Ficlets

R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing

by Robotech_Master

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Open any book or magazine article. What do you see? Paragraphs! Paragraphs where you can easily tell where one ends and the next begins. It’s been this way for hundreds of years. That should tell you something.

It’s a physiological fact—the human brain is a lot better at reading stuff when it’s in discrete chunks. This is why there needs to be a clearly visible breakpoint between the beginning and end of your paragraphs. On ficlets, you do this by hitting enter twice at the end of a paragraph instead of once.

It costs an extra character, but pays such a dividend! Your story is much easier for people to read when it’s not one long block of text with some lines shorter than others. This means more people are likely to bother reading it—and following up or rating it, which might get you on the “Active” list. And you can easily pay for the extra characters by pruning just one or two unnecessary words—like “really” or “somewhat,” which are redundant even when you aren’t counting characters.

Prequels

R_M's Ficlets Best Practices Introduction
by Robotech_Master

Write a prequel

Sequels

Write a sequel

Comments

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R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Blusparrow
Posted 4 months ago

Sometimes you want it to be scrambled not uniformed. It adds to the confusing that is sometimes in the writing. Don’t get me wrong paragraphs are a good thing and I do use them sometimes. Being organized and all that just makes it so school paper, you know? That is why sometimes we don’t do it.
LoA
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Mask By The Moon
Posted 4 months ago

Hm. MBTM is braindead, will you do me one for punctuation?
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Lone Writer
Posted 4 months ago

It’s not as easy as you think it is for the whole paragraph thing. I need ALL my words to get the point across. Sorry but-
That’s Just The Way I Roll.
LoA
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
SKermitgorf
Posted 4 months ago

Should this be labled Non-fiction?
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
THX 0477
Posted 4 months ago

I think Blu hit it on the head. You’re very right that in general, the paragraph separation makes for an easier read. Then, if you’re consistent about it, the one time you don’t can effectively get across a different feel.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Robotech_Master
Posted 4 months ago

Sure, sometimes you want to break the rules. I’m all for that. But if you break the rules, you should know the rules first. Picasso was an absolutely top-notch “realistic” painter before he ever created surrealism. Break the rules if you have something to say specifically by breaking them. Not because you don’t realize there are rules, or you think having rules is stupid in general.

I guess it’ll be self-correcting; if people don’t leave spaces, other people just won’t read their stuff.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Robotech_Master
Posted 4 months ago

(Oh, and a hearty boo to the comment system, which takes paragraph separation out even if you leave it.)
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
thebetweenspace
Posted 4 months ago

Certainly, we can’t learn to write without rules.

I appreciate when conventions are followed, but like THX and Blusparrow, I understand that at times rules are meant to be broken.

I guess in a novel, I read one way and on ficlets, I read another way.

Because I care more for a good story, well-told than a perfectly told story that isn’t good – I enjoy how things operate here.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Trying to Blend
Posted 4 months ago

Thanks for the tip (dbl enter)
I agree with paragraphs but it really depends on the content.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Crown Me Tarzan, King of Mars
Posted 4 months ago

I completely agree: I’ll pass over a ficlet immediately if I see one undifferentiated block of text. It’s not just ficlets, though. Websites, blogs, online articles, too. Blocks of small text with no breaks that run together are just too hard to read. And there are many other good, well formated ficlets to occupy my time.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
BARomero
Posted 4 months ago

I’m on Robotech_Master’s and CMT ,KOM’s side of the podium on this. Coming from a screenwriting background, I definitely appreciate more how white space makes things much easier to read.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Robotech_Master
Posted 4 months ago

I really have trouble understanding the mindset of someone who feels his every word is so precious that he can’t bear to part with one of them, two at most, to make his ficlet so much more readable (and likely to be read).

