May 17, 2016 · 0:00
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In Praise of Paragraphs

Is it just me?

Am I alone in this?

Am I the only one who knows how to use the return carriage?  The “enter” key?

Paragraphs.  I need paragraphs.

Reading a post, or a story, or anything at all where there is one long block of text makes e cray-cray.

Visually.

Conceptually.

Textually.

For those who don’t know what that means, here is the Miriam Webster definition:

Simple Definition of paragraph

  • : a part of a piece of writing that usually deals with one subject, that begins on a new line, and that is made up of one or more sentences

Perhaps it is my age.  Or the fact that I write for a living.  But every time I see a blog post that is one loooooooooooooooooooong paragraph, I look elsewhere for entertainment or enlightenment.

 

 

 

73 Comments

Filed under ; Don't Make Me Feel Perky Tonigh, Humor, In praise of paragraphing, Return carriage, Things that make me nuts, Writing technique

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73 responses to “In Praise of Paragraphs”

  1. Janni Styles
    May 26, 2016 at 0:00

    Sp*somewhere. Sigh. If only I could spell lol

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Janni Styles
    May 26, 2016 at 0:00

    Yes to the space or I leave as well, too much to wade through when I am trying to read so many blogs. I read somwhere that posts over 300 words tend not to be read as much as shorter posts. Poor “paragraphing” may be the reason why.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. The Good Greatsby
    May 24, 2016 at 0:00

    I do love a good paragraph. It’s hard to put my finger on the exact appeal of a bit of white space, but my eyes are definitely drawn to those breaks as rest stops.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. CalicoJack
    May 23, 2016 at 0:00

    As Strunk and White said, “Make the paragraph the unit of your writing.” It is a lesson more need to learn.

    Charming post.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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  7. John
    May 22, 2016 at 0:00

    For me, it depends. If I were reading a blog with one long paragraph, I might balk. Unless it happened to be really creative and interesting.

    I think I’m more forgiving when it comes to reading books, fiction in particular. Jose Saramago doesn’t write books full of paragraphs, he writes 200-300 page long paragraphs, with an occasional line break. Cormac McCarthy writes paragraphs that go on for pages.

    But, for the most part, I agree…

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. actualconversationswithmyhusband
    May 20, 2016 at 0:00

    For many years now I’ve been having a torrid love affair with the short, staccato paragraph.

    Then again, I’ve been seeing run-on sentences on the side (hey, it was good enough for Faulkner) and it’s been getting pretty hot and breathless.

    The point is to punctuate elegantly and add a new paragraph when you change action or want to interrupt the flow, which may be often or rarely… Me, I can’t keep a thought in my head for very long so my paragraphs run short, but some people can fill a page or more with just one thought.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Elyse
      May 20, 2016 at 0:00

      Thanks for your comment!

      There are some folks who can have a long or pages-long paragraph and get away with it. But very few. Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of blog posts that are long solid blocks with justified margins. I grumbled about them, but then decided that I just have to stop reading them. It is just too difficult to wade through them for the nuggets of gold/wisdom/humor.

      (I have a secret — I HATE Faulkner. But not because of the run-ons. It’s because I never have a clue what is happening in his stories. While I do like to dig for deeper meaning in a novel, I don’t think one should be left uncertain when the major character fills his pockets with rocks and walks into the Charles River! But I was …)

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  9. She's a Maineiac
    May 19, 2016 at 0:00

    I think I’m probably guilty of the other extreme: short sentences/paragraphs.

    But it helps so much with timing!

    Right?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. Robin
    May 19, 2016 at 0:00

    Large blocks of text bother me too, and I try to avoid them. It’s one reason I insert images. It forces me to break it up. I do need to work on being more succinct, in writing and in speech. I chatter too much. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. lifespaller
    May 19, 2016 at 0:00

    I hear you. Earlier this year one of my students handed up a page long paragraph. Let’s just say that words were said.

    Liked by 1 person

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  12. Barb
    May 19, 2016 at 0:00

    You are soooooo right. White space particularly on a printed page seems to be disappearing, maybe because of publishing costs???

    And what the heck is happening to quotation marks? It seems to be the new vogue to leave them out. Blah. I still love the Oxford comma.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  13. snakesinthegrass2014
    May 18, 2016 at 0:00

    When I look back at my earliest posts I am astounded at the density of some of my paragraphs. I am still struggling to break them up more without losing the purpose and meaning. I admire Victo for her ability to get separate ideas to coalesce in that way.

    A nice reminder to all bloggers, Elyse.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. Kate Crimmins
    May 18, 2016 at 0:00

    Big blocks are overwhelming and give me headaches. I often wonder if folks who post like that do it on a cellphone. On my big desktop screen I can clearly see the white space. (or not)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Elyse
      May 18, 2016 at 0:00

      Yes the headaches!

      A woman I took an online writing course with (and who suggested I blog with Word Press) wrote all in one paragraph. Stream of consciousness — she also didn’t edit her own work. She had a lot of good stories, and a lot of good ideas, word plays, etc. But I couldn’t get beyond the block. Because of headaches!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Kate Crimmins
        May 19, 2016 at 0:00

        I am surprised that no one called her on it. It’s one of the first things I learned when blogging. I found that I would often put aside “thick” or overly long posts to be read “later.” (and we all know what happens then) The other thing that gets me is unnecessary details that clutter.

        Liked by 2 people

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        • Elyse
          May 19, 2016 at 0:00

          I mentioned it, as did our writing teacher. It was her style though and she liked it.

          Details I don’t mind so much — I can skim!

