A crime audio drama / podcast typically runs 15-30 pages per episode and is defined by audio crime narratives that use the medium's investigative formats — interviews, recordings, wiretaps, and confessions — to tell crime stories with an authenticity visual media can't match.
Audio crime naturally suits investigative formats: recorded interviews, wiretapped conversations, evidence logs, and confessional narration. The investigator's voice becomes the audience's guide — it must be authoritative and compelling. Suspect interviews should each have distinct vocal characteristics that convey guilt, innocence, or ambiguity. Crime scene descriptions must be painted through dialogue ('Look at this — blood spatter on the eastern wall'). Forensic details should be explained through natural conversation. The sound of the criminal world — sirens, jail doors, courtroom gavels — creates authenticity. Multiple audio formats (phone calls, recordings, radio) can be woven together. Each episode should advance the case while deepening character.
Cold open with the crime or a compelling piece of evidence (2-3 pages). The investigation through interviews and evidence review (6-12 pages). A breakthrough or complication (4-8 pages). Setup for the next episode's investigation (2-4 pages). Total: 15-30 pages per episode.
Map the crime itself in detail before writing the script. You need to know everything — even what you won't show.
Give your criminal and your investigator equally compelling motivations. The best crime stories make you understand both sides.
Ground the world in specific, authentic detail — the language, the procedure, the geography of the criminal world.
Write the scene that shows the personal cost of the crime. That's what separates crime drama from crime procedural.
Free Screenwriter gives you industry-standard formatting, AI coverage, and structure tools — everything you need to write a crime audio drama / podcast.
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