🎨 Creative
Audio Drama Script Writer: Scene Headings, SFX and Music Cues, Voice Only Exposition, Cast and Sound Lists for Fiction Podcasts
Write a fiction podcast episode script built for the ear: scene headings with location sound, numbered SFX and music cues, dialogue that tells listeners who is speaking and where they are without narration dumps, plus a cast list and a sound effects list for the editor.
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Prompt
Act as an audio drama writer and sound minded script editor who writes fiction podcast episodes for the ear, marks every sound and music cue for the editor, and makes sure listeners always know who is talking and where they are. Inputs: - Series premise, tone, and genre: [SeriesPremise] - Episode summary, beats, and target runtime in minutes: [EpisodeBeats] - Characters in this episode with voice notes (age, accent, pace, verbal tics): [CastNotes] - Locations and their sound beds (rain on tin roof, ship engine hum, office HVAC): [LocationSounds] - Production limits: number of actors, remote or in studio recording, music library or composer, budget for SFX: [ProductionLimits] - Output format: [Format] Generate: 1. A cold open of about 30 to 60 seconds that hooks with sound before dialogue. 2. The full script in audio drama format: numbered scenes with headings (INT/EXT, location, time), an AMBIENCE line from LocationSounds, character names in caps, and parentheticals only where delivery matters. 3. Numbered SFX and MUSIC cues inline (SFX 1, MUSIC 1 IN, MUSIC 1 OUT) placed where the editor needs them. 4. Voice only exposition: characters reveal names, places, and actions through natural dialogue and sound, with no narrator unless SeriesPremise uses one. 5. A runtime check: approximate minutes per scene at about 140 to 160 spoken words per minute, against EpisodeBeats. 6. A cast list with lines per character and voice notes from CastNotes, flagging scenes that need actors in the same room under ProductionLimits. 7. A sound list for the editor: every SFX and ambience with scene number, whether it is library or needs foley. 8. A clarity pass: lines where a listener could lose track of who is speaking, with fixes. Constraints: - Keep the cast within ProductionLimits. - Do not describe visuals that only a camera could show. - Original writing only; no lyrics or scenes from existing works. No em dashes.
Instructions
Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.
Examples
Example Input
SeriesPremise: "Low Tide", a quiet coastal mystery series; each episode is one night at a lighthouse turned bed and breakfast in Maine; no narrator EpisodeBeats: Episode 3, 22 minutes. A storm cuts power, a guest's antique pocket watch goes missing, the owner Ruth finds wet boot prints that lead to the lamp room, reveal that the teenage helper hid the watch to stop a guest from selling it CastNotes: RUTH, 60s, dry Maine accent, slow and wry; THEO, 16, fast, mumbles when lying; MR. ABBOTT, 70s, formal, clipped; LENA, 30s, Abbott's niece, warm then sharp LocationSounds: kitchen with wood stove crackle and rain on windows; spiral stair with metal ring and wind whistle; lamp room with glass rattle and surf below ProductionLimits: 4 actors recording remotely, library SFX only, one composer providing 3 cues Format: cold open, script excerpt of scenes 1 and 2, runtime, cast list, sound list, clarity pass
Example Output
COLD OPEN AMBIENCE: wind, surf, rain on glass. SFX 1: a pocket watch ticking, close. SFX 2: thunder. The ticking stops. MUSIC 1 IN: low cello note, held. SCENE 1. INT. KITCHEN. NIGHT. AMBIENCE: wood stove crackle, rain on windows. SFX 3: power dies with an electrical thunk; fridge hum cuts out. RUTH: (unbothered) There she goes. Theo, the lantern's under the sink. THEO: Got it. (SFX 4: cupboard, glass clink) Ruth, the matches are wet. RUTH: Then use the stove, Theo. It's been lit since four. SFX 5: stove door creaks, a match flares. MUSIC 1 OUT. SFX 6: footsteps on wooden stairs, hurried, coming down. MR. ABBOTT: (clipped) Mrs. Calder. My watch. It was on the nightstand, and now it is not. RUTH: Your grandfather's watch, Mr. Abbott? The gold one you showed us at supper? MR. ABBOTT: The very same. LENA: (coming in, warm) Uncle, you probably left it in your coat. MR. ABBOTT: I did not leave it in my coat, Lena. SCENE 2. INT. SPIRAL STAIR. NIGHT. AMBIENCE: wind whistle, metal ring with each step. SFX 7: lantern handle squeak as Ruth climbs. RUTH: (slightly winded) Theo, hold the light lower. There. On the third step. THEO: (mumbling) Just water. Roof leaks. RUTH: Roof doesn't leak in the shape of a boot heel. Those go up to the lamp room. SFX 8: surf below, louder as they climb. LENA: (from below, sharp) Who's up there? RUTH: Only me and the boy, Lena. Stay with your uncle. RUNTIME CHECK - Cold open: about 0.5 min - Scene 1: about 2.5 min at 150 wpm - Scene 2: about 1.5 min - Remaining 4 scenes need about 17 min total to land at 22. CAST LIST - RUTH: 14 lines so far; dry and slow. - THEO: 4 lines; mumbles on the lie in scene 2. - MR. ABBOTT: 3 lines; formal. - LENA: 2 lines; warmth turns sharp in scene 2. Remote note: scene 1 overlapping lines between Abbott and Lena should be recorded in one session over a call so timing feels natural. SOUND LIST | Cue | Scene | Sound | Source | | SFX 1 | Cold open | Pocket watch tick, close | Library | | SFX 3 | 1 | Power cut thunk, hum stops | Library | | SFX 4 | 1 | Cupboard and glass clink | Library | | SFX 7 | 2 | Lantern handle squeak | Library | | Ambience | 2 | Metal stair ring per step | Library, layered | CLARITY PASS - Scene 1: Ruth says "Theo" twice early so listeners learn the name by ear. - Scene 2: Lena calls from below; the "from below" parenthetical tells the editor to place her voice distant and lower in the mix.