A Dash of Style (17 page)

The good news is that he strives for drama, and aims to please the reader. Additionally, his abundance of dialogue means an abundance of character interaction, which means he at least strives to bring his characters together and create scenes between them.

The writer who overuses quotation marks for another purpose — to offset individual words or phrases —is more likely insecure. He

couches a plethora of words behind the security of quotation marks, either to quote someone else or to indicate irony or sarcasm, and thus is afraid to simply state things in his own right. He is more likely to be cynical, and needs to realize that at some point readers will want seriousness and confidence. The good news for him, though, is that he will likely take himself less seriously and be at least somewhat funny, both positive traits that offer much promise.

The writer who underuses quotation marks (resulting in too little dialogue) is rare. He is more likely to be a serious literary author and have great faith in the power of prose. He is more likely to be a silent type, to be internal. All of this bodes well. Unfortunately, though, he is also likely to be self-indulgent, to think of pleasing himself rather than readers. His work will be slow going, often deadly so, since he doesn't grasp that most readers need to move at a quick pace. He is likely to rely too heavily on description, and since dialogue brings scenes and drama, its absence means that he might not think enough in terms of heightened moments. There will be issues with his characters, too: either individually the characters won't be interesting enough to have much to say, or collectively he's created a population that just doesn't interact very well. If there is a pool of characters in a work with a lot to say to one another, dialogue will come whether you like it or not. Such a forum cannot exist in a work devoid of quotation marks.

EXERCISES

• Look over the dialogue in one of your works and choose a moment where a character pauses yet where it's not indicated. Break up the quotation at the appropriate moment by encapsulating one pair of quotation marks with a "he said" and then adding a new pair to continue the dialogue. What impact does it have? Can you apply this technique elsewhere in your work?

• Choose a stretch of dialogue that feels like it goes on too long. Use the above technique to break up the quotation marks at a moment where the reader might grow weary. What impact does it have? Can you apply this technique elsewhere in your work?

• Choose an exchange of dialogue that involves multiple characters, one where it might be hard to keep track of who's speaking. Use the above technique to break up the quotation marks at a place where the reader might be confused, following the quotation with "NAME [fill in the name of your character] said." Does this add clarity? Can you apply this technique elsewhere in your work?

• Choose an area of your work that has a disproportionate amount of dialogue. Delete some of the dialogue. Paraphrase it instead, having one character convey to another what someone else said. What difference does this make? Can you apply this technique elsewhere in your work?

• If your work underuses quotation marks (and thus dialogue), rethink your character choices. Either adjust your current characters or go back to the drawing board and create new characters that—collectively—have a lot to say each other, a lot to get off their minds. Put them in a scene together. What impact does it have?

FEW PEOPLE would think of the paragraph break as a punctuation mark, but it certainly is. In ancient times there were no paragraphs—sentences simply flowed into one another without interruption—but over time text became segmented into paragraphs, first indicated by the capital letter "C." During medieval times this mark

and this eventually evolved into the modern-day paragraph break, which is, of course, indicated today by only a line break and indentation. The indentation we use today was originally there for early printers, so that they would have space for the large illuminated letter that used to herald paragraphs. The illuminated letter no longer exists, but, luckily for tired readers, the spacing does.

Today the paragraph break is indicated only by absence, which is perhaps why it is glossed over in discussions about punctuation. This is a shame, because it is one of the most crucial marks in the punctuation world. It is used thousands of times in any given book, and it alone can make or break a work. Few places are more visible than

the beginnings and endings of paragraphs: with their ample spacing, they are eye catching. As such the paragraph break has an unparalleled ability to propel into the limelight, offering perpetual opportunities to grab readers with new hooks. It has the unique power to frame a cluster of sentences, to give them shape and meaning, to resolve the theme of the current paragraph and set the stage for the paragraph to come. Indeed, this is why some speed-reading courses teach readers to read merely the beginnings and endings of paragraphs.

The paragraph break is a big brother to the period: the period divides sentences, while the paragraph break divides groups of sentences. Just as a sentence must have a beginning and appropriate ending, so must a paragraph. Yet while the period is paid homage to as the backbone of punctuation, the paragraph break is largely ignored. This is ironic, since its role could be considered even more pivotal than the period, as it effects not just one sentence, but many. If the period is a stop sign, then the paragraph break is a stoplight at a major intersection.

The section break (also known as the line space) is the most subjective of punctuation marks. It is rarely discussed, and there is not even a consensus on how to indicate it. In manuscript form, this mark is generally indicated by a blank line followed by text set flush left, or by a single asterisk, or by a set of asterisks running across the page, centered and evenly spaced with a tab between each. In a bound book, it is usually indicated by a line space between two paragraphs, but you'll also find it indicated by a wide variety of symbols, from a star, to some small graphic in line with the theme of the book, such as a miniature ship in a book about the sea. Regardless of the visual, they all serve the same purpose: to indicate a section break.

