Pondering Paragraphs

On the Blood-red Pencil blog, Charlotte Phillips is talking paragraphs. Charlotte had this to say on the subject:

"I checked my trusted Chicago Manual of Style - which disappointed me for the first time in a very long time. Chicago was silent on paragraph rules (or I simply wasn't smart enough to locate the information). I Googled. I even cracked open several of the writing and grammar books parked on the corner of my desk. Did I find anything definitive? No."

She has some interesting comments on her paragraph questions. If you're curious about paragraphs, you should check it out.

She did get me thinking about how I decide on paragraph length, etc. As I pondered the subject, I realized I get some of my paragraphing technique from scriptwriting. Scriptwriters are always (or should always) be aware of the white space on every page. Lots of white space and shorter paragraphs are said to make the page more friendly and accessible to the reader.

Script paragraphs are generally very short, typically no more than two or three lines. Obviously that guideline is too extreme for novels. Paragraphing like that would make for very choppy fiction. Still, I realized I am aware of how my words look on the page. Does each page invite the reader in? Does it look friendly or hostile?

I do have longer paragraphs, but not excessively long. Looking at my WIP, I tend to switch to a new paragraph when a change in topic occurs, even if it's happening inside the head of a character. I'll also isolate an important conclusion and/or decision in a paragraph by itself. It's a quiet way of telling the reader: this is important.

George Smiley, in his book Playwriting: The Structure of Action points out how important it is to show a character's thought processes when they are engaging in ethical or deliberative thinking. (Excellent book, btw, on how to create characters with consistency and stature.)

Most of what I do when I'm writing is unconscious, but when I'm editing, I do look for these types of thought patterns. I look for clarity, consistency and ways to highlight the key points, so that the reader isn't surprised when a character acts.

Donald Mass, in his Writing the Breakout Novel, urges the author to figure out something that your character would never, ever do and then write a scene where they are forced to do that thing.

If you push your characters to that point--and want to take the reader along with you--then you need to have deliberative paragraphs in place, so that the reader can believe it when the character acts against their deepest convictions and does the previously unthinkable.

For me, this means not burying those moments in long paragraphs, but framing them in ways that show they are important by what goes before and after. Over time, you develop an instinct for when a break needs to occur in the flow of sentences.

This kind of choice is also integral to developing your own style. No two writers will use paragraphs in exactly the same way. You can learn from other authors, but you also need to have the confidence to be true to your own style.

When I'm going through a manuscript, if a section needs more than grammer corrections, I'll write MB in the margin. This means "make better." I keep breaking, unbreaking and rebreaking my paragraphs until I can't make it any better. Then I set my WIP aside for as long as I can and try again.

Because this business is so subjective, there will always be someone out there to tell you that you got it wrong, but if it feels right to you, then I'd say go with your gut. (And it helps to have a great editor.)

Perilously yours
Pauline