I Need a Break... in the Story

Taking a coffee break from a rough day of reading.

There are many rules of writing, both written and unwritten, that provide structure for both authors and readers. These rules ensure that important story beats occur in the order expected, that characters learn and develop along the way, and that the reader can logically follow the story.

Apart from the actual flow of the story, authors can insert breaks to help organize information, to distinguish locations, or to change character perspectives. We generally know these interruptions as chapters and scenes, but there are additional tools at the author’s fingertips: paragraphs and sentences! And, for some experimental authors, the answer is to have no breaks at all.

Let’s look at the types of breaks, from biggest to smallest.

Section Breaks

These are generally exclusive to large, epic novels that span a long time and include multiple important characters. Breaking large stories into sections can help the author delineate parts of the story, such as separating points-of-view or progressing various character’s stories independently. Sections keep the information organized for the reader.

In The Once and Future King, TH White uses section breaks to focus on different stages of Arthur’s life, such as his childhood education, the rise of the Round Table, and the demise of Camelot. Similarly, Isaac Asimov includes section breaks in Foundation to portray the millennial changes in relationship between the Foundation and Empire as shown through different Foundation administrators.

Chapter Breaks

These also generally only appear in longer works like novellas and novels. It is rare for short stories to have chapters.

Chapters represent smaller increments in the advancement of the story, whether that means an event that advances the plot or something (a discussion, internal thoughts) that develops the main character. But it should be something specific that the reader learns.

A solid chapter starts with rising action, hits a revelation, includes exposition on what the revelation means, has falling action, a resolution, and an incident that propels the story into the next chapter where the cycle repeats. An example of this is the opening chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone where a giant man appears at Harry’s cottage and knocks the door down, upset the Dursley’s have kept Harry’s identity from him (Rising Action); Hagrid hands Harry his invitation to Hogwarts and Harry learns he is a wizard (Revelation); Hagrid explains who Harry’s parents were and how they died (Exposition); Harry confronts the Dursleys about the deception and poor treatment (Falling Action); Harry decides to go with Hagrid (Resolution); and Hagrid and Harry leave into the night (Inciting Incident).

Mapping each chapter in a novel to ensure that it has these elements will help both with story structure and with keeping the story on track.

Scene Breaks

Scenes change when either the point-of-view, the location, or the time changes, but we’re still within that “increment” of writing within a chapter. If the chapter is one scene and covers everything needed, there is no need for a second scene, and the author moves to the next chapter.

However, if another perspective is needed or the location changes, a new scene can help reinforce that change to the reader. In All Systems Red, the first of the Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells uses scene breaks to convey breaks in the action as SecUnit moves through elements of a prolonged attack (changes in location) or takes time to reassess and recharge before progressing further (changes in time). In My Heart Is a Chainsaw, Stephen Graham Jones uses scene breaks to distinguish the action of the story from the slasher movie lessons provided by the protagonist.

Paragraph Breaks

When do you need a long paragraph versus a short paragraph? The organizational idea behind a paragraph is to provide a discreet unit that contains one thing about one person. If the person changes, either in speech (dialogue) or action, a new paragraph is needed.

Similarly, if more than one thing is included, a new paragraph may be needed. This is a gray area as it’s really up to the author to determine how big that “thing” is. For example, in describing an outdoor setting, the author may include everything—buildings, weather, people—in one paragraph. Other authors may go into more detail and want a separate paragraph for each. It really depends on the style of the author.

Pacing is another important factor that determines paragraph breaks. Again, when pacing is slow and the author is describing scenery or reflecting on the past, paragraphs will likely be longer. But when action is fierce and the story pacing is frantic, quick short paragraphs will reinforce that fast pace as the reader reads faster, i.e. completes each page more quickly and turns the page more frequently.

Sentence Breaks (a.k.a. Periods)

Sentence structures are much like paragraph structures as they are highly dependent on the tone and pacing. Long, lyrical sentences fit perfectly in long, lyrical paragraphs while short, quick-hitting sentences fit in quick paragraphs for high action. In fact, in a lot of cases, a single short sentence is the paragraph.

Dialogue may also be in shorter or longer sentences depending on how that character speaks. A highly-educated stuffy know-it-all might talk in long-winded sentences, using a wide-ranging vernacular. A backwater hillbilly might use small words and short sentences. Accurately representing a character through their dialogue is a fun aspect of writing.

No Breaks

Now, on the other end of the spectrum, can you imagine a novel told in a single sentence with absolutely no breaks? No sections, no chapters, no paragraphs, and not even a second sentence. That’s what I’m talking about here. There are several authors, some very highly distinguished, that have written books with no (or very, very few) breaks in the narrative.

Some are stream-of-consciousness stories that wander along with the musings of the author (or character) like in James Joyce’s Ulysses, often considered the bellwether for this type of story. Others are more filtered yet still follow the detailed thoughts of characters, like Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones which follows the thoughts and memories of a man pondering his life over a single day. Isabel Allende, Virginia Woolf, and Gabriel García Márquez all have stories written with almost no breaks, not even punctuation.

Writing without breaks is certainly possible, but my advice for emerging and intermediate authors is to avoid this experimental approach until they are more advanced. It is easier to break the rules when you’re familiar with what the rules are.

Conclusion

Different types of breaks are different tools that allow for story organization or help with pacing and delivery. And different stories require different organization. But, somewhat counter-intuitively, strategic use of breaks can propel the story forward, keeping the reader glued to the page.

And that is, ultimately, what every author wants.