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A narrative structure is the shape a video’s story takes: the order of the beats that keeps someone watching after the hook has done its job. This is the craft vocabulary about watch time. If your videos get views but people drop off early, this is the page to work. 17 families, 74 structures. Browse them at /narrative-structures, or Craft → Narrative structures in the sidebar.

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The 17 families

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Four structures to try

Pain, then fix, then a call to action, offer, or promo. The fix is monetised or actioned.The workhorse for anyone selling something. Weak when the pain is generic.
Mystery setup, then unravelling, then reveal.Highest completion potential in the list because the payoff sits at the end, but it fails hard if the setup is boring.
An explicitly numbered list or advice list.Predictable and easy to follow. Each number is a small re-hook, which is why drop-off is gentle.
A repeated bit or refrain that gains a new layer on each beat.Very strong for comedy accounts building a signature people return for.
The /narrative-structures page opens with a panel headed Drives watch time, naming the things this vocabulary moves: speed to value, curiosity amplitude, absorption rate, rehook rate, and stickiness.

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Working the page

  • Rest your cursor on any structure to preview its top videos.
  • Open a family to see the structures inside it, or a structure for its definition and up to 24 real examples.
  • Sort by Highest lift to find the shapes that over-perform, or Heating up for what is being used right now.

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Pull every example

From any family or structure page, See all in Explore opens the Explore feed filtered to videos with that structure.
Explore URL
Or ask for it directly:
Assistant prompt

Hook archetypes

What earns attention before the structure takes over.

Stake types

What makes the outcome of the structure matter.