The Shape of a Page
7 Exercises to Practice Estimating Scope
⋙ Master the Fundamentals, Keep the Streak Alive ⋘
Bookmark these daily “streak savers” from Writing Streak.
We all operate at our own level of skill. Some of us are still working through the tutorial levels ✋ (that’s my hand going up). Unfortunately, we can lose our writing streak by attempting too much. A good challenge builds skills, but it’s possible to overwhelm ourselves and feel like we failed, not realizing we just need to adjust the weight we’re trying to lift.
So this week we’re learning to estimating scope. What can you fit on a page and how do your content, structure, and style choices affect that scope?
Each exercise is a variation on a theme. You’re going to fill one page—whatever that means to you. Officially, a page is about 250 to 300 words, but adjust that constraint to fit the time or space you want to fill.
We’re trying to develop an intuitive sense of how different choices affect the shape and scale of your story. Hard hard of a lift is it going to be?
This Week’s Streak Savers 🪦
⋙ Monday, Feb 10: The Map and the Territory
Setup: Choose a world-building topic to focus on in a single page in the genre of your choice.
Goal: You will write one page that brings this aspect of your world to life for the reader with a focus on immersion.
Constraints:
Before writing, decide what characters, settings, and objects to include.
Imagine the blank page and where these elements will be placed.
Write until you fill a single page, taking note of how the text matched your expectations.
Reflection: Were you able to fit everything you wanted on the page? Were some elements missing important details or texture?
⋙ Tuesday, Feb 11: The Arc of Narrative
Setup: Consider a character arc, marked by significant life events that lead to transformation.
Goal: You will guide the reader through a compelling arc in one page, focusing on an engaging change or evolution.
Constraints:
Decide on one or more pivotal events in the character's journey if not the complete arc.
Pinpoint each event and important developments on the page and imagine what occurs between them.
Write until you have filled the page.
Reflection: How did the number of events and actions affect the significance you could give to each change in the arc? Did the writing feel rushed or incomplete?
⋙ Wednesday, Feb 13: An Unforeseen Twist
Setup: Think of an idea that focuses on a twist in the story that recontextualizes some physical aspect of the narrative.
Goal: Write a page that leads the reader down one path, only to surprise them.
Constraints:
Consider what shifts through time are needed to set up and execute the twist.
In what order should the information be revealed to maximize the impact of the twist?
Write until you fill a single page.
Reflection: How much space did the time shifts take on the page? Did you have to sacrifice any build-up or aftermath to fit everything on one page?
⋙ Thursday, Feb 14: Cognitive Dissonance
Setup: Think of a story idea that subverts expectations calling into question the narrator or character’s viewpoint.
Goal: Write one page that introduces an inconsistency or surprise, making the reader doubt their assumptions.
Constraints:
Incorporate shifts in framing, such as description, dialogue, and introspection.
Decide the most impactful order for these shifts.
Stop when you fill the page.
Reflection: How did the shifts in framing affect the scope of the narrative?
⋙ Friday, Feb 15: Thematic Resonance
Setup: Choose a moral or philosophical question that can be explored through a concrete situation.
Goal: Create a page that examines your chosen theme through carefully selected literary devices.
Constraints:
Select a number or rhetorical devices like symbolism, metaphor, parallel structure, irony, or motif.
Place your chosen devices at the beginning, middle, and end of your page.
Fill exactly one page, ensuring each device receives adequate emphasis and development.
Reflection: Did any of your rhetorical devices require extra space to fully develop?
⋙ Saturday, Feb 16: The Voice of the People
Setup: Think of a story idea for a specific audience or demographic that requires a distinct voice.
Goal: Write a page that is tailored to those readers, taking into account their reading level, interests, and expectations.
Constraints:
Choose an appropriate level of lyricism, considering the use of figurative language, sound, and imagery.
Consider any contexts that might alter the tone or voice, such as a character’s particular voice or modulation due to setting.
Write until you fill a single page.
Reflection: How did your choice of audience affect the flow of your writing on the page?
⋙ Sunday, Feb 17: The Incredible Shrinking Action
Setup: Envision a significant action that changes a character's life.
Goal: Demonstrate how the same action can be collapsed or expanded to fit narrative context and available space.
Constraints:
First write a full page describing only the action itself, as if it were a passage in a full-length story.
Next, collapse that action into a single paragraph as if it were part of a compressed scene.
Finally, reduce the action to a single sentence as if it were part of a flash fiction.
Reflection: How did the significance and impact of your chosen action change as you compressed or expanded its description?
