Feb 24 2009
Writing Tips: Take a Break
Paragraph breaks are often underused. That’s unfortunate, because paragraph breaks give important visual cues that affect the way readers process a story.
When my students turn in a paper with too few paragraph breaks, I advise them to add breaks every four to six sentences. When breaks are added, the experience of reading dramatically changes. The second draft will feel like a whole new story. I will notice things I didn’t notice before, and events will hit me emotionally as they couldn’t before the breaks were added.
How does a simple break make such a difference? Regular paragraph breaks will do three things:
1. Preserve your readers’ eyes. Paragraph breaks do the practical job of keeping your readers’ eyes from getting tired, which means they’ll take in more and skim less.
2. Highlight important moments. When you use a paragraph break, the end of the previous paragraph is emphasized. So is the beginning of the next paragraph — and the middle of the paragraph is given significance. When you don’t use paragraph breaks, scenes run together. Nothing is allowed to stand out.
3. Move plot forward. Use a paragraph break each time there’s a shift in direction or action. If a story takes us from a house to a beach to examining a grain of sand, use paragraph breaks to move us from one place to one another — from one focus to another.
A paragraph break is like a silence in music. It’s an important element of the entire composition. Without them, the music suffers.
I always tried to use paragraph breaks in my work at school and all the teachers were NO NO NO! They visually appeal to me and also all the things above too. I use them whenever I can.
Ha! Yeah I’ve been fussed at many a time for having ginormous paragraphs, I’ve gotten better over time, but not good enough.
Another thing I do is commas, gosh I love commas! I get fussed at for too many of those too, so maybe someday could you post something about the correct way to use commas?
-Jessie