Creating Scenes for Discovery

I often tell my students that storytelling is like the TARDIS in Doctor Who—the narrower and more specific we get on the outside, the bigger it gets on the inside. Then everyone knows I’m a big nerd, but it’s true! Storytelling is bigger on the inside. So with that in mind . . .

Step one: Set a timer for three minutes. Make a list of every space in your life that’s just too dang small. They could be literal (your kitchen cabinet, that one doorway you hit your elbow on constantly) or figurative (the amount of time you have to read for pleasure in a day). Brain dump as many as you can; if you’re having trouble, start with what’s around you and then expand in circles outward until you get to spaces you’ve experienced that are far away from you. Keep your pen moving the whole time. Be as specific to your life and your experience as you possibly can be.

Step two: Circle one space that’s calling to you today.

Step three: Write a scene of discovery that this space has, somehow, expanded. It is now bigger than it looks from the outside. You can use yourself as the discovering character or you can make one up. Things to consider: Does the character know what happened? How does the character use the new space? Can other characters experience the space? What is the character’s sensory experience of the space? Emotional experience?

Try this exercise with as many of the spaces on the list that call to you. Which expanded spaces feel like they could be a good fit for a longer work, like a novel or an entryway into a memoir? Which feel better-suited to a shorter narrative? Why?

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