It can be hard to decide where to put your paragraph break. You’ve got all these details and actions you want to include and no clear way to divide up. I got some great advice on this from Screenwriters Network member @devon, and I hope it helps you to.
The basic idea: think of each paragraph as a camera set-up. Each time you’d cut in the film to a new angle in the scene, start a new paragraph. That’s it! Now you can write with the best of them.
Obviously, this approach won’t work in every situation. Sometimes you’ve got a bunch of paragraphs even though you don’t picture the camera changing. Or maybe you’re summarizing action and compressing a bunch of cuts into one paragraph.
But as a rule of thumb it’s pretty effective. The decision to start a new paragraph becomes easy, and trains you to think in terms of the actual movie, not just the script. It also does a great job of communicating those cuts to the reader without spelling it out on the page, establishing a rhythm.
So if you struggle with how to break up your paragraphs, give this little tip a try!