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Good night!~~

You just have to type faster!

Haha, I can't type that fast either though I do get a lot of practice at work and some people said I type pretty fast. You just need to practice more.

I think you just need to practice typing sentences and paragraphs more.

I will start off with the basics. Sorry if you know a lot of this and I am just repeating already retained knowledge.

So, normally paragraphs are not shown by pressing "Enter" twice, but instead set apart by hitting "Enter" once then pressing the "Tab" key. Only on the internet has it become custom to use double returns ("Enter" is the return key, in case you did not know). On Gaia, the "Tab" button does some weird funky stuff if pressed while typing.

Length: Unless you are writing a "five paragraph essay," the length of a paragraph really has no set number of sentences. It can be as long (or as short) as you want--or rather need--it to be.

Even this line can be a paragraph of its own.

Different documents, however, may require different lengths for the paragraphs. Since this is really leisure writing we are dealing with, I will not go into that. Not that I know much about that, in truth. Ha.

When to Start a New Paragraph
Yeah, the tricky bit....

Change of Topic: With essays, other informational papers, or really anything, you start a new paragraph when your direct topic changes.

Example 1:

Back in the years of the Medieval era, many homes were built packed together. Because of the highly flammable material they used, this posed a great fire hazard. If one house were to catch fire, then the townsfolk had to set to work quickly if the rest of the town was not to burn to the ground.

As well as posing a fire hazard, homes being so close together meant that anything one person did that caused noise pollution or smelled badly would flood the houses next to it.

That transitions from how and why it is a fire hazard to another problem that the tightly packed buildings caused.

Now, with a story format, the topic change can become a bit more difficult to discern. Heck, I still have problems with that every now and again.

To try and make what you 'see' in your minds eye clear, you will always want to start a new paragraph when actions move from one thing or person to the next provided it is not directly linked to the previous person or action.

Example 2A (Separate Actions/People):

Zenevia glared at the boy for a moment, examining his face for any hint of a lie.

The boy gazed back at her, his eyes unwavering as a grackle cawed from its nearby perch, the sudden shrill sound making both him and Zenevia jump.

Above, it goes from describing what Zenevia does to how the boy reacts.

Example 2B (Linked Actions/People):

Zenevia glared at the boy. Examining his face in search of any hint of a lie, she snorted as he met her gaze.

These two sentences are linked because it tells that not only did Zenevia glare at the boy, but she also examined his face and it tells her reaction to the boy returning her gaze without stating only what the boy did.

To keep the same information as Example 2A, I would have added a second paragraph about how the caw of the crackle startled the two; "The shrill caw of the grackle perched nearby sliced through the silence, startling both the boy and Zenevia." It would be a second paragraph because it goes from Zenevia's actions to the grackle's, giving the cause and effect of the bird's action.

(Sorry that "Wrote:" is written after each quote title. I am not sure if there is a way to do a quote without that.)

Dialogue: As Lewis Carroll so truthfully states in Alice in Wonderland; "What is the use of a book, without pictures or conversations?"

Though I can happily go without pictures printed in a book, a story without dialogue becomes a bland mass of descriptions, if not a schoolbook. Dialogue helps bring stories to life with character interaction. I have heard of only one author who supposedly managed to write a good story without dialogue. I think I read that it was about a guy who wound up on an alien planet without any other human to talk with, or some sy-fy story like that. The author’s name and the story title is lost to me now, though, since I only heard of him once through a writing book I read and never witnessed this story myself. Anyway, to write any good story, dialogue is a big necessity.

When you begin to write dialogue, you will want to start a new paragraph. When you have multiple speakers, each person will get a new paragraph.

Example 3:

“So what do you want with me, exactly?" Ithgar asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"For you to give me a cookie," Paralyn growled sarcastically.

Pretty self-explanatory, I think. smile

Sometimes, actions replace dialogue, and this is also a reason to start a new paragraph.

Example 4:

“You’re joking, right?” Ithgar asked incredulously, his legs threatening to collapse at the new information.

Paralyn shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid not.”

In the example above, notice that words followed Paralyn’s actions. When you place some kind of action before the speech, it becomes unnecessary to start a new paragraph when the same person doing the action is also doing the talking.

Actions alone can stand in their own paragraph when they are an answer or reaction to dialogue.

Example 5:

“Did you remember to bring the potion?” Jake whispered, following Torin closely.

Torin nodded.

“Good.”

