Back in school, when teachers taught us how many sentences are in a paragraph, the answer was usually “four to eight.” English teachers liked to see an introduction to the topic, three to five points supporting the introduction, and a concluding sentence that transitioned to the next paragraph. That was the basic structure that expanded from paragraph to the full essay – introduce, support, and transition or conclude. While that structure may still apply in academia and some non-fiction, the answer isn’t so clear-cut for fiction and other creative writing, including non-fiction that encompasses story-telling (not all stories are fiction, after all).
We often talk about book marketing and promotions here at CraveBooks, but understanding and implementing strong writing craft is just as important to book sales as advertising. A solid book marketing strategy may bring the readers in, but they won’t stick around, become an avid fan who reads your other works, or recommend your books to others if the writing and structure are poor. So let’s talk today about the very basic building blocks of writing: sentences and paragraphs.
How Many Sentences in a Paragraph
Whether writing fiction or non-fiction, the true answer to how many sentences are in a paragraph is “however many there needs to be.” The point of a paragraph is to convey a single topic, and when the topic changes, a new paragraph is started. Depending on the complexity of the topic, this may require three sentences or twenty. That’s the “rule,” anyway. It’s not necessarily so straightforward, though, even with non-fiction.
First, the writer must determine what is the key point of the topic being discussed. Make sure you are very clear on this when you’re deciding whether you have too few or too many sentences in your paragraph. Have you fully made the point? Great! It’s time to move on. Or maybe you’ve gone beyond the point. Sometimes, a paragraph can become quite lengthy because the writer has actually moved on to making a new point that may be such a subtle change, it’s not noticeable on the surface. This paragraph is an excellent example: there are a few places we could make a break because of a slight change. Does the minuscule shift demand a new paragraph or does it integrate well in the current one? That is a decision for the writer to make. (This writer chooses to make this one paragraph, if for no other reason than to serve as an example.)
Second, consider the intention – the purpose – of the piece you’re writing. Whether non-fiction or fiction, your reason for writing this particular paragraph, essay, story, or book plays an important role in how you want to structure it. An email calls for short and quick paragraphs, while a case study may have much longer ones. Are you informing, educating, entertaining, inspiring, motivating, or any other number of reasons for writing something?
For example, if you’re educating the reader, your paragraphs should deliver information in easily digestible chunks. For complex topics, consider breaking the material up into smaller sub-topics that readers can easily follow. If they see a page full of unending text in a single paragraph, they’re going to balk, put the book down, and find something else to do. When they see multiple, shorter paragraphs, however, they’re more likely to feel that they can manage the material – the paragraphs appear as stepping stones through the complex material rather than one long, steep trail up the mountain.
In story-telling, however, whether fiction or non, you want to deliver an exciting, engaging, and satisfying experience. If your sentences and paragraphs are monotonous in length and structure, the reader will be lulled into boredom or even sleep. The length of your paragraphs affects the pacing of your story. Story-telling not only allows but even demands varied sentence and paragraph lengths. Long paragraphs with descriptive prose can immerse the reader into the setting as if they are living it, while one-sentence and even one-word paragraphs can drive a significant point home, almost like an exclamation point.
Most importantly: keep the reader reading!
See what we did there? We made the most crucial point its own line so it stands out. These short paragraphs should also be intriguing enough to lead the reader into the next paragraph. In fact, that’s what every paragraph needs to do: move the reader along, deeper into the piece. Especially in story-telling, this can mean ending a paragraph on a mini-cliffhanger so the reader needs to go on to find out what happens. Again, this is the writer’s choice and part of their writing style.
Additionally, it’s important to remember that sentence and paragraph length play crucial roles in a story’s pacing. Longer sentences and paragraphs slow the story’s pace, which, in turn, causes the reader to slow down and relax into the narrative. They can also help to slowly build anticipation and raise emotions. On the other hand, short, staccato sentences and paragraphs create a rhythmic beat that quickly moves the story along. This keeps the reader turning the page. Use these in high action and peak tension scenes.
Paragraphs in Dialogue
Writing dialogue also influences how many sentences are in a paragraph and when to start a new one. First and foremost, when a new person is speaking, start a new paragraph. It doesn’t matter if the previous paragraph was short or if the person’s words supports the topic of that previous paragraph. This paragraph break serves as a visual cue to the reader that a new person is speaking, helping the reader follow along. You can introduce the dialogue with the speaking character’s action to serve as a dialogue tag. For example:
Henry paced the living room, the gears of his mind working as he considered the problem at hand. He was missing a key fact, though.
“There’s something else you need to know,” James said from his place behind the desk.
Henry spun to face him. “What more can there possibly be?”
Sometimes, characters can go on and on in a lengthy monologue. If we keep it all to one paragraph, though, it can be challenging for the reader to stay engaged. Here are some ways to break up a character’s diatribe.
- Drop in actions, either by the character who’s speaking or one who’s listening. If it’s the character who’s speaking, use end-quotes after a few sentences, drop in the action as narrative, then open the dialogue again with a quotation mark. This works if there are only a few more sentences after the action. Otherwise, you’re getting into a long paragraph block that could lose the reader. This is when action from another character helps. Interrupt the speaker with another character moving or making a sound that shows they’re listening by ending the dialogue, making a new paragraph with the other character’s action, then another new paragraph for the speaker to continue on. For example:
“First, I spilled my coffee all over my dress and had to change, even though I was already running late. Then the car wouldn’t start because it was so damn cold last night, but I finally got it to turn over. Just as I was pulling out into the road, a motorcycle screamed by!” Julie threw her hands in the air with exasperation. “I almost hit him! And I nearly gave myself a heart attack, too. There’s only one person who’d be riding a motorcycle in this weather, and I know exactly who it was.”
Cindy tilted her head as she listened, her mouth twitching as she unsuccessfully suppressed a grin.
“That new neighbor is such an arrogant jerk,” Julie continued. “One of these days–”
“One of these days you’re going to marry him,” Cindy interjected with a knowing glint in her eye.
- Use paragraph breaks as the speaker changes topics. Show that it’s still the same speaker by not using an end quote at the end of the paragraph, but using an open quote at the beginning of the new paragraph. For example:
“John wants the numbers on his desk by the end of the day tomorrow if I even want a chance at a raise,” I said as my sister listened quietly on the other end of the phone line. “I just don’t see how I can possibly do that, though. Marketing hasn’t finished their focus group rounds, and I don’t even want to talk about how far behind production is in their reporting. I swear, the day is coming that I’m just going to quit, no notice or anything.
“On top of all that, Mom is demanding to know if I’ll be home for the holidays this year, which is just more stress to pile on my plate. Maybe I’ll run away to the Bahamas for the winter. Just leave everything behind and start a new life.”
- Allow other characters or even the setting to break up the monologue. Show the other person is listening with interjections, questions, or listening noises – or not, with actions, such as turning on the TV or scrolling through their phone. Perhaps there’s a sound in another room or outside that interrupts the speaker, a dog or child barges in and causes temporary chaos, or some other event happens that becomes its own paragraph to allow that break in dialogue and dense text on the page.
As you can see, there is no definitive answer for how many sentences are in a paragraph. They type of writing, the purpose for the piece and each individual paragraph, as well as the writer’s style all contribute to a paragraph’s proper length. In other words, as we said in the beginning as many editors will confirm, a paragraph should be exactly as long as it needs to be.
