You watch the shows, you stream the movies, and you quote the lines. But behind every legendary character, every viral monologue, and every plot twist that had Twitter in a frenzy, someone sat behind a keyboard and typed it out. The entertainment industry runs on writers.

While everyone focuses on the actors in front of the camera or the directors calling the shots, the scriptwriter lays the foundation. Without the script, the camera has nothing to shoot. Let’s explore the different jobs a scriptwriter can apply for so that if you get the urge for something new, you know which direction to head.

Feature Film Screenwriter

This is the big leagues. This represents the dream for most writers. You write a 90 to 120 page manuscript that tells a complete story. You develop the characters, the dialogue, and the action sequences. In this lane, you generally have two options: spec scripts or assignments.

A spec script is something you write for free, hoping a studio buys it. You possess a dope idea for a thriller set in Atlanta or a comedy about the music industry, so you write it. Then you shop it around. If a producer likes it, they cut the check. Assignments work differently. A studio already owns an idea—maybe a reboot of an old action movie or a biopic about a famous rapper—and they hire you to write the script for them.

Television Staff Writer

TV operates differently than movies. While movies often involve a solo writer or a small team, TV shows rely on a writer’s room. A showrunner leads the room, but a whole squad of writers helps break the story for the season.

As a staff writer, you pitch ideas for episodes. You figure out how the main character gets out of trouble or how to build tension between the romantic leads. Eventually, the showrunner assigns you a specific episode to write. You go off, write the draft, and bring it back to the room for notes.

Reality TV Story Producer

People love to claim reality TV is fake, but unscripted doesn’t mean unplanned. Shows like Love & Hip Hop or The Real Housewives employ huge teams to shape the narrative. They don’t write dialogue lines for the cast to say, but they absolutely craft the story arcs.

We call these professionals Story Producers. You look at the footage the camera crew captured. Maybe you have hours of footage from a dinner party where an argument broke out. Your job involves cutting through the noise to find the story. You decide which clips to use to build the drama. You might write “frankenbites”—pieces of audio stitched together to make a sentence clear—or write the voiceover host’s lines to bridge scenes together.

Video Game Narrative Designer

The gaming industry generates more money than movies and music combined. Modern games like NBA 2K, Grand Theft Auto, or God of War feature complex storylines that rival Hollywood blockbusters. Someone must write all of that.

Narrative designers handle the main plot, but they also handle the small details. When you walk your character down the street and a random pedestrian yells at you? A writer wrote that line. When you choose between two dialogue options in a cutscene? A writer mapped out both paths.

Corporate and Brand Storyteller

Companies today know that boring commercials don’t work. They need to tap into the culture to sell their products. Whether it’s a sneaker brand launching a new shoe or a tech company dropping a new app, they need video content. This is where the money resides.

Corporate scriptwriting involves creating the concept for internal training videos, product launches, or social media ads. You need to understand how to write a brand video script to make a sneaker company sound authentic rather than corporate. Marketing teams often fail because they sound stiff. They need writers who speak the language of the audience to make the content feel genuine.

Music Video Treatment Writer

Visuals drive the music industry. When an artist drops a single, they need a video that pops. Directors often don’t have time to write out every single idea, so they hire treatment writers.

A treatment is a document that breaks down exactly what happens in the video. You describe the vibe, the wardrobe, the lighting, and the action scene by scene. You take the lyrics and the beat and translate them into images.

You need a strong visual imagination to really crush this job. You must communicate mood and style on the page. Here is what typically goes into a solid music video treatment:

• The Concept: A one-paragraph summary of the big idea.
• Visual Style: Descriptions of the color palette and camera movement.
• Scene Breakdown: A timeline of what happens during the verse, the hook, and the bridge.
• Style Notes: Details on fashion, props, and location.

YouTube and Content Creator Scripting

The days of YouTubers just turning on a camera and rambling are fading. The top creators—the ones getting millions of views—treat their channels like TV networks. They have production teams, editors, and yes, writers.

You structure the video to maximize retention. You write the hooks that keep people watching past the first 30 seconds. You research the topics for video essays. You plan the skits for comedy channels. This field is exploding right now with content creation on the rise. Creators need consistent content, and they need help carrying the creative load, especially if their free-time gig went full-time passion.

Podcast and Audio Drama Writer

Audio storytelling has seen a massive resurgence. We aren’t just talking about two people chatting on mics. We mean scripted audio dramas—fictional stories with sound effects and voice actors. Think of it like a movie for your ears.

Platforms like Spotify and Audible pour money into original content. They need writers who can tell a story using only dialogue and sound cues. You must be clever. You can’t show a character pulling a gun; you have to let the audience hear the safety click off.

The scriptwriting industry offers more than just one path. You don’t have to wait for Hollywood to greenlight your screenplay to call yourself a professional writer. From the commercials you skip to the games you play, words drive everything. Thoughts, ideas, and monologues are the foundation. Which of these scriptwriting jobs are you ready to apply for?