Paragraphs and layout.

[jon.hayworth]

Recently I have read a few e-books written by professional writers.

One thing they all had in common was the use of short paragraphs. Sometimes tabloid newspaper style one sentence per paragraph. Now there is a reason for doing this that many Lit authors should take on board - it is easy on the reader's eyes.

Out of interest I took a look at every story written in English on the first page of the New Story list. I rated stories that did not use any 100 word paragraphs as being "Highly Readable". Stories that used one or two 100 word paragraphs and a lot in the 80s as being "Bearable". Stories with a number of 100 + word paragraphs as "Unreadable".

Only 19 qualified as Highly Readable - note this is not a comment about the story content - merely the layout.
16 fell into my Bearable category.
A massive 34 "Unreadable".

I am not making a judgement about the stories on any other grounds than layout. It does not matter if you are the best writer since Shakespeare or Tolstoy, if the work is not laid out so that it invites the reader to partake, readers will not read it.

This is a plea for writers to look at the paragraphs and ask yourself will this divide - all too often as I scanned the stories I would notice paragraph breaks that had been ignored. Remember we are not commiting our words to paper - this is an electronic medium - within reason space does not cost money

I am not pointing any fingers - but one writer who I noticed appeared to be exceptionally skilled with the short punchy paragraphs and whose work invited reading is SexyJenaInk. As I have already stressed I did not read the content so maybe what she writes is crap - I won't know until I have read one of her stories, but they are easy on the eye to look at.

jon

 

[Guest]

good point

jon-

*stumbling after drinking the mead you gave us a recipe for*

I agree with you.. on the computer screen short paragraphs really increase readabliity. I need to do better with it, but have strived for more paragraph breaks.

good to see you back!

b

 

[Weird Harold]

I didn't vote. None of your choices fit my criteria for bailing out because of poor formatting -- Balance between poor technique and good storytelling.

A tip I give editing clients: "If you can't see both ends of a paragraph in your Word Processer, then it's too long for easy reading online.

From a readability standpoint, any time your paragrphs exceed the "window" into your text -- the page of a book or a monitor screen -- the paragraph becomes "intimidating" to read because it appears to be endless.

My rule of thumb is to use odd numbers of lines and no more than seven lines (about one-third of the screen) if at all possible. Odd numbers because they're easier to track withthe eye than even number of lines. No mor than a third of the screen so that there's room to move a bit inside the "window into the text" without hiding the beginning or end from sight.

 

[jon.hayworth]

Bridget, I am always stumbling on the Mead. I have been around but not posting.

Harold thank you for those "pearls of wisdom", I will remember your odd number rule.

I know that at times I have been a prime offender, when it comes to writing the "intimidating" paragraph.

I am sorry I did not write a question that fitted the answer you would have given, but as you know all polls have their limitations.

jon

 

[KillerMuffin]

The way I check is to put my monitor into 800x600 mode and check to make sure there's plenty of whitespace in the word-processor. Well, at least check to make sure you don't have to scroll a long ways to see a whole paragraph. There's still a significant portion of the population who is using a 15" monitor with 800x600 resolution. That doesn't include accessibility issues.

 

[wildsweetone]

I voted for the top option. If I'm planning on reading a story for relaxation then I find shorter paragraphs are easier on the eyes and if I'm faced with a story containing long paragraphs I click out of it.

However when I am wearing my Editor Hat, I stick with the story and suggest areas where paragraphs need to be broken.

When I'm writing, my paragraphs appear to be reasonably short without any conscious effort on my part.

 

[jfinn]

This has been a pet peeve of mine for a while now. I read a lot on the net and I really hate it if I have to plow through 100 line paragraphs because it's really easy to lose your place. I find I have to concentrate so hard on where I am, that I forget to think about what I'm reading.

I don't pay attention to my paragraph length when writing, but during the editing process I try and make sure they're short and easy to read. Generally my limit is around five sentences if it's comedy and seven if it's a more dramatic story. I'm also guilty of a lot of one line paragraphs, again most often in comedy because I think they add some punch to the narration.

I think formatting is like grammer and spelling, something that should be done in such a way that the reader doesn't have to think about them. Then the only thing left for them to deal with is the story itself.

Jayne

 

[Quasimodem]

Choice Two.

If I click off – and I do, frequently – it will not be only because of the layout.

On the other hand, I am trying to wean myself off writing complex sentences. I still have a long way to go, however.

The old rule: “New thought, new paragraph!” is even more valid on the screen, than it ever was on paper

 

[openthighs_sarah]

It is more difficult to read long paragraphs online, but usually when I come across it on Lit, the problem relates more to inappropriate (rather than just over-long) paragraph structure -- the writer just negected to break up the paragraphs in the proper way.

