The 7 moves of a reel that takes off

This is the structure I write every script with: seven moves in order, what each does and when it comes in, and the four ways to open a reel. It's what the weekly recording carousel couldn't cover. Below, a prompt that reviews your script against the seven.

Why a reel with a good idea falls flat

A script almost never fails because of the idea. It fails because a move is missing or they're out of order: it promises at the end what belonged in the first sentence, explains the how before the problem, or closes without asking for anything.

When you post every day, the first thing you lose is order. The structure doesn't give you the idea: it gives you the order, which you can check in two minutes before recording.

The seven moves, what each does and when

A reel that takes off does seven things, in this order.

1. The hook: the first sentence: who it's talking to and what it promises. If those aren't there, the rest goes unseen.
2. The tension: the problem, or what's at stake. Short: two or three sentences, not a lesson.
3. Name it: the solution, with a name. “I call it the third-trade rule.” What has a name gets remembered and repeated.
4. The how: the steps, concrete and in order. Where most people stay generic: “get more organized” isn't a step; “cut your position size in half” is.
5. The proof: something you can see or check: your screen, your journal, a before and after of yours. It goes before the close.
6. The payoff: what the viewer takes away, in one sentence.
7. The CTA: one ask, clear. Two asks cancel each other out.

Four ways to open

The hook decides whether there's a reel. The four openings I use, and when each one fits:

• Prohibition: “Stop doing X.” It works when the mistake is common and the person recognizes themselves without you explaining it.
• Dialogue: a line to someone, as if the conversation had already started: “No, the problem isn't your strategy.” It works when you're answering an objection people write you about often.
• Identification: “If you're X and Y keeps happening to you, this is for you.” It works when you're talking to a small, well-defined group in your niche.
• Instruction: “Here's how I do X.” It promises a tutorial: the easiest to write and the one that holds people least, because nobody stays without first knowing what problem it solves for them.

The first three open better than the fourth. If your script starts with “here's how,” rewrite that sentence as a prohibition or an identification and save the “here's how” for move 4.

The same script, before and after

A trading script, made up for the example:

“Here's how I handle losing streaks. After two losses I cut my risk in half. That saved my account. Comment and I'll tell you.”

It has the how and some payoff. The tension, the name, and the proof are missing, and the CTA doesn't say what to comment. With all seven:

“If you trade a small account and you've just eaten two stops in a row, this is for you. Most people size up to win it back, and that's where the account blows up. I call it the third-trade rule: after two losses, the third goes in at half the risk, and you go back to normal size after two winners in a row. Look at my journal: two reds on Tuesday, Wednesday I traded at half size and closed green. You walk away with an account that survives the streak. Comment JOURNAL and I'll send you the sheet I use.”

Same idea. What changed is the order and what was missing.

The prompt that reviews your script

I built a prompt that does this review for you. You paste in your script and it tells you, move by move, whether it's there, weak, or missing, with the sentence quoted and a proposed version in your own words. It also tells you which opening your hook starts with. It doesn't write the script: it reviews it. It works pasted into any Claude, with nothing to install.

You are a reel script editor for [your niche]. Review the script below against these 7 moves, in this order:
1 hook: the first sentence, who it's talking to and what it promises.
2 tension: the problem or what's at stake.
3 name it: the solution, with a name.
4 how: the steps, concrete.
5 proof: something you can see or check.
6 payoff: what the viewer takes away.
7 CTA: one ask, clear.

For each one, say “there,” “weak,” or “missing,” quote the sentence where it appears and, if it's missing or weak, propose a version using the script's own words, without inventing data or figures that aren't there. For the hook, also say how it opens: prohibition, dialogue, identification, or instruction.
Finish with the weakest move in one line. If the script is too short to evaluate, say so and ask for what's missing before proposing anything.

Script:
[paste your script]