The Three Shapes

Every Post Is One of Three Shapes

Learn three patterns, not twenty-four posts.

Twenty-four posts sounds like twenty-four problems. It isn't — it's three. 4 min read

Every post in the campaign takes one of three shapes, and the first three months of the calendar happen to demonstrate one each. We've rendered those three posts in full, with annotations in the margin explaining what each part of the shape is doing — where the hook lives, where the disclaimer goes, what to swap for the next post that wears the same shape. Read a template once, and every later post in its family will feel familiar on sight.

Read this first — the Sanity reality check

The template pages are design targets and structure references — not markup to copy into Sanity. Your live site publishes through Sanity, and today its editor renders: H2/H3 headings, paragraphs, lists, links, and inline images. That's it. The richer styling on the template pages — styled excerpt blocks, stat rows, FAQ accordions — arrives when the site gets its Astro/Sanity upgrade.

So when you publish: the structure, sequence, and voice of a template survive today; the dress doesn't yet. Every margin note on the template pages carries one of these badges so you always know which is which:

✓ Survives Sanity today   ◇ Needs the port

Meet the shapes

E

The Essay — the objection-killer

Hook → framework → the lists → honest summary → soft CTA. One worry, taken seriously, answered completely. The shape for every cluster-A post and every argument post. Rendered from Month 1: What a Freelance Paralegal Can (and Can't) Ethically Do for Your Firm.

 R

The Reference — the bookmark piece

Question → side-by-side demonstration → rule of thumb → honest wrinkles. The comparison post attorneys save and send to colleagues — with styled sample-deliverable blocks, because the excerpts are the marketing. Rendered from Month 2: Medical Chronology vs. Records Summary.

 W

The Walkthrough — the anatomy piece

Numbered sections, each with its “why.” A system or document taken apart so the reader can rebuild it — and sees a professional has been inside it. Rendered from Month 3: Anatomy of a Demand Letter That Moves an Adjuster.

The three skeletons, side by side

Squint, and every post in the campaign is one of these three stacks. The gold blocks are each shape's signature move; the navy-topped blocks are styled work product.

The Essay
  1. Hookthe reader's worry, named
  2. Frameworkthe answer in one sentence
  3. The long listwhat's possible
  4. The short listthe bright lines
  5. Honest summarythe concession that builds trust
  6. FAQ blockschema months only
  7. Soft CTA
The Reference
  1. The questiona recurring decision
  2. The fictional fileone example, shared by all
  3. Option A, showna real excerpt
  4. Option B, shownsame file, other tool
  5. Rule of thumbthe quotable line
  6. Honest wrinklesthe complications
  7. Soft CTA
The Walkthrough
  1. Hookthe reader on the other end
  2. 1. Section + its why
  3. 2. Section + its why
  4. 3. The long sectionwhere the money is
  5. 4–5. More sections
  6. The short one
  7. Candid closelane discipline
  8. Soft CTA

All 24 posts, mapped to their shape

The calendar order is also the dependency order — posts link back to earlier siblings, so the map below doubles as the linking plan on publishing day.

MoPostClusterShape
1What a Freelance Paralegal Can (and Can't) Ethically DoAEssay · FAQ
2Medical Chronology vs. Records SummaryBReference
3Anatomy of a Demand Letter That Moves an AdjusterCWalkthrough
4How Billing Works With a Contract ParalegalAEssay · FAQ
5Deposition Summary Formats: Page-Line, Topical, or Chronological?DReference
6The Solo PI Attorney's Caseload CeilingEEssay
7How Long Should Medical Records Review Take?BReference · FAQ
8Confidentiality and Conflicts With a Remote ParalegalAEssay · FAQ
9The Demand Package ChecklistCWalkthrough · FAQ
10Drowning in Discovery? A Triage SystemDWalkthrough
11The 60-Day Trial Prep CountdownEWalkthrough
12Contract Paralegal vs. In-House Hire: The Real MathAEssay · FAQ
13What a Good Medical Chronology SurfacesBReference
14Interrogatory Answers That Don't Come Back to Bite YouDEssay
15Why Demand Letters StallCEssay
16How to Delegate Without Creating More WorkAEssay
17Five Signs Your Caseload Is Quietly Costing You SettlementsEEssay
18A Records-Request System That Doesn't Lose ProvidersBWalkthrough
19Prepping an Expert Deposition With a Chronology in HandDWalkthrough
20Your Paralegal Is in Another State. Here's Why That Works.AEssay · FAQ
21Policy-Limits Demands: Getting the Details RightCWalkthrough
22What Medical Records Review Should Cost a PI FirmBReference · FAQ
23Deposition Digesting for TrialDWalkthrough
24The Small-Firm Delegation Playbook (capstone hub)EReference

The tally: ten Essays, six References, eight Walkthroughs. Highlighted rows are cluster A — every one an Essay, because every one exists to retire an objection. “FAQ” marks the eight posts that get FAQ structured data on publishing day.

How to use a template

The month before a post is due, open its shape's template page and skim the margin notes — five minutes. Then read the month's draft. You'll recognize every section, know which parts are load-bearing, and know exactly what your review needs to touch.