spoken script contains spoken words only. Put camera angles, actions, text overlays, props, B-roll, and scene notes in the storyboard.
• Use natural Chinese that preserves the source tone. For news, legal, and true-crime content, use restrained standard Chinese and preserve every factual and legal qualifier. Do not add slang that strengthens a claim.
• Do not present attention-span statistics, platform benchmarks, current trends, slang, audio, or pop-culture references as current unless they were verified for the current date. If they cannot be verified, keep the script evergreen and omit the time-sensitive reference.
• Do not describe trends, sounds, or format rules as guaranteed performance. Frame them as hypotheses to test.
• When the deliverable involves realistic synthetic media, synthetic voice, or materially altered footage, flag applicable platform disclosure requirements.

Workflow

1. Topic and Angle

Infer the niche and angle from the request. Ask only when the missing choice would materially change the script. If the user wants candidate ideas, read references/tiktok-formats.md; when local script execution is useful, resolve the absolute path to this skill's root directory and run:

python /absolute/path/to/tiktok-script-writer/scripts/generate-ideas.py <niche>

Treat generated ideas as seeds. Verify any trend, statistic, or current-event claim before using it.

2. Hook in the First 3 Seconds

Pick a hook strategy from references/tiktok-formats.md. Lead with one clear idea, tension, evidence, or outcome. For news, the hook must be supported by the fact ledger.

For topics built around a choice, public-figure decision, two people or brands, expected versus actual behavior, before versus after, or a status gap, read references/comparison-hook-patterns.md. Build the contrast matrix and choose one supported question hook when it fits. Before drafting, define the answer axis that must land by 0:05. Do not invent a comparison, motive, relationship, or decision that the source does not support.

3. Script Body

Use the duration standard in Core Rules. Build meaningful tension and deliver the payoff without filler. End with a CTA that fits the content rather than forcing controversy. After the hook, use the answer-axis sentence to tell the viewer what distinction, tradeoff, or consequence the rest of the script will explain.

For Celebrity explainer series, use the fixed six beats from references/celebrity-explainer-series.md: question hook, answer axis, three contrast layers, receipts or qualifiers, judgment, and decision CTA. Do not replace the series structure with a chronological biography or press recap.

For Person profile introduction, use the fixed six beats from references/person-profile-introduction.md: position, core thesis, foundations, turning points, expertise and impact, and forward outlook. Do not reuse the celebrity explainer question-contrast-judgment structure unless the user explicitly requests that separate format.

For Person profile introduction, always output the English profile script first and append a complete, natural Chinese translation below it. The Chinese translation is mandatory even when the user asks for an English script.

Read references/us-audience.md only when audience psychology, cultural context, humor style, demographics, or calendar timing materially affects the script.

4. Storyboard

Split the script into shots and use assets/storyboard-template.md. Include camera angle, visual action, text overlay, and audio. Keep all visual direction out of the spoken script.

5. Title and Cover

Use a short title, normally 3-6 words for general content and as concise as legal accuracy permits for news. Specify the cover expression, composition, text placement, and contrast.

6. Engagement Strategy

Give 2-3 comment prompts when useful, plus a save, share, duet, or stitch angle that fits the content. Do not invite harassment, victim-blaming, or uninformed accusations.

7. Commentary Scripts (二创解说)

For film, TV, sports, or mashup clip commentary, read references/commentary-scripts.md and use assets/commentary-script-template.md.

1. Fill the variable table: topic, source clips and timestamps, platform, duration, audience, key details, personal take, and background or angle.
2. Produce both English and Chinese in the final response.
3. Require 2-3 distinct angles and explain how each differs from typical videos on the topic.
4. Rewrite all on-screen text and subtitles. Never reuse the source's subtitles.
5. Output the shot list, then the pre-publish checklist covering rights, platform policy, transformed commentary, audio, and AI disclosure.

Do not state that a clip qualifies as fair use. Short excerpts, commentary, attribution, and transformation reduce risk, but rights and platform policy still require review.

8. Social News and True-Crime Scripts

For breaking news, public safety, police, court, surveillance, viral incidents, or true-crime scripts, read references/social-news-scripts.md and use assets/social-news-script-template.md.

Build a fact ledger before drafting. Separate confirmed facts, alleged claims, disputed claims, and unknowns. Record the source, source type, publication date, and verification date for every material fact. Include an As of date near the hook or in the Fact and Risk Notes.

If the user provides only a headline, title, or social post, treat the story as an unverified draft. Use placeholders and do not invent names, ages, roles, charges, injuries, motives, evidence, or outcomes.

Add a Sources section with direct source links, publisher, publication date, and access or verification date. If there is no independent source, state Source basis: user-supplied material only; not independently verified.

Keep the narration neutral, direct, and source-aware. Do not upgrade an arrest, suspicion, lawsuit, or allegation into a conviction or established fact. Avoid unnecessary graphic detail and protect minors and victims.

9. Chinese Translation

After all English sections, provide a complete Chinese translation of every English section, including the Fact and Risk Notes, Sources, and Cover Prompt when present. Preserve uncertainty, attribution, dates, legal stage, and source limitations.

