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Writers! Your Paragraphs Are Too Short

Here’s how to shape your prose so people read it

“Bad Puns” is my middle name —Unsplash

I’m a writer, but I’m also a thief.

When I see a title that pops, I steal it.

When I read an article that works, I write my own version.

For example, Roz Warren, Writing Coach wrote this:

As you can see, my title is a clever (silly) variation on hers.

I left a comment on Roz’s story.

“I love it when you give us free advice”

It was short and to the point, because that’s how I think.

People liked it.

They clapped for it.

Several times.

It made me think.

Roz article is having some success, I should copy it.

But she had already said everything that was to be said.

So what could I do?

I went to the comment section and found an idea there.

I wasn’t the only one leaving witty comments, Annie Trevaskis had done it too.

She said something about how irritating it is to read a story where every single sentence is a new paragraph.

Or something like that.

I thought it was funny.

Certainly funnier than sitting at the doctor’s office waiting for some probing in the form of a colonoscopy appointment after spending 12 hours on the loo the day before.

So I wrote this article to forget what was about to happen to my body.

It worked to some extent.

It sure proved that Annie was wrong because I’m ready to bet $5 on ko-fi that she’s reading that sentence as we speak.

It’s the kind of bet I like because you can’t prove me wrong.

The question is how you keep your readers reading after that sort of joke.

The answer is that you don’t.

You stop there, add a poetry tag to your story in the hope that someone will find it ironic and leave a link to one of Annie’s wonderful stories as a thank you for the inspiration:

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