Things Every Writer Should Know (but Most Don't)

Paragraphing

The most basic rule of paragraphing is that you should stick to one main idea per paragraph. At least, that's what all the English teachers in school tell their students. However, that isn't always as easy as it seems when you're writing fiction. You're not simply trying to relay facts; you're telling a story, and paragraphing is a powerful tool in your arsenal that can impact how readers perceive what is going on.

Here are a few tips for paragraphing:

· Try to keep most paragraphs under 100 words (about five or six mid-length sentences). If you're paragraphs are often longer than this, you risk losing your readers in your loquaciousness. This is especially important when you're writing on Wattpad since your readers are on mobile devices, and it may be difficult for them to read paragraphs that go on for days.

· Vary the length of your paragraphs. If all your paragraphs are the same length, you risk imbuing your story with a sense of monotony.

· When you want to quick the pace of a story or you're writing an action scene, stick with shorter paragraphs. Longer paragraphs are good for background information or describing a setting.

To see how paragraphing affects a story, check out these examples:

I love him.

I want to tear his guts out and feed them to the pigs.

But he can be so sweet sometimes!

No. I hate him.

I have no idea how I feel about him.

Who invented this whole "love" idea anyway?

In the above example, our confused character is arguing with herself. It's almost like there are two voices in her head that are having a heated dialogue. However, you could also write the scene like this:

I think I'm in love with him, but sometimes I want to tear his guts out and feed them to the pigs. Then again, when he looks at me with those gorgeous gray eyes and tells me I'm beautiful, I melt inside. Argh! Maybe I have no idea how I feel about him. Who invented this whole "love" idea anyway?

The second example is more detailed, but it's less punchy than the first. It is more of a narration of her ambivalence than it is an argument with herself.

Styles of paragraphing vary from writer to writer. When you're reading, pay attention to how other writers do it, and experiment with your own writing by combing paragraphs or breaking them up to see how that changes the pace.

I hope you're enjoying my writing tips. If you are, please vote. Also, I would be extremely grateful if you check out some of my fiction on Wattpad. "The Legend of Blaerick Blackheart" and "On the Other Side of the Great Divide" are a couple of pretty awesome stories (if I do say so myself).