A thought about paragraphs structure

[DAgent]

I've often wondered just how a paragraph can be formatted for best effect. I've noticed some authors seem to like to cram a lot into long paragraphs that can be several lines long, sometimes ten or more lines at a time, and not always cover the same issue but several at least somewhat related issues. Others seem to go for shorter paragraphs (five lines or less) then start a new one for a new issue even if it is closely related to the previous paragraphs issues.

I know this is probably going to be personal preference more than anything else, but which do people here prefer and what do they find more effective?

Also, what do people make of using shorter paragraphs to convey things as happening very quickly, in a way that show the characters might have missed something or not had time to take in all the details before something goes wrong??

For example:

"Jim was walking along the side of the road, past the roadworks on the pavement while the workers drilled away with their drills when he stopped to tie his shoelaces. As soon as he had tied the first knot he heard a screeching sound behind him and looked around.
He saw the bright lights and then everything went black.
He could hear someone screaming."

Does that work for everyone to work up suspense or would it be best to have it all in the same paragraph?

Cheers.

 

[AllanR]

I'll meet you half way. I think it would work well as two paragraph instead of three or one. Move 'He say...' to the top and keep 'He could...' on its own.

He saw is directly connected to the screeching sound as he looked around. The screaming is still an unknown connection.

 

[Wayne Mack]

I feel having consistent length descriptive paragraphs gives the reader pacing and provides details in digestible pieces. I find that shorter sentences convey a faster pace, but these can be within a common paragraph. When there is an abrupt change of pacing, having a single, very short paragraph provides a transition, but repeated short paragraphs lose their effectiveness. One exception to avoiding multiple short paragraphs that I ran into was an action scene where I used a countdown scenario. I had repeated three sentence paragraphs all with the format, "Number. Distance to goal. An observation of surrounding action."

As to the sample scene given, I would probably structure it as being broken by the sudden noise. Something like:

"Jim was walking along the side of the road, past the roadworks on the pavement while the workers drilled away with their drills when he stopped to tie his shoelaces. He tied the knot on his left shoe and shifted his attention to his right."

Screech.

He looked around and saw bright lights. Then everything went black and he could hear someone screaming."

The first paragraph gives the reader a mundane, everyday environment. The second provides a jolt and a transition. The third describes the changed environment. Of course, you will need to write the story the way you feel it should be told. Listen to a myriad of opinions and find the approach that best fits you.

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

There's a belief that lots of 'white space' on the page (i.e. shorter paragraphs on average) are more inviting to the modern reader than great, long, wordy blocks of text.

The current wisdom also advises a mixture of short and long sentences, which keep the flow going and the interest high. If you use only long sentences, it can be hard to follow. Too many short, choppy sentences together can also be hard to read. In general, I tend to use shortish paragraphs, but I do vary them a little depending what I'm writing about. I always use a new paragraph for a new speaker in dialogue. Shorter sentences can help raise the tension in an action scene, and longer sentences are sometimes used in more descriptive sections.

It is personal preference, but if you open a few novels at random, notice how each one is laid out in terms of white space and think about how it appeals/doesn't appeal to you as a reader.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Mix it up. Writing is often like music, or rather rhythm. Using the same 4 to the floor all book is boh-hor-hor-ring

Wasn't it King who said as Kerry has mentioned above that when you look at a page it's good to see lots of different shapes and degress of negative space?

For drama, I think it's crucial to use paragraphs creatively. We don't have any onscreen direction or what have you, so those signals can come from the physicality of the writing as well as it's actual meaning.

But don't @ me - this is just my preference

 

[tinkerdan]

While I agree that in creative writing we should leave ourselves open toward a flexible structure that might wax and wane through levels of artistic expression, I keep in mind the more structured paragraph that contains a central topic, idea, or theme that is expanded upon moving forward through each sentence until you conclude that argument in some way before advancing to the next paragraph. Obviously this varies depending on the type of writing. Where expository and persuasive tend to lean toward more structure, the descriptive and narrative allow for the illusion of more flexibility. They all still need structure. They all contain a similar structure that simplistically follows this pattern; topic sentence followed by developmental sentences and supporting sentences with a summary or a way of readdressing the main point.

