writing-with-olive:

Paragraph Breaks

I was writing this cheat sheet out for a friend recently, and figured - hey if it’s useful to them, it may be useful other people too. Basically, this goes into places where you probably should add a paragraph break in order to help keep readers grounded in what’s actually happening, creating emphasis where you needed, and help break up larger/harder to read walls of text.

Note that this list is more about base readability/understanding. There are always going to be exceptions, especially when taking into account writing style - like any advice, these are more of guidelines than actual rules. (cue pirates of the carribean)

Always add a paragraph break for:

State of motion is changing

• Ex: character is switching from observing surroundings to running for their lives
• Basically, if you’re switching from being still to moving, or moving to still, break paragraphs
• Why: mostly, it helps keep the reader grounded. A paragraph break is almost like a signal of “okay we’re doing something different here” which can be useful when your protagonist is doing an array of smaller actions in a scene.

Thought shifts

• Ex: character is thinking about their dead mother, to thinking about what caused the explosion that killed her
• Each topic gets its own paragraph. When in doubt, add a new paragraph
• Why: if a character is lost in their own thoughts for a while and you don’t break, it will result in an impenetrable wall that most readers will skip because…. no. Transitions between ideas are just natural places to break, and again, they help with grounding readers.

(several more list items below the cut, and when to do a double paragraph break)

Keep reading

My test for the correct use of “who” or “whom” in a relative clause…

The Comma Queen’s Lesson on “Who” Versus “Whom”