I almost never write really long paragraphs because I can never think of that much to say about any particular subject or detail. The only time I use it, I think, is when I'm trying to create something of a stream-of-consciousness effect, but even then it becomes terribly annoying if it goes on too long.

Long paragraphs have their place, though. One Hundred Years of Solitude is filled with long paragraphs, but many of the paragraphs are self-contained stories themselves; breaking them up would have slowed things down too much, and robbed the book of much of its magic, for me. (Maybe it would be annoying to read that book online, but I don't think I could ever read a full-length book online anyway.)

 

[Chicklet]

maybe I have a short attention span, or maybe I just like the flow of a story better, but I like reading shorter paragraphs. Longer paragraphs lose my interest, confuse me, lose my vision...yeah. Also there isn't much room for dialogue in long paragraphs. If you see a story three pages long with only six paragraphs, there probably isn't much "said" and I really like dialogue.

 

[jon.hayworth]

Long paragraphs have their place, though. One Hundred Years of Solitude is filled with long paragraphs, but many of the paragraphs are self-contained stories themselves; breaking them up would have slowed things down too much, and robbed the book of much of its magic, for me. (Maybe it would be annoying to read that book online, but I don't think I could ever read a full-length book online anyway.)

Sarah, I was not saying that there was no longer a place for long paragraphs. When they are used appropriately in printed media they are fine.

What I was saying is that writing for e-publishing, where the work will be read directly from the screen, then long paragraphs pose a problem for the reader, and may be as Harold said "intimidating".

My plea was for people to give some thought as to how their work will appear on screen. As Quasimodem said "new idea, new paragraph".

Hope this clarrifies my position.

jon

 

[sirhugs]

Several guides for writing for the internet ( I write part of my company's online newsletter in real life) agree that web readers view pages as a whole, and scan, rather than reading word by word as in hard copy. Apparently studies prove this. I know I start scrolling faster if the "chunks" are bigger.

I'm also a big fan of dialogue, both inmy writing and reading. This forces short paragraphs.

 

[Alex De Kok]

Aye, for the shorter paragraph!

<snipped>... I'm also a big fan of dialogue, both in my writing and reading. This forces short paragraphs.

Me, too. This topic that Jon has raised intrigued me, so I went and looked at my own work, as posted here on Literotica. The longest paragraph I found was eleven lines long, most between one and five lines, probably because I enjoy using dialogue. Whether consciously or not, I seem to use the 'new thought, new paragraph' scheme of things. As I have a 19" monitor, I use a screen resolution of 1152x864. I changed it to 800x600 to see what differences it made. Because of the way Literotica is set up, line lengths remained the same, but there were noticeably fewer of them on screen at the lower resolution. My shorter paragraphs broke up the screen acceptably enough but Killermuffin makes a very valid point about the number of people with smaller monitors.

Mind you, despite my agreeing with the general idea of shorter paragraphs, somewhere in my work I have a 100+ word sentence, nevermind paragraph, although I don't know if it's a posted story or not because I can't remember which story it's in!

By the way, Jon, did you ever get to the Roman Wall? I know you said you were coming North.

Alex

 

[openthighs_sarah]

Sarah, I was not saying that there was no longer a place for long paragraphs. When they are used appropriately in printed media they are fine.

Oh, I understood -- your question just made me think of print media, too. When I was a kid, really long (1+ page) paragraphs kind of intimidated me, because there were no visual landmarks on the page. So even with printed stories, it can be a problem. That made me question the value of long paragraphs entirely, and also wonder about the differences between print vs. electronic reading experiences. I came up with an example for myself to illustrate the problems with translating print to electronic form.

I just skipped a bunch of steps in between.

 

[Pookie]

I voted for option one, but I will give a story a small chance to keep me as a reader if the story can capture my attention quickly. It will have to be a great first paragraph though. I can't remember but a few times when I read an entire story with long paragraphs, and the whole time I was damning the author for putting me through that torture.


Pookie

 

[gauchecritic]

Following Alex' lead I looked up my own stories and discovered what I've always thought. When writing I do the right thing unconsciously. I'm not saying I do nothing wrong (wish I could).

The longest paragraph I found was 12 lines and I couldn't find anywhere to break it up.

So I have to agree, although I voted 2 if the wrting is strong or hot enough then I will start skimming as soon as I can't see the end of the paragraph, which will usually end with me back clicking sooner or later.

Contrarily I really enjoy using two or three word paragraphs to purposely pause the flow. This, I find, I tend to use when I need a reading breather.

Gauche

 

[MathGirl]

Paras

I don't often read stories on here, but I always have two or three novels going at the same time.

