Recipe for writing a paragraph

Recipe for Writing a Paragraph

Ingredients

1 topic sentence
1 main idea
Handful of supporting details
5-7 sentences
2-4 sentence variations
Active verbs
Strong nouns
Pinch of adjectives and adverbs
1 closing sentence

Directions

1. Prepare a topic sentence that introduces the main idea.
2. In a medium-size paragraph, combine main idea and supporting details into 5-7 sentences.
3. As flavors begin to develop, drain off excess “to be” verbs such as is, am, are, was, and were before stirring in a generous helping of active verbs and strong nouns. Replace several subject-verb sentence starters with more interesting sentence variations.
4. Arrange sentences neatly on a bed of lined paper, moving sentences and words around to achieve the desired effect.
5. Garnish the paragraph with just enough adjectives and adverbs to add flavor and color.
6. Wrap up the paragraph with a satisfying closing sentence.
7. Misspellings and incorrect punctuation will add bitterness, so sweeten the paragraph by making necessary adjustments.
8. Sample the composition. If it’s too thick, remove excess words or phrases. Substitute spicier words for repeated or flavorless ones. If the paragraph lacks seasoning, pepper it with a few more vivid words to taste.
9. Serve it to several hungry readers and adjust the arrangement or ingredients as per their suggestions.

Copyright © 2010 by Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.

If this recipe is to your liking, you might also enjoy A Recipe for Writing Fiction by Beth Bernobich.

The wooden spoon/pencil/spoon rest pictured above is available from A+R Store.