Change the telling, not the pictures: put “I” inside a rule
What they did
- On October 13 he posted four videos that open with a rule (“Every time I crush sneeze, I teleport…”) and put the narrator inside it. Fact
- Earlier formats were third-person lists: “Here are some of the craziest punishments around the world.” Fact
- The structure barely varies: rule, one mechanic, two or three absurd details, I am the weakest under the rule, someone I love is in danger, the cost becomes a superpower, a line of honesty to close. Fact
What happened
- She Kept On Sneezing reached 10.2M; the best video of the previous two months had 904K. Fact
- Within three days: Every Time You Lie You Shrink 22.8M, If You Hug Someone You Swap Ages 29.6M. Fact
- 99 of the next 100 videos passed a million. Fact
How you can use it
- Write ideas as “in this world, doing [an everyday act] costs you [a magical price]”. Hugging, lying, sneezing, sleeping × swapping ages, shrinking, being forgotten.
- Make the narrator the person the rule hurts most. The rescue only works because of the cost.
- Keep the opening rule under 25 words and use it as the title.