Since this thread started, I've been noticing how I read paragraphs in a novel. If it's a really long one, I find myself reading the first part to see what the paragraph is about. Then I sort of skim down to the bottom and try to make sense of the whole thing by reading the last sentence or so.

I never realized I did that before. I thought I was just a fast reader.

MG

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I'm a journalist. I like a story to be visually beautiful, as well as having a nice content, ie, I want the paragraphs to be airy and spacious, so that the eye can easily jump from one to the other. A story that is just one endless paragraph gets a definite back-click from me - unless the story itself is D***ED good.

The same goes for posts.

 

[Weird Harold]

Re: Paras

Since this thread started, I've been noticing how I read paragraphs in a novel. If it's a really long one, I find myself reading the first part to see what the paragraph is about. Then I sort of skim down to the bottom and try to make sense of the whole thing by reading the last sentence or so.

You're not alone in doing that without realizing it.

Many moons ago, I was required to take a course titled "Air Force Effective Writing." The phenomenon you describe was a big part of that course.

In summary, the course taught:

The first sentence of a paragraph has the most impact and is what sticks in the reader's mind the most.

The Last Sentence of a paragraph has the second most impact.

Any sentence between the first and last sentences is only clarification or supporting data and will have very little impact on the reader, if any.

Knowing this, I've found several useful ways to employ it -- i.e. if I want to foreshadow something but not make it obvious, I put it in the middle of a longer paragraph. The longer the paragraph, the better it's hidden.

 

[sirhugs]

Re: Re: Paras

You're not alone in doing that without realizing it.

Many moons ago, I was required to take a course titled "Air Force Effective Writing." The phenomenon you describe was a big part of that course.

In summary, the course taught:



Knowing this, I've found several useful ways to employ it -- i.e. if I want to foreshadow something but not make it obvious, I put it in the middle of a longer paragraph. The longer the paragraph, the better it's hidden.

ever hide something really odd in between to see if anyone would notice?

 

[Rainbow Skin]

Of course it depends on the writer/writing. Most New Stories I'm just skimming anyway, and if I see a 20-liner I already know whether there'd be any loss in skipping to the end.

On the other hand, if it's someone I know it's rewarding to read every word of, or a story I've enjoyed every word of so far, I'm happy to change pace and work my way through the stream of consciousness, knowing that it's there for deliberate effect and should be appreciated.

One of the very best novels I've read in years, Austerlitz by W. G. Sebald, has no paragraphing at all. It makes putting it down to go to bed an interesting problem.

 

[Guest]

Rainbow:

I like what you say, I think I do the same. Love Sebald too and will be reading Austerlitz soon.

It would help enormously if the font size were larger on-screen. For me it's the small size that makes reading long paras a strain. I try enlarging the font but it doesn't work on the posted stories as it does elsewhere online.

Also, the story only appears on half the screen, the other half wasted by the Litorica logo. Couldn't it be lessened by half?

I have easy access to a fast laser printer so I often print out a story I like within a couple paras to read later at my liesure and w/o the strain of my lapdog's screen.

Perdita

 

[SexyChele]

If paragraphs are too long I have a tendency to not finish. If it is only one paragraph, I'll work through it. If the writer does it on a consistent basis, I'll not waste my time.

When I write, I have a tendency to go into long paragraphs initially. When I edit I go back and either try to break them up or try to say the same thing in a more concise way. Sometimes it's just not always possilble.

I rarely read anything off of a computer screen, however. I might skim the first few lines to see if I'll like the story, and if I do I'll simply print it out to read it offline. That way I can read where I'm comfy. (Sitting in a computer chair, hunched over my keyboard, staring at a bright screen is not comfy for me.) But hey, I do the same thing with long emails at work.

 

[Why]

Paragraphs:

Use of and misuse:

Some guidelines given me.

Writing posts on forums, you need to keep the work "punchy" and interesting. People often zone out when faced with a pile of text on a screen.

Pace:

If the pace changes in the action, you go from a character "thinking" to "doing" break it there.

Information:

Keep info dumps, short and to the point. Ask yourself do you really need to tell the reader how many hairs are out of place on the hero's head?

Speech:

Think hard about the use of dialoge tags, are they really needed? Does the speech say what you want it to say without waffling add ons and needless "He said, coughed, burped or spluttered." Over use switches folks off...

Change of direction:

It changes, new paragraph. Also if you wish to create the illusion of "fast action" in a piece, short sharp paragraphs are the way to go.




Yes I do post like this sorry....

 

[wildsweetone]

Hi Why (and welcome to Litland if nobody has welcomed you yet I hope you enjoy your stay.)

Interesting, precise and concise points you made there. I agree with them. Thanks. I especially agree with the information part. It's very difficult to take in lots of new information when I'm swamped with it in one huge paragraph.