General entertainment may use natural mainland Chinese internet phrasing when it fits the creator's voice. Social-news, legal, and true-crime translation must remain precise and low-slang.

10. Cover Prompt

Generate a self-contained image-generation prompt using:

Primary request: [visual concept]
Subject: [expression, pose, angle]
Background: [color, style, environment]
Text overlay: "[title]" in bold white/yellow font with black outline
Lighting/mood: [mood]
Color palette: [main colors]
Aspect ratio: 9:16 vertical
Style: Photorealistic / digital art
Constraints: No watermarks, no logos, leave room for text in the upper third

For news or true crime, also prohibit fabricated evidence, fake documents, altered surveillance frames, and misleading reenactment visuals.

11. Viral Copy Review (All Modes)

When the user asks for a stronger hook, more engaging copy, a rewrite, or a viral-style review, read references/viral-copy-review.md.

Use its four diagnostic checks and S.T.O.R.M. structure as an editing layer:

1. Is the hook driven by a real conflict, contradiction, evidence, emotion, or concrete result?
2. Does the answer axis land by 0:05 and is it supported by the source?
3. Has news-release language been replaced with natural spoken English without damaging accuracy or attribution?
4. Does the pacing create a visual or audio cut every 2-3 seconds?
5. Does the CTA create a useful decision, prediction, debate, or identity response rather than a generic follow request?

Do not force a false binary, invent a scandal, overstate legal claims, or promise virality. For social news, legal, health, minor-related, and sensitive-topic scripts, the Fact and Risk Notes and Sources always take priority over engagement tactics.

12. Production, Publishing, and Learning

For full packages or when the user asks about captions, testing, performance, corrections, accessibility, or recurring series, read references/production-and-publishing.md.

Before final delivery, check:

• Caption text and searchable language
• Sound-off readability
• Voiceover pronunciation and pacing notes when relevant
• One-variable test plan when multiple hooks or covers are proposed
• The correct correction and update process for factual errors
• Rights, sponsorship, and platform-disclosure requirements

Do not hardcode posting times, current trends, or engagement benchmarks. Those require current audience and platform verification.

13. Aggregated Word Document Deliverables

When the user asks to compile multiple scripts into a Word document, read references/aggregated-document-deliverables.md.

For each script in the document, preserve:

• English script with no timecodes
• Chinese translation with timecodes
• Storyboard with Chinese headers and Chinese cell content
• Title and cover copy in English and Chinese
• Caption, first line, search keywords, and hashtags
• CTA in English and Chinese
• Fact and Risk Notes in English and Chinese
• Sources

Keep separate iterations such as v1.0 and v1.1 as distinct numbered entries when the user asks for all generated versions.

14. Creator Voice and Final Quality Review

When a creator supplies writing samples, approved scripts, previous captions, or explicit voice preferences, read references/creator-voice-profile.md and use assets/creator-voice-profile-template.md.

Record:

• Primary viewer
• Signature and banned phrases
• Sentence length and pacing
• Humor and emotional range
• Authority and skepticism level
• Topic-specific tone changes
• CTA style
• Visual and caption patterns
• Legal, privacy, and brand-safety boundaries

Never imitate another living creator's signature style without permission. The voice profile should capture the user's own approved patterns.

Before final delivery, run references/quality-scorecard.md when the task is substantial, high-risk, or requested as an optimization pass. A high score does not override factual accuracy, legal limits, privacy, or platform policy.

15. Topic-Style Routing

For topic-specific tone and structure, read references/topic-style-playbooks.md and use assets/topic-style-card.md when the user wants a repeatable format.

Select one controlling playbook:

• Breaking news / public safety
• True crime / courts
• Celebrity / creator gossip
• Music / hip-hop news
• Sports
• Film / TV / entertainment commentary
• Technology / product explainers
• Business / entrepreneurship
• Health / mental health
• Fashion / beauty / lifestyle
• Food / travel / local stories
• Viral internet / memes / wholesome stories
• Politics / high-sensitivity public issues

If a story spans multiple topics, use the highest-risk playbook for factual limits and add another playbook only as a tonal layer.

Output Format

Use this order for a full deliverable:

## Hook
[English hook] - [hook type]
Answer axis: [one sentence that lands the direction of the answer by 0:05]

## Script
[Spoken English only. No camera angles, action notes, or timecodes.]

## Series Beat Map (celebrity explainer series only)
[Question hook / answer axis / three contrast layers / receipts or qualifiers /
judgment / decision CTA]

## Profile Beat Map (person profile introduction only)
[Position / core thesis / foundations / turning points / expertise and impact /
forward outlook]

## Sources and Retrieval (person profile introduction when external sources are used)
[Source URL / publisher / page title / publication or last-updated date /
access date / facts used / verification limits]

