BTS Fanfic Work Shoppe

📝 What Makes a Paragraph? 📝

Today's focus is one of the most important ever: the creation of paragraphs. There are so many authors who have good plots, but their paragraphs are so messy and all over the place that it can make their books difficult, and sometimes even painful, to read.

So what is a paragraph?

par·a·graph
/ˈperəˌɡraf/
noun
a distinct section of a piece of writing, usually dealing with a single theme and indicated by a new line, indentation, or numbering.

It sounds simple, right? A single theme for each paragraph. But what's a theme? When should you switch paragraphs?

When to start a new paragraph:

- When someone new speaks - If someone new says something, even if it's just one word, you need a new paragraph. Here's an example of how you do it:

"Hello," said Jimin.

"Hello," replied Namjoon.

The pair were tired, not exactly sure what to talk about. With the other members all working on something, the rapper and vocalist were left in a conversational limbo.

- When the setting changes - Have you ever read a paragraph where it feels like the characters have been all around the world and back? It's not a pleasant experience. If someone wakes up, gets ready, and then goes to a new room of the house, these new settings should get their own paragraphs. Think about each paragraph start as a doorway/hallway. As the character moves, so should the paragraphs. Here's an example of how to do it:

The sound of a crying, auto-tuned baby's voice woke the purple-haired male from his sleep, the vocalist groaning due to the early time he had to get up and start his day. He sat up, eyes squinting and lips in an adorable pout as he waited for his limbs to wake up.

Once he was ready, the vocalist clambered out of his bed, stretching with a loud yawn. His shirt rose a few centimeters as he did so, the male taking mental note to get rid of the shirt he outgrown. Blowing his fringe out of his face, he heads to the bathroom.

Jungkook rubbed at his eyes with his tattooed hand while the other worked at brushing his teeth. He had a long day ahead of him, so he wanted to feel his best.

- When the time changes - Just like you don't want the characters to move all over the physical plane in the same paragraph, you don't want breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sleep to all occur in the same paragraph. It's confusing and makes your book sound elementary. Here's an example of how to do it:

Jin spent his morning following his beauty routine, styling his hair, working on skincare, eating breakfast, and listening to some hype music to get him ready for the day.

His afternoon was spent in his computer chair, RJ plushie nestled cutely in his lap while he played Maple Story for hours on end. Since the partnership, countless Armies had asked him for help and guidance in the game, so he devoted some of his precious time to his priceless fans.

When nighttime rolled around, Jin was happy to meet up with the rest of his bandmates for a few drinks and a round of Uno. Yoongi and him worked hard on cooking dinner, the maknae line even helping while the 94-liners decided to be on cleanup duty. It was a nice, domestic atmosphere, one Jin never wanted to give up.

Kim Seokjin was beyond grateful for his life.

- When a speech is getting too long - Most users read Wattpad on a mobile device. Long paragraphs mixed with a mobile format just spells out disaster. When a character's speech starts to run long, it may be best you find a way to split it up. Just make sure the reader still understands who is speaking. Here's an example of how to do it:

"You are what is most important to me," Yoongi said softly, a gentle smile on his features. "Whenever I'm feeling down, you make me smile. Whenever I'm alone, you're always there. All I need to do is call your name and you get here as soon as you can. I wouldn't ask for anything else. You're perfect."

The raven combs his fingers through the dog's fur, beyond grateful for the pet who has been his life force. "I love you, Min Hollie. Don't you ever forget that."

- For emphasis - Sometimes, you want to show something as important or dramatic, so creating a single line, or even single word paragraph can establish this. It's a good method. Just don't use to too much. Here's an example of how to do it:

Six out of seven members of the international pop-K-sensation-sunshine-rainbow-traditional-transfer-USB-hub-shrimp-BTS sat with bated breath. They waited and waited for their leader to return with the news. The members had been nervous the entire day. Everything was building up to this, so when the doorknob turned and their leader entered with a smile on his face, they were ecstatic.

He did it.

Kim Namjoon finally got his drivers license.

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Of course, sometimes, it's okay to break the rules. But you need to know them and make a conscious effort to break them in the name of style. For example, say you write a story in first person and the character is a kid narrator, you can get away with making some "mistakes" on purpose because a kid isn't the best at making paragraphs, but then, when they're older, the paragraphs become cleaner.

Maybe the character is overwhelmed and it's like they have voices swirling around their head. If you want to show this, perhaps you'll have the dialogue in big blocky paragraphs that puts the reader in their shoes. But once they have some clarity, it goes back to normal.

With writing, rules are important, but knowing when to make an exception is just as important. Play around and have fun, just try to follow the rules as much as possible so you don't confuse the readers. Remember, no one will understand the book like the writer, so just because you know what's going on, doesn't mean everyone else will.

Happy writing!