I built a tool called Mermaid Mind that mines story prompts from YouTube videos. Here’s the workflow I use:
- Step 1. Pick a video(Paste any YouTube link into Mermaid Mind.)
- Step 2. Collect themes
The tool extracts 50+ “pill tags” — condensed ideas or phrases from the video. For example, from one talk I got:
•Confidence + Humility = Likability
•Go Twice As Slow As You Think
•Rule of Three
- Step 3. Expand into posts
Each tag becomes a writing prompt:
•Confidence + Humility → A story about earning trust.
•Go Twice As Slow → A lesson on slowing down for clarity.
•Surprise → A story about an unexpected pivot.
Instead of forcing an idea, I now have a story inventory I can dip into for LinkedIn posts, blog articles, or newsletters.
Why this helps?
Tips are easy to forget. Stories tend to stick. By turning video content into story prompts, I skip the “what should I write?” problem and move straight into writing.
The project is live here: https://yttomermaid.xyz
Feedback is welcome.