Writing a Radio Script (For Editing)

Writing a Radio Script 

By Dave Gilson 

Writing for radio is different than writing for print. You’re writing for the ear, not the eye. Listeners have to 

get it the first time around- they can’t go back and hear it again (unlike re-reading a sentence in a magazine). 

And while a reader may get up and come back to an article, a radio listener who gets up may not come back. 

So you want to grab their attention and hold onto it for as long as possible. Writing feature stories like the 

ones aired on B-Side is also different than writing news copy. You can loosen up a little. You can be more 

literary, more creative, more personal. This handout is a quick guide to writing a script for a feature radio 

story. 

Getting Started: Logging Tape 

After you’ve finished your reporting, it’s time to log your tape. This means listening to everything you’ve 

recorded and writing it up. You should transcribe quotes, note who’s saying what, time how long the tracks 

are, and (if you’re using a minidisc) note the track numbers. Highlight or mark tracks you know you want to 

come back to. You don’t have to log the tracks you know you won’t use. Example 

Choosing Your Acts 

After you’ve logged your tape, you should select the tracks you want to use (tracks are also called cuts, 

soundbites, or actualities). Cuts generally shouldn’t be longer than 30 seconds- you only have a few minutes 

and besides, most radio listeners have short attention spans. (If you have a great long cut, you can break it up 

with your narration or edit it down). Don’t just choose cuts purely based on what’s said- also consider how 

it’s said. Think about how your cuts will fit into your story structure- do they describe something, tell a story, 

make you laugh, make you scratch your head? Your actualities should advance the story and make it 

interesting. 

Starting to Write 

As you start writing your script, you probably already have a good idea what your story’s going to sound like. 

You’ve listened to all the clips and ambiance, maybe selected some music. You may have talked about the 

story with a friend or editor. Basically, you already have all the elements floating around in your head. Start 

writing your script by laying out all your cuts in the order you think you’re going to use them. Then start 

writing your narration around them.

Anchor Intros 

The place to start is usually the “anchor intro”- this is what the announcer/host will say to introduce your 

story. An anchor intro quickly sets up your story and puts it in context, without giving away too much. It 

should also introduce you, the reporter/producer. 

Telling a Story 

As you write your narration, try to tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Draw listeners into the story 

by setting a scene, raising a question, playing a weird noise, or introducing a character. Use narrative 

elements like foreshadowing, suspense, and scene changes to move the story along. 

Mix Things Up 

Use tracks of varying length. A series of 20-second acts interspersed with 10-second tracks will get pretty 

monotonous. And when you wrap up your story, don’t end with an actuality or just a sign off. You should get 

the last word, even if it’s just a short sentence. 

A few aesthetic considerations to keep in mind as you write your script: 

Be conversational. Your narration should sound as natural as possible, like you’re telling a story to a friend. 

This is not the same as trying to imitate spontaneous speech. Instead, this means writing in a style that sounds 

as relaxed as possible. Use phrases and words you normally use. When you read your narration aloud, do you 

sound like yourself? 

Be visual. Give your listeners a chance to imagine the people, places and things in your story. Create a sense 

of scene; describe people; include interesting sounds. Avoid a story that’s just a series of talking heads or 

facts. 

Be concise. Long sentences loaded with ten-cent words and relative clauses usually don’t work too well in 

radio (but there are exceptions). Mix up your sentence structure. It’s surprisingly easy to fill 3 or 4 minutes of 

airtime- so don’t overwrite. 

Be energetic. Use the active voice. Use punchy verbs and contractions. Mind your tenses – don’t switch back 

and forth between past and present. Most radio stories are done in present tense. Some exceptions include 

commentaries, and news stories about past events. 

Be experimental. For variety, stick in a tape-to-tape cut (one actuality leading straight into another without 

narration in between). Mix acts and tracks. For example, if someone is droning on and on, you can play them 

under your narration- this will convey a sense of them rambling. Even the most straightforward story can 

have an unusual or memorable element in it. 

Be thoughtful. Try to go beyond just presenting the facts. Let your listeners know why your story matters. Is 

there a lesson to be learned, something to be taken away? You don’t have to get too heavy or cerebral- just 

take it a step or two beyond pure description. 

Writing for the Ear 

The way you listen to speech is different than the way you read. A few tricks to make sure your listeners stay 

tuned in: 

Keep ideas intact. Don’t break up subjects and verbs. Compare these three sentences: 

- Nancy Smith, who is the founder and CEO of the Acme Corporation, says the widget market is booming. 

- Acme Corporation founder and CEO Nancy Smith says the widget market is booming. 

- Nancy Smith is the founder and CEO of the Acme Corporation. She says the widget market is booming.

Nancy Smith gets lost in the first one. The next two sentences express the same idea without losing track of 

who’s being talked about or who she is. 

Write transitions in and out of your actualities. You don’t have to be obvious, but acts shouldn’t seem 

abrupt or forced. If you give someone’s name three sentences before you play their clip, you should mention 

their name again before they start talking. This will remind listeners who’s about to talk. 

Likewise, don’t follow an actuality from one person by naming another person. This can make it sound 

like Person #2 just said Person #1′s actuality. o You don’t have to write in complete sentences. You can also 

break up sentences for emphasis. 

Acts and Tracks 

Radio scripts generally follow a common format. Here are a few guidelines: 

Label each actuality “ACT”. Note who’s talking and how long it is. Actualities are usually distinguished from 

narration with boldface, italics, capitalization, indentation, or some combination of these. 

Label each track of your narration “TRX” or “TRK”. Note how long it takes for you to read it. o Use 

parentheses or brackets to note when ambience (labeled “AMB” or “AMBI”) or music is playing. The more 

specifics about how this sound will be used, the better. This will help your editor and will remind you what to 

do when you’re mixing the final version. 

Give the phonetic spelling of hard-to-pronounce words and names in parentheses after the name. Write out 

numbers and abbreviations – it will slow your read down if you have to figure out how to say 1,459 when you 

could read “one thousand, four hundred and fifty nine” Not that you should use such a specific number in 

your story-use approximate numbers. 

Note the estimated length of the entire story (without the anchor intro) at the top of the script. A rough rule of 

thumb to use: one page of single-spaced script usually corresponds to a minute and a half to two minutes of 

produced tape.