Post #10 – Memoir and Fiction, Writing Alchemy – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
In a previous Writing in Five video, I introduced you to a book on writing and style that has seen more geography than Marco Polo. My copy of Sheridan Baker’s The Practical Stylist
than 40 years ago.
In a build up to the publication of Matilda Butler’s and my new book Writing Alchemy (Knowledge Access Books, 2010), we’ve been doing a series of Writing in Five videos, which you can find either on Women’s Memoirs or on our YouTube Women’s Memoirs Channel. In Part I, I called on Mr. Baker to give us his insight into writing the simple paragraph. In Part II, below, I explain the power of the well-written and well-structured paragraph to convey our thoughts with focus and clarity and make it easy for the reader to navigate our ideas.
Paragraphs work hard. And each has a different role. The beginning paragraph whets our appetite and sets up the narrative. The ending paragraph restates our thesis, reiterates key points and leaves the reader with a thoughtful comment or two about the implications. The paragraphs in the middle move the reader through the story or essay. Each conveys an idea, and the transition from one to the next must be smooth and make for effortless reading.
Here’s the video. Note that I include two examples of the paragraph at work. The first comes from an essay by Malcolm Gladwell called “The Ketchum Conundrum” that appeared in The New Yorker on September 6, 2004. The second is from popular marketing guru Seth Godin’s blog (May 15, 2010). Enjoy, Part II of Writing in Five #9–Paragraphs:
- writing tip
Sheridan Baker
Writing Alchemy
Memoir Writing
how to write a paragraph
Writing in Five video
