Is it a good writing practice to keep related elements as close as possible to each other?
Here's an example:
Not finding anything useful, I went to check the maple. Four times my size, it was the biggest tree in the yard. I mean, it was. A typhoon tore it down three years ago, and it had stayed like that ever since.
Not finding anything useful, I went to check the maple. Four times my size, it was the biggest tree in the yard. I mean, it was. Three years ago a typhoon tore it down, and it had stayed like that ever since.
As you can see, the related elements are closer to each other in the second example. Does this make it read better than the first one? Is it good practice to always keep related elements as close as possible to each other?
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1 answer
As long as the intervening text doesn't confuse any reference to the second element, you're okay. I wouldn't put the two items too far apart, but your first example is still perfectly clear.
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