And when you get right down to it, it’s very rare for a ficlet to end exactly on 1024 characters anyway, so you’re already getting a certain number of spaces “free.”
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Russell Ruffino
Posted 4 months ago

I’m definitely on the side of paragraphs. There’s been a few times that I’ve not bothered reading a ficlet because it’s been one big block of text. I appreciate that sometimes it’s done on purpose, but I don’t want to read it to find out if it’s ignorant writing or stylistic writing.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
One Time, One Chance
Posted 4 months ago

i agree about blocking them.
except if it’s like a poem or something, it’s much easier to read.
i mean, come on guys.
it’s easier on your eyes if you’ve been on the computer for a while.
as a lot of us are.
admit it.
=]
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
wytherwings
Posted 4 months ago

i agree, but most of the time I’m over by about 90 characters. I really try to leave the paragraphs in when I can though. they really do make it easier to read.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
.:band baby:.
Posted 4 months ago

I like pareagraphs as well.. It’s how I learned to write in school and so that is how I write on here. But R_M.. I for one hate getting rid of my words.. I’m always well over the 1,024 limit, and sometimes it’s the paragraphs I sacrifice.

Also, there are some stories that have made the “Active” list that aren’t well uniformed. I mean, isn’t this site about improving writing skills not format??
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Robotech_Master
Posted 4 months ago

BB: The point is indeed about improving writing skills. And knowing what words to sacrifice, and being able to sacrifice them, is one of the greatest skills a writer can possess. You will almost always make your story stronger by making it shorter. And the amount of words you have to cut to space paragraphs is incredibly small. Even if you have ten paragraphs, that’s only two 5-letter words. What can you possibly say with two more five-letter words that you couldn’t say without them?
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Jenunique
Posted 4 months ago

I am definitely on the side of “clear format” over “squashing.” When things are squashed I tend to read them in a squashed way. Almostasiftherewerenospacesinbetween. ;) It gets really annoying. I think it’s more of the way my train of thought runs, I need those breaks. Almost like stop signs.
.
See. Sort of like that. :D Love the breaks.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
OrangeOreos
Posted 4 months ago

I must say, this is one of the most commented on stories on ficlets I’ve seen for a while!

But, agreed with all comments above, sometimes paragraphs aren’t needed (poems, confusion, effect), but, as a whole, paragraphs make the world go round!

Sometimes, a great ficlet is hidden under a layer of bad grammar and such, so I definitely agree with you, Robotech!

LoA
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Stovohobo
Posted 4 months ago

Okay, this one already has enough comments, I’m sure – but I agree wholeheartedly. I usually rate less on one without paragraph breaks. Ficlets doesn’t have a tab button!
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
BARomero
Posted 4 months ago

Does indenting work on Ficlets? I’m not sure, having never tried. Something that shows where one paragraph ends and the next begins. Of course, indenting may cost you more characters than skipping a line.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Alexa ♥
Posted 4 months ago

A blessing on your head, R_M.
.
When I published my very first Ficlet, I used indenting. Then I went and looked at it, saw that the indenting didn’t take, so I went back to edit it.
.
Ever since, I have used paragraphs. I put them in while I’m writing, so it’s not a matter of taking words out.
.
When I see someone else’s page hasn’t been sectioned into paragraphs, I either don’t read it or rate it a star lower because the author has frustrated me so much.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Alexa ♥
Posted 4 months ago

And as a former editor, there is no reason to confuse your reader.
.
The audience should never have to re-read a sentence to understand its meaning.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
i live NYLSC
Posted 4 months ago

for me my single paragraph end up being my ficlet. i have long paragraphs so i limit each one to about one paragraph. i like to add detail to give a crisp clear picture of what im writing and like several others have said

some times there just isn’t room.

and about taking words out a lot off of those unneccicary words are what add intensity and character to the story

im on here to have fun. its nice to write with out thinking your graded on such things
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
Robotech_Master
Posted 4 months ago

Certainly, you should write the way you want to. I’m only making suggestions based on what I’ve learned through my education and my growth as a writer, in the hope that they’ll help newer ficleteers.
But bear in mind that there’s a reason why you’re given grades in writing class—to try to get you into the habit of writing in ways that are aesthetically pleasing to others. Look at the other comments here and you’ll see there are a number of people who won’t read or highly rate poorly-formatted ficlets.
R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing
BARomero
Posted 4 months ago

One other thing I thought I’d mention about paragraphs is that the size of a paragraph has a subtle influence on the perception of a story’s pacing. Shorter paragraphs make the story seem to go at a quicker pace, while longer paragraphs (or short paragraphs where the end of the paragraph isn’t clear) make the moment seem longer. This is one reason why screenplays keep to the page-a-minute rule with one or two-line paragraphs. Size does matter.