Let’s welcome Chris Eboch to This Writer’s Life…
Writers Can Keep Readers Turning the Pages with Powerful Paragraphing
Look at a few pages of your novel, memoir, short story, etc. Don’t read them; just look at the balance of text and white space. Do you have only a few long paragraphs? Do you have mainly short paragraphs? Or do you have a good mix?
Description and thoughts can usually be kept together in longer paragraphs. They form occasional breaks where the plot slows down so the character—and the reader—get a chance to breathe.
Action often reads better when broken into short paragraphs. Short paragraphs can help make the story feel like a page turner, because the readers’ eyes move more quickly down the page.
You can also emphasize an important sentence by starting a new paragraph or even putting that sentence into a paragraph by itself. For example, consider the following two action scenes:
Option 1:
My car picked up speed as it rolled down the steep hill. The light at the bottom turned yellow so I stepped on the brakes. The car didn’t slow down. The light turned red as I pressed harder, leaning back in my seat, using my whole leg to force the brake pedal toward the floor. I sped toward the intersection while other cars entered from the sides. My car sailed into the intersection, horns blaring and brakes squealing around me as I passed within inches of two cars coming from each side.
That should be a lot of exciting action, but it’s so bunched together a lot of the details get buried. Let’s try it this way:
Option 2:
My car picked up speed as it rolled down the steep hill. The light at the bottom turned yellow.
I stepped on the brakes. The car didn’t slow down.
The light turned red.
I pressed harder, leaning back in my seat, using my whole leg to force the brake pedal toward the floor.
I sped toward the intersection. Other cars entered from the sides.
My car sailed into the intersection. Horns blared and brakes squealed around me.
I passed within inches of two cars coming from each side.
These use nearly the same words. The differences? In the second version I broke up some long sentences into short ones, and I used seven paragraphs instead of one. I think the second version captures more of the breathless panic that the narrator would be feeling.
Maybe you wouldn’t use so many short sentences and paragraphs. Maybe you’d want something in between these two examples, or perhaps you even prefer the first version, which could make it seem like things are going through the character’s mind so fast she doesn’t have time to process them. There’s no one right answer, but I hope you can see how each version has a different feel for the reader.
Exercise:
Take another look at your dramatic scenes. Can you make them stronger by breaking long paragraphs up into shorter ones?
Play around before you make a final decision. Maybe putting each sentence in its own paragraph is going too far, giving the scene a choppy feel. Maybe you want to alternate between longer and shorter paragraphs, with a single word in the last paragraph. Try several variations and see what has the most impact.
At first, you might have to go back and edit your drafts to use this technique. Over time, it will become second nature to do this as you write!
On Writing Advice
My first novel came out in 1999, and since then, I’ve taught dozens of workshops around the world and online, I’ve blogged about writing, and I released two books of writing advice. In the last couple of years, I’ve shifted my focus, not in what I teach but how I teach it. There are so many workshops, blogs, etc., that it’s hard to find time to watch and read them, let alone practice their advice, especially with all the other life demands and everything going on in the world.
I started my Write Better Right Now Substack newsletter with a focus on short lessons – a video and transcription that take 5 to 10 minutes, and an exercise the writer can practice right away. (I also share short posts on business aspects, such as query letters, and writer’s mental health.)
What do you think? Are you overwhelmed by the wealth of advice? Do you spend so much time studying writing techniques that you don’t have time left to practice them? Or do you love the long form blog posts and hour-long videos? We are not all the same, so I hope everyone can find something that works for them!
Chris Eboch is the author of over 100 books for children, including nonfiction and fiction, early reader through teen. Her novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure used in many schools; and The Genie’s Gift, a middle eastern fantasy. Learn more at chriseboch.com.
Kris Bock is the author of The Accidental Detective humorous mystery series, the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys sweet romance series, the Felony Melanie: Sweet Home Alabama romantic comedy novels, and the Furrever Friends cat cafe sweet romance series. See all Kris Bock links.
Write Better Right Now: Learn to write better in 10 to 15 minutes per week with short videos/ posts that include assignments for practice: https://writebetterwritenow.substack.com