Comments on: Wednesday Writer’s Workshop: The Miracle of Paragraphing

By: Barbara

Barbara — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:06:19 +0000

Thank you for all the tips but also thank you for writing it in such an enjoyable, entertaining way!! My attention span is shrinking as I get older, I’m sure – I’m definitely a scanner!

By: byjane

byjane — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:59:01 +0000

@JulieWesterling,
Yes, trying to inspire a whole WWW of readers is overwhelming. And might lead to confusion for your readers who, each of them, is trying to following your train of thought. Try creating Your Perfect Reader and write for that person. Along the way, you’ll create your own voice as well.

Is readability truly in the eye of The Writer? No. Readability has nothing to do with the writer and everything to do with the reader. Reading and writing: they’re a dialogue.

By: JulieWesterling

JulieWesterling — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:47:17 +0000

I write long. I phone txt long. And because I type nearly 100 wpm, I type long. Typing faster than I think, I think harder and tap a lot of to re-type what I try to say…the infamous ellipsis and frequent paragraph breaks ensue.

In a sea of blogs, I agree that a shorter, punchy one floats to the top of my mind. I remember one liners. However, as a writer I do not see myself as the reader.

When I write, I envision a morphing reader and try to inspire a World Wide Web of readers. Overwhelming. Perhaps this is why I do not have a blog? Perhaps this is why I enjoy reading your blog? I appreciate brevity but isn’t readability truly in the eye of The Writer?

By: James McDonald

James McDonald — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:08:38 +0000

@Lia: When you do decide to start your blog, you’ve already got a fan in me!

By: Lia

Lia — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:03:12 +0000

Joanna, you are a natural storyteller. While your posts are long, they do not go off on tangents, nor are they crafted with feigned, affected writing. If you can make a sewer problem or a Toto toilet buying expedition interesting, I wouldn’t worry one bit about the length. What also works for you is that your paragraphs tend to be short.

Varying the size of paragraphs, so the eye doesn’t get bored, probably also works. And, if someones need to write a long paragraph to get a point across, so be it, as long as it doesn’t snore on.

The quote James used, “I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter,” really hits home. I don’t have a blog and won’t do a blog until I have the time to make it the best that I can. Until then, I thank Jane for giving me the opportunity to be read on MidLIfeBloggers.

By: Joanna Jenkins

Joanna Jenkins — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:25:50 +0000

I’m sitting here smiling Jane, because as you may recall, I tend to write loooooong.

When I first started blogging I was VERY aware of not writing too long. Then I submitted an article to you and MidLife Bloggers and you said my story kind of “fizzled out at the end”…. Which it did. Big time.

So, I rewrote the heck out of my story and increased it about 5 fold. And you published it!

Your input on my writing, when I was first starting out, was (and continues to be) greatly appreciated. It’s also why I’m mindful of the story rather then the length.

That said, I totally agree with the way you edited the above copy to make it more readable. Big long paragraphs are more difficult to read/follow online– they bug me in print too.

Hope your week is going good and it’s not as wet up there as it is down hear in LA.

By: James McDonald

James McDonald — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:59:29 +0000

I had something there, but it was part of the half that got cut out.

By: byjane

byjane — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:42:02 +0000

Nice paragraphing, James, although you need some sort of transition between the second and the third paragraph!