Paragraphs by Francine Prose

Dear Reader, 

You might be wondering at this point, how deep does Prose go into the Reading Like a Writer book. However, I truly believe this one to be rather important. Because while we know that word choice is important (that’s kinda obvious isn’t it?) and that a sentence can be beautiful, and revision is part of that process (and every other step in the writing process). As Isaac Babel said, in the memoir of Years of Hope by Paustovsky, “The breaking up into paragraphs and the punctuation have to be done properly but only for the effect on the reader. A set of dead rules is no good. A new paragraph is a wonderful thing. It lets you quietly change the rhythm, and it can be like a flash of lightning that shows the same landscape from a different aspect.” 

I can’t possibly know where to start with the rules of a paragraph and how to write a good one. Prose starts with this, “In general, I coil suggest, the paragraph could be understood as a sort of literary respiration, with each paragraph as an extended—in some cases, very extended—breath. Inhale at the beginning of the paragraph, exhale at the end. Inhale again at the start of the next.” A paragraph should be a build up of information or anticipation (for lack of a better word), the inhale, to a sort of release or the falling action, the exhale. As Prose says, “The drama peaks in the center of the paragraph, while what comes before and after is devoted to the thoughts and actions that led up to…” the point is that before should be the thoughts that lead to the peak of drama, the after should be the actions that follow it. Almost like cause and effect. 

Remember while these rules are helpful to follow, to create a sort of musicality to your writing, it’s not necessary to follow in order to make a great paragraph. The beauty of writing is that we are able to break the rules, and still create a work of art. 

So, take these rules with a grain of salt. It’s helpful to follow this sort of rough idea in, especially if you aren’t sure where to start in whatever it is that you’re writing. 

-Grace Sofia