Paragraphs might sound like an insignificant, nit-picky aspect of writing to focus on. So why would I devote an entire blog post to them? Why not write about plot or characters instead? While they might seem insignificant, paragraphs are the building blocks of your story. If you want to build a beautiful house, you first have to make sure you’re using good bricks. If the bricks you use are weak or damaged, it threatens the integrity of the entire structure. So how can you use paragraphs to their maximum potential and strengthen the rest of your manuscript as a result?
Tip #1: Mimic Breathing
Shorter paragraphs typically mean more action and dialogue, while longer paragraphs are thoughts and descriptions. Naturally, we read shorter paragraphs faster. This is a very simple way to increase the pacing in your book: shorten your paragraphs. Another way to say that is: try to mimic breathing patterns. When we’re excited, anxious, scared, or angry, our heart rate picks up, and we start breathing faster. When we’re relaxed, we take slower, deeper breaths. Shorten or lengthen your paragraphs depending on whether the character’s breaths should be shallow and quick or deep and relaxed.
Tip #2: Beware Long Paragraphs
Has a huge chunk of text ever filled you with dread? Sometimes, my gaze dips down to the dialogue, just to see what’s going to happen if a paragraph seems particularly dense. I’ve heard that especially in YA (Young Adult), you should keep your paragraphs shorter. Jill Williamson in Go Teen Writers: How to Turn Your First Draft into a Published Book says that she uses a maximum of six lines per paragraph, since the paragraph will be even longer once it’s formatted. Of course, there’s no rule that’s set in stone for paragraph lengths, but try to be mindful of them. Another thing to keep in mind is to vary paragraph length, so they don’t become too monotonous.
Tip #3: Group Dialogue and Action Beats
Here’s an easy way to distinguish who’s saying and doing what without using repetitive names.
Ryan cradled the gun in the crook of his elbow, always on guard.
“We’re leaving the Colony tomorrow.”
Anthony straightened.
“We can’t! We’ve been here for—what? A month?”
He shrugged.
“I’ve just got a hunch that something’s off in this Colony.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“You’re basing this on a hunch?”
“They’re rarely wrong.”
You could probably keep track of who’s saying what, but it’s much easier when the dialogue is paired with action beats.
Ryan cradled the gun in the crook of his elbow, always on guard. “We’re leaving the Colony tomorrow.”
Anthony straightened. “We can’t! We’ve been here for—what? A month?”
He shrugged. “I’ve just got a hunch that something’s off in this Colony.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You’re basing this on a hunch?”
“They’re rarely wrong.”
Tip #4: Use Paragraph Breaks Wisely
My older stories used to have long, unbroken paragraphs. Paragraph breaks seemed so random to me—I had no idea how to use them. After reading a few articles, I realized paragraph breaks mimic a movie camera. Though out one scene, the camera keeps switching from person to person, constantly changing its focus, yet it’s all within the same scene. This is how paragraph breaks work. Whenever your character shifts focus or another character begins acting/speaking, cut to a new paragraph.
Paragraph breaks used randomly:
Roxanne sucked in a deep breath before plunging into the portal. The world around her shimmered and wavered.
Tingles danced across her skin, and her head felt like it was swirling.
Within a few seconds, the blurs around her began oozing into shapes and brightening with color. The world sharpened with clarity. It took a moment for Roxanne to realize it was evening—or was it morning?
The sun was settled comfortably on the horizon, streaming with golden light. The sky was almost purple in hue.
Paragraph breaks used wisely:
Roxanne sucked in a deep breath before plunging into the portal.
The world around her shimmered and wavered. Tingles danced across her skin, and her head felt like it was swirling. Within a few seconds, the blurs around her began oozing into shapes and brightening with color. The world sharpened with clarity.
It took a moment for Roxanne to realize it was evening—or was it morning? The sun was settled comfortably on the horizon, streaming with golden light. The sky was almost purple in hue.
Of course—like with most aspects of writing—paragraph length, usage, and paragraph breaks are extremely subjective. Try experimenting and see what works for you and what doesn’t.
What smaller aspects of writing do you feel like writers often overlook? How do you currently use your paragraphs when writing?
Hannah
July 21, 2016 - 2:52 am ·Great point about having paragraph length mimicking breathing! I hadn’t heard that before, but it is so true. Walls of text are so deadly. When I was in seventh grade, I worked so hard to create a Hawaii geography fair presentation. I wrote five pages worth of history, cool facts, and events. But each page had no paragraph breaks whatsoever. I was so heartbroken when I did all of that work and no one read my board… But I see why now. 🙂
Speaking of appropriate breaks, that was an important lesson for me to learn. IEW taught me to group information into groups of related information, but it also limited me to three paragraphs only. Several dozen essays and story chapters later, I am much better at sensing where paragraph breaks should fall. 🙂 But my paragraphs tend to run very short. 🙂
I am still working on action beats. I just… Don’t see them in my head. I hear dialogue, and that is it. So when I am writing, if I do include action beats, I feel like they are the same ones over and over. 😛 It’s definitely something I am working on. 😉
One of the small details I think is easy to forget is making dialogue seem realistic. It is such an important plot device, but often, it is too straightforward or awkward. K. M. Weiland has some fantastic posts on the subject.
Elizabeth Newsom
July 23, 2016 - 4:07 pm ·Thank you! Thicker paragraphs definitely don’t look like they’re as much fun to read.
I had to learn where to place breaks too. I completely didn’t understand it at first. Well, short paragraphs are soo many times better than unbroken paragraphs 😉
Hmm. I wonder if you have trouble including action beats, because you’re naturally less visual.
Yes, she does! Things like subtext are very important in dialogue. Thank you for the comment, Hannah! And for bringing up a few interesting points 🙂