Remember the I said I keep in mind the structure and will admit that in narrative and descriptive paragraphs the structure might be less well defined.

In narrative and description the basic principle is there; and there is a focus on sentence length and rhythm and taking the central topic, idea or theme and advancing or moving the paragraph forward. This often helps create the mood and style of the writing. The summary often is not there to prevent unnecessary repetition.

And often you might break something away in its own one sentence paragraph to highlight or draw the readers attention.

Keep in mind that the structure is a guideline that the writer should be aware of, even when they intentionally set out to disregard it.

 

[Flaviosky]

Mix it up. Writing is often like music, or rather rhythm. Using the same 4 to the floor all book is boh-hor-hor-ring

Wasn't it King who said as Kerry has mentioned above that when you look at a page it's good to see lots of different shapes and degress of negative space?

For drama, I think it's crucial to use paragraphs creatively. We don't have any onscreen direction or what have you, so those signals can come from the physicality of the writing as well as it's actual meaning.

But don't @ me - this is just my preference

This sounds quite logical. May paragraph and space trump punctuation when dealing with rythm in the narrative?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I agree with Phyrebrat: mix it up.

A paragraph should be as long as it needs to be, neither longer nor shorter. In fiction, that can be any length depending on the style, what is happening, where the writer wishes to place emphasis, etc. I remember how many rules there were when we were being taught to write essays, reports, and the like in school. I also remember how hard it was when I became serious about writing fiction, to break myself of some of those habits.

Even though I could see, in every work of fiction that I read, that writing fiction effectively was very different from writing essays or from journalism, it was years before I could bring myself to write a paragraph that only had one sentence. And until I could do that, I wrote a lot of unnecessary sentences, just to provide that second one.

Mind you, I have a tendency toward long sentences and long paragraphs, so I wasn't in that situation as often as it felt like at the time, but when I was I went through a lot of unnecessary grief.

 

[DAgent]

There's a belief that lots of 'white space' on the page (i.e. shorter paragraphs on average) are more inviting to the modern reader than great, long, wordy blocks of text.

The current wisdom also advises a mixture of short and long sentences, which keep the flow going and the interest high. If you use only long sentences, it can be hard to follow. Too many short, choppy sentences together can also be hard to read. In general, I tend to use shortish paragraphs, but I do vary them a little depending what I'm writing about. I always use a new paragraph for a new speaker in dialogue. Shorter sentences can help raise the tension in an action scene, and longer sentences are sometimes used in more descriptive sections.

It is personal preference, but if you open a few novels at random, notice how each one is laid out in terms of white space and think about how it appeals/doesn't appeal to you as a reader.

That's a good point, I've recently re-read all of The Chronicles of Narnia, and CS Lewis certainly didn't make much use of white spaces in very long paragraphs and that did leave me feeling a bit put off without knowing why I felt like that. Now I'm reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and the difference in his paragraph layouts is very much apparent.

 

[DAgent]

Mix it up. Writing is often like music, or rather rhythm. Using the same 4 to the floor all book is boh-hor-hor-ring

Wasn't it King who said as Kerry has mentioned above that when you look at a page it's good to see lots of different shapes and degress of negative space?

For drama, I think it's crucial to use paragraphs creatively. We don't have any onscreen direction or what have you, so those signals can come from the physicality of the writing as well as it's actual meaning.

But don't @ me - this is just my preference

I think I like your presence too

 

[DAgent]

I think I like your presence too

I meant preferences there, not sure how I wound up mistyping that

 

[The Judge]

Well, everyone likes his presence here, so clearly you unconsciously plugged into the pro-Phyrebrat vibe!