ur-grue Carousel Script Writer
What This Skill Does
Writes the copy for a multi-slide Instagram or LinkedIn carousel post, with a strong opening slide, logical slide-by-slide progression, and a final slide that drives action or invites engagement.
When To Use This Skill
- You have a complex idea, argument, or story that benefits from being broken into sequential slides
- You want to repurpose a long article, report, or interview into a high-engagement visual format
- You are creating educational or insight-driven content for a professional or media audience
- You want to share behind-the-scenes production insight, editorial methodology, or documentary storytelling in a format designed for saves and shares
What You Need To Provide
Required: The platform (Instagram or LinkedIn), the topic or argument you want the carousel to cover, the number of slides you want (suggest 6–10), the account type or voice.
Optional: The specific audience you are targeting, whether this is based on an existing piece of content (article, episode, documentary), a call to action for the final slide, any design constraints (e.g., maximum characters per slide for the design template).
How the Assistant Approaches This
- Plans the carousel structure before writing: slide 1 is a hook that stops the scroll (a claim, a question, or a provocation); slides 2–(n-1) develop the argument or story one idea per slide; the final slide is a CTA, a question, or a summary worth saving
- Writes each slide with minimal text — carousels reward brevity per slide; each slide should contain one idea, stated in the fewest possible words that still make it land
- Provides a caption to accompany the carousel post (using the same logic as the caption-writer skill) and a suggested slide design note for each slide (what type of visual would work: typographic, photographic, illustrated)
Output Format
Slide list with: slide number, headline text (large text, max 8 words), body text (supporting copy, max 25 words per slide), and a slide design note. Plus: accompanying caption for the post (75–150 words for Instagram, 100–180 words for LinkedIn). Total output: structured slide script + caption. Each slide clearly separated and labelled.
Quality Criteria
- Slide 1 is a hook — a claim, question, or statistic that creates immediate curiosity
- Each slide contains exactly one idea — no slide tries to do two things
- Text per slide is within the specified limits — carousel copy that's too long fails on mobile
- Progression is logical — a reader swiping forward should feel they are getting somewhere
- Final slide has a specific CTA or question — not "follow for more" as the only action
- Accompanying caption works as a standalone post even without the slides
Example
Input
Platform: LinkedIn Topic: Five things documentary filmmakers know about storytelling that most corporate communicators don't Slides: 8 Account: Documentary filmmaker / production company Voice: Direct, knowledgeable, not preachy Audience: Communications professionals, PR, brand storytelling teams CTA: DM or comment for the full essay
Output
CAROUSEL SCRIPT — LinkedIn "5 Things Documentary Filmmakers Know That Corporate Communicators Don't"
Slide 1 — HOOK Headline: Corporate storytelling is broken. Body: Not because companies don't care about stories. Because they've never spent three years following one. Design note: Bold typographic — white text on dark background. High contrast.
Slide 2 Headline: The most interesting person isn't the CEO. Body: Documentary filmmakers spend months finding the person whose story actually explains the thing. Most brand storytelling never makes that search. Design note: Split image — two contrasting portraits, anonymous.
Slide 3 Headline: Tension is not bad for your brand. Body: Documentaries work because they let conflict exist. The obstacle is the story. Smoothing it out removes the reason to keep watching. Design note: Typographic — a quote pulled from the body text, large.
Slide 4 Headline: Specificity > inspiration. Body: "A woman who rebuilt her life" is forgettable. "A 58-year-old electrician who started her company after being made redundant twice" — that's a person. Design note: Two text blocks side by side — the generic version vs the specific version.
Slide 5 Headline: Your audience knows when you're performing. Body: Documentary subjects who perform for camera are the least interesting. So are brands. The most engaging content is made by people who've stopped trying to look good. Design note: Typographic — clean, centred.
Slide 6 Headline: Structure is invisible when it works. Body: The best documentaries don't feel structured. They feel inevitable. That requires more planning than most campaigns allow for. Design note: Timeline or flowchart graphic — abstract.
Slide 7 Headline: The most powerful moment is often the smallest. Body: A gesture. A pause. The detail that the subject doesn't know you caught. That's what people remember. Not the key message. Design note: Close-up photography — hands, detail shot.
Slide 8 — CLOSE / CTA Headline: The full version is an essay. Body: If you work in communications, PR, or brand storytelling and want to read it — DM me or drop a comment below. Design note: Clean typographic CTA — strong contrast, simple layout.
ACCOMPANYING CAPTION
Five years of documentary filmmaking have taught me things about storytelling I never would have learned in a communications or marketing context.
The main one: the rules that make documentaries work are not specific to documentary. They're just rules about how attention and trust actually function.
I've written them up as a short carousel. If any of them are useful or infuriating, I'd genuinely like to hear why.
(Full essay available on request — DM or comment.)
Known Limitations
- Carousel performance is heavily dependent on the visual execution. Well-written copy on a poorly designed slide will underperform. This skill produces the copy and design direction, not the finished visual.
- LinkedIn and Instagram have different algorithmic relationships with carousels. LinkedIn currently rewards long carousel dwell time; Instagram Reels have overtaken carousels in organic reach for most accounts. Check current best practice for your platform before investing heavily in carousel production.
- The skill defaults to an educational or insight-driven carousel format. Purely promotional carousels (product launches, event announcements) follow different structural logic and should be specified separately.