Writing a paragraph
This post should take about 3 minutes to read through.
Paragraphs have a structure, and one of the biggest mistakes I see new writers make as an editor is that they forget this basic piece of knowledge. A writer uses two sets of skills when writing a book: the storyteller's skills, and the writer's skills. More on that in another post, for now, I want to focus on one specific aspect of the latter.
The fundamental unit of language is, arguably, the word. We use words to build sentences, and we use sentences to build paragraphs. With paragraphs, we make chapters, on the structural side. However, I believe here we best change our focus to narrative at this level, as with paragraphs we make scenes, and with scenes we make arcs, then finally a story is made of those arcs. A writer must know what words to use, how to build a sentence (another important skill), how to build the paragraph with those sentences (structural knowledge so far), and how to pace a scene and an arc and how to structure a story (narrative knowledge).
We're taught in schools that a paragraph begins with a topic sentence, supporting evidence is presented in the next sentences, and a conclusion or summary at the final one. This obviously applies to non-fiction writing. In fiction writing, we're not presenting evidence nor heading to a conclusion. However, we're describing a scene. We're describing events that happen to our characters, the environment in which those events happen, and our characters' reactions. Even though we aren't writing an essay, the structure of a paragraph is still important, and the most important element is the topic sentence.
A paragraph is the exploration of something, be it a place, an event, an emotion or thought, or something more abstract. The first sentence should clearly show what that something is, and the other sentences in the paragraph should be connected to that. If I started this paragraph as I did, but then went on to write about the room in which I'm now writing this article, how the light is shining through the windows or how my back rests against the chair, you'd be confused. It sounds funny when an example is taken to the extreme, but the argument still holds true even in more normal conditions. It's as confusing for a reader to read a paragraph's first sentence about your hero's emotions, only for the rest of the paragraph to be devoted to the description of the environment.
This may sound self-evident, but when we're writing, we aren't editing. Writing and editing are two different processes normally using different parts of the brain (creative vs logical), and as we write, we may jump from subject to subject even in the same paragraph. That's why it's incredibly important to read what you've written before giving it to anyone, to catch those self-evident mistakes. Of course, the editor's job is to tidy your text up, so don't feel bad for making them do their work! That is, if you use a professional editor for your book—which you should, if you can afford to, or at least send it ot a friend or family member to proofread, as the writer is their own worst editor, it's hard to see the text objectively as we know how the sausage was made. If you don't use a professional editor for your book or a kind soul willing to put in the hours (a huge thank you to my wife, and to my friend Menelaos), then it's even more important to carefully examine your text for silly mistakes like this. I'll write a few strategies I've discovered some other time.
Good writing is important. The recent trend is towards simplicity, a trend that I'm not particularly opposed to, but you can write good sentences even if you write plainly.
And it wouldn't be one of my articles without an anti-AI take: bad human writing is better, more alive, more full of soul, than the best AI writing. Don't be discouraged if your writing isn't stellar. Art is never about perfection, it's about expression. Express what you have inside you authentically and truthfully, and with time, you'll master the mechanical aspects of writing like sentence and paragraph structure or grammar. Don't paste your text into a chatbot and ask it to "fix it." It will destroy it even if the text looks better. And any reader worth his salt will instantly recognize the sloppification for what it is.
Learning to write is the easiest part. Learning to truly and authentically express yourself is what's hard.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, if you want to shout at me you know where to find me.
Keep writing.