When it is obvious who is speaking in a conversation between your characters, remember that you do not have to say that that character spoke. Because there were no quotes after “Torin nodded,” it indicates that Jake was the one who said “Good.”

During long bits of dialogue, it becomes wise to break it up with action. It will make reading it a smoother process. Also, paragraphs can be created in dialogue itself. If someone is explaining something and they change topics, then disregard the end quote of the previous paragraph and place an open quote at the front of the next.

Example 6A (Dialogue and Action):

“No, no, and no again!” Logan shouted. “I’ve told you my answer so many times, it’s driving me to insanity! If you persist on asking me even one more time, I think I’m going to blow a gasket!”

He turned his angered gaze to the man standing nearby.

“Now get out of my house!” Logan’s face turned red in anger, a vein in his neck threatening to burst.

Here, it goes from what Logan says to who he looks to, then returns to what he has to say. Because of that, each is worthy of its own paragraph.

Example 6B (Paragraphed Dialogue):

“Thousands of years ago,” the story teller began, his hands flourishing about as he spoke, “the world was plagued with wars upon wars. To the eyes of the people, there was no hope in sight.

“Standing alone amidst the forest, a young boy waited, listening as the sounds of yet another battle floated through the forest.”

If you were typing the speech as a narrative, you would have begun your own new paragraph between “no hope in sight” and “standing alone amidst the forest.” Same concept.

This is also a good example for a new paragraph when there is a change in place. It goes from speaking of the world in general and people's eyes to a young boy in the forest.

New Time: When you want to show that some amount of time passed, but it is not long enough to do what I consider an extreme brake (an extra return with some kind of mark to make it obvious that there is a time lapse), you would start a new paragraph.

Example 7:

Simon walked through the long halls on hurried feet, his eyes passing over the numbers above the many doors lining the walls on either side of him.

After what seemed an eternity, he finally found the room he was looking for; number 724.

Dramatic Effect: For this, I am going to use someone else’s words, mostly because I am getting irritatingly sleepy for some reason: “Sometimes you simply want a paragraph to stand out, or you want to slow the reader down and control the pace of the story. At times like this, you can make a brief sentence--or even a word--an entire paragraph. Just don't overdo it; this gets old fast.”

Example 8:

Katelyn huddled in the corner. Blinded by the supernatural darkness engulfing the house, she kept her eyes shut for the false comfort the action granted, her heart pounding in her chest as if trying to escape.

She was not alone.

She heard the floorboards creak beneath weight that was not there. Whispered secrets tickled her ears, the words flowing from phantom lips she could not see.

"She was not alone" stands out by being placed in a new paragraph. It gives time for pause in reading, desirably making the reader want to find out why Katelyn was not alone, how she knew she was not alone, etc. It allows for a pause in which he/she can wonder "What's gonna happen next? Who's there with her? O.O" where placing it with the next paragraph would eliminate that pause.

"She was not alone. The floor boards creaked beneath weight that was not there. Whispered secrets tickled her ears..."

Can you see/feel/read the difference?
Oh, and I just thought of this. Where paragraphs for professional writings change topic, paragraphs in story writings usually change subject.

I prefer past tense to present tense, which is why that rule. Most stories you read are put in past tense instead of present. You can still use words ending with "-ing" in past tense. That all depends on context and again, writing style.

Also, when characters speak, you put exactly what they did say. If their words would not be in past tense, then it should not be in past tense. That is normal for anything dubbed with using a past tense narrative. Speech can be written however it was spoken, but actions taken are are placed with past tense verbs.

Past tense: Luke looked to the large boulder blocking his path. The sound of horse's footfalls reached his ears, echoing behind him as the animals and their riders quickly gained on him.

"Aw, crap," he muttered, running on quick legs into the surrounding trees.

Present tense: Luke looks to the large boulder that blocks his path. The sound of horse's footfalls reach his ears, echoing behind him as the animals and their riders quickly gain on him.

"Aw, crap," he mutters, running on quick legs into the surrounding trees.

Also, I like third person narrative better than first (and second is really not to be used in posts for roleplays...)

First Person: I sighed, my eyes gazing emptily out upon the rolling waves in front of me.

Second Person: You sighed, your eyes gazing emptily out upon the rolling waves in front of you.

Third Person: He sighed, his eyes gazing emptily out upon the rolling waves in front of him.

Sure that works...

Yea, shorter sentences are better for conversations.

Ah yes, snow...we get it as late as June and as early as October. We even had snow once in July...