Variation in paragraph length
I've learned that variation in sentence length is good.
How about paragraph length?
I always end up with paragraphs like this:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat
Ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat
Amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat
(I think my mind unconsciously tries to even out the paragraph length every time I write).
Sometimes I do this:
Ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat
Something of great significance happened
Amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat
Sometimes dialogue adds up for some variation (I guess):
Amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat
Consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat
"Dolor in hendrerit in vulputate." Consectetuer adipiscing.
"Veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper."
"Hendrerit in vulputate." Adipiscing.
Sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat But as you can see, there isn't much.
Is variation in paragraph length good? Or it doesn't matter so much?
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/8294. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
2 answers
Yes, variation is good, whether it's word length, sentence length, paragraph length or even chapter length. But at the same time, you need to keep something else in mind: the paragraph needs to be as long as it needs to be. What I mean is, if you need to write a paragraph that's just one sentence long to make an impact ("Something of great significance happened" in your example) then do it. If you're doing it just to variate the paragraph length, you'll probably break the rhythm of the narration. If you have a long paragraph where a sum of things are happening, then make it long. If you join several paragraphs together just so you can have a long paragraph, you're misusing your paragraphs :)
Also, something else to think about: if your paragraphs are all the same length as in the first example, what's happening in the story? Why aren't there any dialogues? Why isn't there anything of significance happening? What I mean is, same length paragraphs can make the story appear monotonous, but also, the same length paragraphs can be a product of a monotonous story. If you notice that the paragraphs are the same length, you might want to examine the story to see why they're all the same length, and is there a way to spice up the storytelling. Chances are, if you make the story dynamic, the paragraph lengths will follow.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/8298. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Variation in paragraph length can be very useful, the same way variation in sentence length can be useful. As long as the short paragraph works (that is, the short punchy statement has a reason for being there, that the punchiness creates a dramatic or humorous moment or in some way serves the narrative), it's great for breaking up the monotony of prose.
Yes, it's good. But don't use it for decoration. Use it because it's necessary.
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