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
        • Alice
          May 21, 2016 at 0:00

          I think about this every time I write an exceedingly (and self-indulgently!) long post — how it’s the sort of piece I’d skip, if someone else wrote it. :/ Doesn’t stop me from writing them, but at least I feel a pang of guilt over it…right? And, to Elyse’s gripe, I DO make frequent hard returns!

          Which also serve to make a long piece look even longer. *sigh*

          ‘S why I try to intersperse enough short-n-funny drive-by posts into the mix. My way of apologizing for the tome-length posts!

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  15. pouringmyartout
    May 18, 2016 at 0:00

    I don’t care what my words do… as long as I can use my ‘…’s’…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  16. pegoleg
    May 18, 2016 at 0:00

    It’s not just you. Great reminder to all of us that our eyes and brains need some calming, restful blank spaces to make the words even that much more special.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. Jim Wheeler
    May 18, 2016 at 0:00

    Agreed about the paragraphs, Elyse. No use telling that to Herman Melville though, but then, he’s dead anyway.

    Also, allow me to extol the lowly comma, which, if you will note, is employed usefully here and in the paragraph above. Commas are just as important for clarity, I submit. Using them justifies care, as I learned from Mary Norris.

    Liked by 1 person

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  18. nrhatch
    May 18, 2016 at 0:00

    When I’m reading a book or magazine printed on paper, I don’t mind if authors are stingy with white space since that saves trees.

    But, in cyber space, where there’s no reason to be so stingy, I want to see lots and lots of white space.

    On a related note, I refuse to read blogs that print white/light letters on black/dark backgrounds. That’s back ass ward.

    Liked by 2 people

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  19. Tippy Gnu
    May 18, 2016 at 0:00

    It can be annoying if not done right. But I don’t know what right is, when it comes to style. I’ve never taken Strunk and White seriously. For me, if it’s entertaining, that’s all that matters. But how to define entertainment, I haven’t a clue.

    Like

    Reply
  20. Holly
    May 18, 2016 at 0:00

    I always read blocks of texts like that in an angry tone, like the writer is on such a rampage nothing was going to stop the words from flowing, not even a line break!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  21. vanbytheriver
    May 18, 2016 at 0:00

    Yes !!!
    And…thank you. ☺

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  22. barbtaub
    May 18, 2016 at 0:00

    Sing it Sister! As a reviewer, if I open a book and see unbroken blocks of dense text, I close it again and cancel the review.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • Elyse
      May 18, 2016 at 0:00

      A block post is bad, but a block book? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • barbtaub
        May 18, 2016 at 0:00

        And yet I’ve gotten several. Plus entire manuscripts without punctuation. I think they consider themselves avant but I say upfront that I won’t review anything that hasn’t been professionally edited. And I doubt any professional editor would pass on those ee cummings wannabes.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  23. MELewis
    May 18, 2016 at 0:00

    With you all the way on this one! As a reader I need air, in the form of white space, otherwise I get claustrophobic. And don’t get me stared on capital letters, those essential sign posts that show us the way around paragraphs.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  24. Retirementallychallenged.com
    May 18, 2016 at 0:00

    Excellent! Too many large blocks of type and long paragraphs, and I move on.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Elyse
      May 18, 2016 at 0:00

      Often I find that they are written by folks with something to say … but I guess I no longer have the energy to separate the wheat from the chaff — that’s the writer’s job!

      Like

      Reply
  25. Paul
    May 17, 2016 at 0:00

    You

    tell

    ’em

    Elyse.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  26. 1jaded1
    May 17, 2016 at 0:00

    It isn’t just you. I remember when my 10th grade English teacher made us write a many word sentence with commas, semicolons and the like. Mine clocked in at 52 words, but I wondered what the point was.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  27. lifevivified
    May 17, 2016 at 0:00

    I usually like to leave a lot of room for dramatic effect (because my blog is supes serious, as you know!). Tonight I literally posted a pic with two-three sentences, and was actually appreciating that it would be so quick and easy to read compared to previous posts.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  28. drugopinions
    May 17, 2016 at 0:00

    Paragraphs help to organize thoughts…helps readers to understand better. Thanks for reminding us all. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  30. Carrie Rubin
    May 17, 2016 at 0:00

    You’re definitely not alone. I like white space and short paragraphs too. One long block is too intimidating to get through.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Elyse
      May 18, 2016 at 0:00

      Paragraphs make things so much better organized — it’s easier to put things in the right order as a writer and as a reader you can hone in on the important stuff.

      I think I’m going to just stop trying with the folks who don’t use paragraphs. I’ll follow others instead!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  31. Melanie McNeil
    May 17, 2016 at 0:00

    Oh yes, I love writing long sentences! Sometimes they add up to long paragraphs. But I long ago learned about the dangers of the wall of text. I try hard not to impose the wall on my readers.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Elyse
      May 18, 2016 at 0:00

      I don’t think you do.

      But sometimes a long paragraph is necessary and appropriate. One thought to a paragraph — if it’s a long or complex thought, well then, it’s a long and complex paragraph.

      That is quite different from having a bunch of thoughts all jumbled together, in no particular order, leaving the reader to sort it out. Or, in my new way of blog reading, not sorting it out.

      Like

      Reply
  32. aFrankAngle
    May 17, 2016 at 0:00

    It’s not just you. On the other hand, depending on the medium … paragraphs can be too short … as a sentence or two. … but (in my opinion) is only done for the eyes.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  33. notquiteold
    May 17, 2016 at 0:00

    I write like you do. Lots of space. Calming to read.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Play nice, please.