Visionary Writing Techniques #002
by John Onorato
Out on the Net today, there are a lot of words.
Sadly, many of these words are inaccessible to readers.
Why is that?
Much of the wisdom offered on the Internet is completely out-of-reach because it’s buried under a wall of text.
I don’t know about you, but I find big blocks of words difficult to get through.
Sure, you can read the first few lines just fine. But then you might sneeze! Someone might interrupt you! The laundry might finish before you’re done reading! When that happens, odds are you’ll lose your place. Just because you blinked your eyes.
If I lose my place while reading, and I can’t easily get back to where I was — it’s Pretty Damn Likely I’ll give up on that piece.
There’s a solution, though, and it’s super easy.
Paragraphs! Paragraphs make anything better. Well, nearly anything.
So what’s a paragraph?
A paragraph is a unit of writing. We start with words, and we make sentences out of them. Then we make paragraphs out of sentences. And we make stories out of a collection of paragraphs: Stories, articles, essays, press releases, novels, whatever … they’re all made up of paragraphs.
Paragraphs provide structure. A little bit of structure enables your reader to identify and follow your thoughts as they develop.
Each of your paragraphs should address one idea. This main idea for the paragraph is expressed in the “topic sentence,” and is usually (but not always) the first sentence of the paragraph. You know you’re using paragraphs effectively when you can get a basic overview of your material by reading each of your first sentences.
It’s important to be clear on what the main idea for each paragraph is. Then deal with that idea as much as you need to suit your purpose. At the same time, be alert to irrelevancies and digression.
There’s one basic rule to using paragraphs: Limit each one to a single idea. Include that idea in your topic sentence, and provide bits of evidence to support that topic sentence.
Can you have several ideas in one paragraph? Sure you can. Just be sure they each relate to the topic sentence. When you transition to a different idea, that’s a good sign to start a new section.
Sometimes you’ll have an idea that’s too big for one paragraph. Simply use a new paragraph for each sub-point within that larger idea.
You can also use paragraphs to give your readers a small pause. As discussed above, paragraphs make your writing more readable. And more readable means more accessible to a larger audience.
Paragraphs can also be used to provide emphasis. This is a good technique to use when you want certain words to have special impact. Professional copywriters are well aware of this, and tend to overuse the single-sentence section
All.
The.
Time.
Finally, use a separate segment for your introduction and your conclusion. Of course, depending on the length of your material, these sections may well contain several of their own paragraphs.
And if all else fails, just use line breaks. Just hit <ENTER> every so often (or <CTRL> + <ENTER> if you’re composing in a Facebook text entry box), and it’s all good.
