/long-form-youtube

name: long-form-youtube
description: Use when writing, outlining, or structuring a long-form YouTube video script (roughly 6-25 minutes) for any niche or business, or when diagnosing a video that loses viewers partway through.

Long-Form YouTube Scripts

• Short-form wins the first 2 seconds; long-form must win the next 20 minutes.
• Retention is a chain of open loops: every section opens the next before it closes itself.
• Built on the six levers — see **storytelling-hooks** for the full psychology. One-line recap:

1. Curiosity gap · 2. Emotional mirror · 3. Conflict engine · 4. Relatability · 5. Pattern + surprise · 6. Three-act structure.

When to Use

• Writing a YouTube video script, tutorial, essay, story, review, or explainer.
• Planning structure/outline before scripting, or diagnosing a video that "loses people in the middle".
• Any niche: education, tech, finance, vlog, documentary, business, faith.

Packaging First (Before Any Scripting)

• **Lock the title + thumbnail pair before outlining.** The video is written to deliver on the pack, not the other way around — a great script under a weak pack never gets watched. Use **titles-and-thumbnails** for the pair.
• **Define the target viewer** in one sentence: who exactly should click and stay (stage, situation, private worry) — not "everyone interested in X". Every relatability and stakes choice flows from this. The right viewer retained beats the most viewers clicked.
• **Intake before outlining:** confirm topic + the user's points, target runtime, audience avatar, goal (subs / sales / session time), and the next video to tease. **Always ask for the user's own points if they say they have them** — never substitute assumed points for real ones. Everything else may be assumed explicitly if the user can't respond.

Video Skeleton (Quick Reference)

| Section | Time | Job | Lever focus | |---------|------|-----|-------------| | Hook | 0:00–0:30 | Stop the click-away, make a promise | 1, 4, 2 | | Setup | 0:30–1:30 | Frame the stakes, preview the payoff | 3, 6 | | Body (chapters) | bulk | Deliver value as a loop chain | all | | Sag point | ~40–60% | Re-hook before attention drops | 1, 5 | | Payoff | near end | Resolve the opening promise | 6 | | Outro/CTA | last 15s | One next action | 1 |

• The table's timestamps assume ~10–12 min. For other lengths, scale the body proportionally but keep the hook ≤ 30s and the outro ≤ 15s regardless of runtime; the payoff can live inside the final chapter.

• When drafting hooks, re-hooks, chapter titles, or teases, read **patterns.md** (same folder) for fill-in structures — adapt, don't copy.

The Opening (First 30 Seconds)

• **Confirm the click.** The viewer arrives holding the title/thumbnail's promise; the first line and first frame must visibly match it — restate the exact question or show the exact thing promised. A mismatch reads as bait and triggers the click-away.
• **Cold open, no throat-clearing.** Cut the "hey guys, welcome back" — start in the hook.
• **State the promise/stakes** in plain words: what the viewer will gain or avoid.
• **Open a loop you only close at the end** (the bookend).
• **Optional preview flash:** tease the most dramatic moment from later ("by the end I lost everything — here's how I got it back").
• Patterns:
• Result-first: show the outcome, then "here's how".
• Question gap: pose the exact question the title implied.
• Stakes: name what's at risk if they get this wrong.

The Re-Hook / Open-Loop Chain

• **Rule:** never close a loop without opening a new one. Retention = unbroken chain.
• Plant **forward references**: "but that's not even the strange part — I'll get to it."
• Use **micro-cliffhangers** at chapter ends.
• **Callbacks:** pay off an earlier loop mid-video to reward watching, then open another.
• Track loops explicitly while scripting — deliver an **open-loop tracker** with the outline:

| Loop | Opens | Closes | |------|-------|--------| | "The moment nobody warns you about" (bookend) | 0:05 | payoff | | Chapter 1's promise | end of setup | end of ch. 1 |

Chaptering & Pacing

• Break the video into **3–6 chapters**, each a mini three-act (setup → tension → resolution).
• One idea per chapter; name chapters as curiosity gaps, not labels ("The mistake that cost me $4k" > "Background").
• **Vary the rhythm:** alternate dense info with story/breath. Monotone pacing kills retention more than weak content.
• **Pattern interrupts** every 20–40s: B-roll, location/angle change, on-screen text, tone shift, a question to the viewer.
• Cut anything that doesn't advance a loop or pay one off.

The Sag Point (40–60%)

• This is where most viewers drop. Treat it as a second hook.
• **Re-hook moves:** introduce the biggest twist, raise the stakes, drop a surprising fact, or restate the core promise with new urgency.
• Use **pattern + surprise** here: "Everything was working — until it wasn't."

Payoff & Resolution

• Close the **opening loop explicitly** — viewers came for this.
• Deliver the lesson/feeling, not just facts (emotional mirror).
• **Bookend:** echo a phrase/number/image from the hook.
• Don't over-resolve — leave one resonant thought.

Outro & CTA

• One action only (watch next / subscribe / link). Multiple CTAs = none followed.
• **Tease the next video** as a fresh curiosity gap to feed the session.
• Keep it under ~15 seconds; end-screen window.

Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Fix | |---------|-----| | Scripting first, packaging later | Lock title + thumbnail first; script to deliver on them | | Opening doesn't match the title's promise | First line restates the exact promise (confirm the click) | | Chapters as labels ("Background", "Part 2") | Name every chapter as a curiosity gap | | Aimed at "everyone interested in X" | One-sentence target viewer; mirror *their* private experience | | Loops tracked mentally | Written loop tracker — untracked loops get closed early or forgotten | | Even pacin