The section break is used to delineate sections within chapters, which might range from several paragraphs to several pages. It signifies a major transition within a chapter, usually a change of time, place, or even viewpoint. It indicates to the reader that, although the chapter isn't finished, he can comfortably pause and digest what he's read. Make no doubt about it: it is a significant break, carrying nearly the weight of a chapter break. The only difference is that the section break defines a transition that, while significant, must fall under the umbrella of a single chapter.

Stronger than a paragraph break yet weaker than a chapter break, it is the semicolon of breaks. It is a big brother to the paragraph break, and a big big brother to the period. If the period is the stop sign and the paragraph break is the stop light, then the section break is the town line.

HOW TO USE PARAGRAPH BREAKS

The chief purpose of a paragraph break is to define and encapsulate a theme. One of the first rules of composition is that every paragraph must have an argument or thesis, must begin with an idea, carry it through, and conclude with it. The opening sentence should set the stage, the middle sentences execute, and the final sentence conclude. A neat, little package. This is easy to do when writing essays or academic papers, but when it comes to fiction or creative nonfic-tion, you cannot blatantly allow your work to progress so neatly, jumping from argument to argument, without being accused of writing in too linear a fashion, or in an inappropriately academic style. For example, creative writers are told to avoid beginning paragraphs with "thus" or "finally"; the neat building blocks of an academic paper are too linear for the creative world. Which is understandable: readers don't want to feel as if they're progressing from one argument to the next. They want to get caught up in a story.

This leaves the creative writer with a quandary: he must keep his paragraphs focused, yet without appearing to do so. When he opens each paragraph he must subtly suggest a direction, and before its end he must bring it to (or toward) a conclusion. Mastering the paragraph break will help the creative writer in this task. By placing one at just the right moment, a writer can subtly encapsulate a theme and set the stage for a new theme in the paragraph to come. Let's look at an example from Joyce Carol Oates's story "Heat":

We went to see them in the funeral parlor where they were waked, we were made to. The twins in twin caskets, white, smooth, gleaming, perfect as plastic, with white satin lining puckered like the inside of a fancy candy box. And the waxy white lilies, and the smell of talcum powder and perfume. The room was crowded, there was only one way in and out.

Rhea and Rhoda were the same girl, they'd wanted it that way.

Only looking from one to the other could you see they were two.

Notice how the first paragraph begins with the image of their entering the funeral parlor; the subsequent sentences expand on this image; and the final sentence concludes with it. When Oates moves on to a new paragraph, she is off describing the parlor and onto a different concept—and none of it is heavy handed. It is subtly suggested by the paragraph break. Note also the terrific contrast between paragraphs here, the impact that the second and third paragraphs have standing on their own as one-sentence paragraphs, especially after coming out of a longer paragraph. This is not haphazard: each sentence reflects the content, hammers home a profound idea.

• Paragraphs are funny things in that they must be both independent and connected. They are like links in a chain, each complete in its own right, yet each attached to another. In order to accomplish this, the opening and closing sentences must inconspicuously act

as hooks, propelling us from one paragraph to another. Indeed, the break itself must be thought of as a hook.

There is no comparison between a good paragraph break and a great one. A great one not only encapsulates a theme, but leaves you dangling,
needing
to turn to the next paragraph. Just as the opening and closing of chapters have hooks, so must you take this principle and apply it to the paragraph break. If a paragraph (like a chapter) ends on a note that is too self encapsulated, readers can feel as if they've read enough and not feel compelled to read on. And it must be a two-pronged approach: ending a paragraph with a hook does little good if the following paragraph doesn't, in turn, begin with a strong sentence that ties into the previous ending. Consider the opening lines of F. Scott Fitzgerald's
The Great Gatsby:

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.

"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."

Fitzgerald chooses to begin his novel with two single-sentence paragraphs, a bold move. But it works. It helps to draw the reader in immediately. Notice how each of these paragraphs stands on its own, yet also feels connected to what follows.

• No other punctuation mark rivals the paragraph break when it
comes
to its power over pacing. Short paragraphs accelerate the pace, while long ones can slow it to a crawl. If your pace is slow, you can increase it with frequent paragraph breaks; if too quick, you can slow it by decreasing their frequency. Of course, this must only be done for a specific reason, not just to arbitrarily speed up or slow down the work. Like all punctuation marks, paragraph breaks can only do so much on their own, and are ultimately at the mercy of the content around them. If you are in the midst of a heated action scene, for instance, frequent breaks might be appropriate— indeed, long paragraphs in an action scene might even be inappropriate. They must conform to the content.