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October 07, 2004

the paragraph ends

filed under prose matters

Paragraphs are very odd things. There certainly are guidelines out there -- prescriptivists are great at setting down rules --but I have yet to run across any really helpful ones when it comes to learning how to cut a narrative up into bite sized chunks. I'm not talking about the easy kind of paragraph. Sometimes it's obvious, as here: Mary stops talking and Gertrude starts.
"I did tell you, paragraphs are tricky things." Mary ruffled through the ten pound book in her lap until she found what she wanted. "Here, Dr. Grammar tells you exactly how to do it."

"But he's so mean," Gertrude wailed. "He's always scolding. He doesn't like ellipses."

The troublesome nature of the paragraph is buried in this OED definition:
2. a. A distinct passage or section of a discourse, chapter, or book, dealing with a particular point of the subject, the words of a distinct speaker, etc., whether consisting of one sentence or of a number of sentences that are more closely connected with each other than with what stands before and after.
The problem is (in part) that there's a stylistic element that overrides the idea of closely connected. Some authors like to take the strongest sentence at the end of the paragraph and... set it off by making it a stand alone. Other authors seem to throw random paragraph breaks in that don't follow from anything at all, either in terms of subject matter or rhythm. Some seem to be afraid of crowding and never put more than three sentences in a single paragraph. My rule of thumb, sometimes broken, is this: put the strongest sentence at the end of the paragraph. That will give it definition, if it's definition you're after.

One good way to approach this is to think of reading outloud. Where natural breaks would come in telling the story, most likely you need a paragraph break. Another hint: print out the page, and hold it up. If you see a rhythm -- alternating short paragraphs and long ones, most probably things are flowing well. If you don't, go back and look at the structure of the passages in question.

If you think paragraphs are hard, wait for chapters. I'll try that tomorrow.

October 7, 2004 02:55 PM

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Comments

One thing that annoys me a great deal as I read: entire series of single-sentence paragraphs. Marian Keyes (whose books I definitely enjoy, even with their flaws) does this a lot, and did especially in her earlier books. Generally this has the effect of dumping me right outside the story; when I encounter such a passage, I become very aware that I'm sitting staring at a book in my hands. This is a Very Bad Thing for an author to do, and poor paragraph structure is just one of many causes for this phenomenon.

Posted by: Rachel at October 7, 2004 11:28 PM

One of my pet hates, something that will stop me buying a book I browse through, is paragraphs that are too long. I've seen some take up more than a page. I need at least some white space on the page, even just a line or two of dialogue or action would break things up a bit. Most of the most annoying long paragraphs seem to feature internal thoughts and musings, usally about things that have been thought about discussed in detail sometime earlier in the book. I just find them rather boring to read.

Posted by: VyperBB at October 8, 2004 08:09 PM

The Loser (Der Untergeher) by Thomas Bernhard. No paragraph breaks a'tall. Just because he can, I think.

Posted by: Doug at December 6, 2004 08:39 AM

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