Making Paragraphs Sexy Again

To Indent Or Not to Indent; That Is the Question

When was the last time you thought about your paragraphs?

If you’re like most people, I’m betting right now you have a blank expression on your face.

The rest of you might experience a flashback to grammar or high school composition classes, with talk about topic sentences, supporting ideas, and a concluding sentence. I’m so sorry.

Paragraphs get very little love. Which is a shame, because they are one of the most effective ways to influence your reader’s experience. They are a writing multi-tool. Basically, paragraphs make you a GOD.

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. But not that much.

Paragraphs help you to control pacing and emotional nuance, manipulate mood and create drama, and add emphasis. #writingcommunity #indieauthors Click To Tweet

Paragraphs help you to control pacing and emotional nuance, manipulate mood and create drama, and add emphasis. Look at all that power! I’m amazed more folks don’t love paragraphs the way I do. Let’s take a closer look at this mostly invisible writing tool, and how to make it work for you.

Clarity and ease of reading

Let’s start where your high school English teacher would have: writing needs to be clear and easy to read. And paragraph breaks help us do that.

It’s hard to read a wall of text. This is when the writer goes on and on without a break for one or more pages.

Styles have changed, and writers from past centuries definitely got away with longer paragraphs than we do today. But they do break up their text. Run-in paragraphs haven’t been cool since the 16th century.

Don’t write in a wall of text! Do I need to make this any more clear?

Pacing and emotion

Pacing is a huge subject in its own right. What I want to talk about right now is how to control the pace based on how you break your paragraphs.

Short paragraphs drive the action forward. They are quick and easy to read, and move briskly from one idea to another. Use shorter paragraphs—sometimes a single sentence, or perhaps a single word—for your action sequences.

Short paragraphs drive the action forward. Longer paragraphs ask us to spend time. Use paragraph length to control pacing and tension. #writingtip Click To Tweet

Longer paragraphs ask us to spend time. As readers, we have to focus more. Use longer paragraphs for more complex ideas and emotional moments.

Here’s an example from Never Split the Difference, by Chris Voss.

And then, when we were almost completely convinced that no one was inside, a sniper on an adjacent building radioed that he saw one of the curtains in the apartment move.

The front door of the apartment slowly opened. A woman emerged with her hands in front of her.

I continued talking. All three fugitives came out. None of them said a word until we had them in handcuffs.

Notice how the short paragraphs move the action forward. Take a look at how this would read if we made it all one paragraph:

And then, when we were almost completely convinced that no one was inside, a sniper on an adjacent building radioed that he saw one of the curtains in the apartment move. The front door of the apartment slowly opened. A woman emerged with her hands in front of her. I continued talking. All three fugitives came out. None of them said a word until we had them in handcuffs.

The words are the same, but the pace is different, and the emotional tenor as well. The edges of those short paragraphs are the equivalent of sitting on the edge of our seat. The word “sniper” immediately puts us on high alert. The apartment is empty—or is it? Then the door opens…

Whereas in the second example, we’re not waiting with baited breath, wondering. The atmosphere is much calmer.

Is one example “right” and the other “wrong”? No—paragraph breaks for pacing are very much a stylistic choice.

Manipulate mood and create drama

In our example above, the shorter paragraphs definitely create more drama. Look at how Voss creates a sense of anticipation! But you can also use shorter paragraphs to convey information, and longer ones to build a moment of dread, or love—pick your strong emotion du jour. The tool cuts both ways (I did say it was a multi-tool).

Use paragraph breaks to control the flow of your narrative and the emotions your reader experiences. #writingcommunity Click To Tweet

Here is Voss again, conveying information:

Who has control in a conversation, the guy listening or the guy talking?

The listener, of course.

That’s because the talker is revealing information while the listener, if he’s trained well, is directing the conversation toward his own goals. He’s harnessing the talker’s energy for his own ends.

The next step (if you are writing nonfiction), would be bullets: even shorter and more to the point.

Here is an example from The Overstory, by Richard Powers, building a mood:

Later, he’ll wonder whether he knew already, there in the front doorway. But no: He must walk around to the foot of the stairs where his father is lying, head downward and arms bent at impossible angles, praising the floor. Nick shouts and drops to help his father, but there’s nothing left to help. He stands and takes the stairs, two at a time. But by now everything is as clear as Christmas, everything anyone needs to know. Upstairs, the two women curl up in their bedrooms and can’t be awakened—a late-morning sleep-in on Christmas Eve.

These longer paragraph builds a strong mood of dread, loss, and inevitability.

Use your paragraphs for dramatic effect.

Add emphasis

What happens when you create a very short paragraph?

The words in that paragraph really stand out.

In short paragraphs, you can emphasize an idea, thought, moment of dialogue, or action. But you don’t have to stick to short paragraphs to create emphasis. Readers will naturally notice the details of the first and last sentences in each paragraph.

And if you want to slip in a subtle clue but hide it, the middle of a paragraph is a great option.

Choosing where you break your paragraphs means you are choosing what ideas you want to emphasize.

When you must have a paragraph break

Writers have a lot of wiggle room with paragraph breaks. But there are a few places where you absolutely need to have a break, and readers will not appreciate you running the sentences together.

In dialogue, when switching between speakers, create a paragraph break.

In nonfiction, if you are moving to a new idea, you need a paragraph break.

Readers understand paragraphs as a way of keeping information that belongs together, together. Tinker advisedly. #writingcommunity Click To Tweet

Remember the fundamental rule of clarity. At heart, readers understand paragraphs as a way of keeping information that belongs together, together. The paragraph is a visual cue of this unity and separation. Tinker advisedly.

Bottom Line

Your choice on how to separate paragraphs is one of the most powerful tools in your writing toolkit. Think about what you want your story to do. And remember, just like with many other things, variety is the spice of life. Vary longer and shorter paragraphs not only to manipulate the mood, but also because if your words read all one way, your readers will stop paying attention.

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Paragraph breaks are one of the most versatile tools in your writing toolkit. CC image “tools” courtesy of royalty free on Flickr. Some rights reserved.