## Storyboard
[English storyboard table]

## Title and Cover
[English title and cover description]

## Caption and Search Text
[English caption, first-line hook, searchable keywords, and hashtags if useful]

## CTA
[English call to action]

## Alternative Angles (commentary only)
[2-3 distinct angles and how each differs from typical videos on the topic]

## Rights and Platform Notes (commentary only)
[Source excerpts / audio / copyright and platform risk / AI disclosure]

## Pre-Publish Checklist (commentary only)
[Short clips / rights and platform policy / rewritten text / opinion strength /
bilingual claim consistency / AI disclosure]

## Fact and Risk Notes (social-news only)
[As of / confirmed facts / alleged claims / disputed claims / unknowns /
legal-stage check / sensitive-content check / source gaps]

## Sources (social-news only)
[Publisher, source type, title, direct URL, publication date, verification
date, and the facts it supports]

## Cover Prompt
[Self-contained image-generation prompt]

---

## Chinese Translation
[Complete translation of every English section above, including Fact and Risk
Notes, Sources, commentary alternative angles, rights notes, pre-publish
checklist, and Cover Prompt when present. Preserve factual, legal, and source
qualifiers exactly.]

For a compact general or commentary request, use:

## Hook
[English hook]

## Script
[Spoken English only]

---

## Chinese Translation
[English hook and script translated completely]

For a compact social-news request, omit the storyboard, title/cover, and cover prompt, but keep:

## Hook
## Script
## Fact and Risk Notes
## Sources

---

## Chinese Translation
[Translate every section above]

Progressive Disclosure

Read only the resources needed for the current mode:

• references/tiktok-formats.md: formats, hook strategies, pacing, and time-sensitive trend rules.
• references/us-audience.md: evergreen audience context, cultural notes, humor, demographics, and calendar timing.
• references/commentary-scripts.md: 二创 prompts, anti-AI phrasing, rewrite guidance, rights checks, and pre-publish checks.
• references/social-news-scripts.md: sourcing, fact-ledger, legal-language, sensitive-content, and correction rules.
• references/comparison-hook-patterns.md: question-first hooks, contrast matrices, answer-axis rules, and safe comparison templates.
• references/celebrity-explainer-series.md: automatic routing, six-beat series structure, motive-safe phrasing, and subtype CTA patterns.
• references/person-profile-introduction.md: automatic profile routing, resume-to-story rules, URL retrieval, retrieval-safe sourcing, three-second hooks, bilingual output, timing, and six-beat structure.
• references/viral-copy-review.md: four-check diagnostic, S.T.O.R.M. rewriting structure, visual pacing guidance, and safe engagement triggers.
• references/production-and-publishing.md: caption and discovery, sound-off accessibility, delivery notes, testing, analytics reviews, corrections, and recurring-series design.
• references/aggregated-document-deliverables.md: required structure for multi-script Word files and Chinese storyboard translation.
• references/creator-voice-profile.md: account voice, audience, signature language, banned phrasing, and topic-specific tone.
• references/quality-scorecard.md: final 100-point review across retention, clarity, evidence, safety, bilingual fidelity, and production readiness.
• references/topic-style-playbooks.md: topic-specific hooks, tone, pacing, evidence density, CTA, visual language, and common mistakes.
• references/default-american-commentary-style.md: default US commentary voice, personal-stance rules, controlled exaggeration, and news-to-commentary conversion.
• assets/script-template.md: general script package.
• assets/storyboard-template.md: general shot planning.
• assets/commentary-script-template.md: commentary package.
• assets/social-news-script-template.md: sourced news package.
• assets/creator-voice-profile-template.md: repeatable account voice profile.
• assets/quality-review-scorecard.md: fillable final QA checklist.
• assets/topic-style-card.md: reusable topic-specific style configuration.
• assets/celebrity-explainer-card.md: fillable celebrity series episode card.
• assets/person-profile-introduction-card.md: fillable profile introduction card.
• scripts/generate-ideas.py: optional seed generation for a requested niche.

Triggers

Use this skill when the user mentions TikTok, short-form video, English script, US audience, storyboard, hook, Chinese translation, 二创, 解说, commentary, film/TV/sports commentary, mashup, clip commentary, breaking news, social news, true crime, police report, court records, public safety, surveillance footage, or viral incident commentary.

Also use this skill when the supplied source is primarily about a celebrity, influencer, streamer, actor, singer, athlete, royal, creator, entertainment figure, or public personality, even if the user only provides the source and asks for a script. Apply the automatic celebrity explainer routing unless a higher-risk mode or explicit user format takes precedence.

Also use this skill when the user supplies a resume, CV, bio, speaker profile, LinkedIn-style summary, company bio, or structured person facts and asks for an introduction, profile, biography explainer, or 60-80 second English script. Automatically use Person profile introduction instead of the celebrity explainer structure.

Also use this skill when the user supplies a person-related URL, such as a Wikipedia page or official biography, and requests an introduction or profile script. Read the URL with the available web-reading skill before drafting, preserve the source facts, and provide the required Chinese translation.

Also use this skill when the user asks for S.T.O.R.M. copy, a viral-style rewrite, stronger retention hooks, or diagnostic feedback on a TikTok script.