Self-Editing Tips—The Power of Visual Breaks Part 1

Self-Editing Tips for Crafting a Purposeful Visual Reading Experience

Something writers and editors tend not to think about is how text appears in the novel. I'm not talking about prose here, making words flow smoothly off the reader's tongue. I'm not talking about show, don't tell , I'm not talking about diction or any other literary device.

I'm speaking literally.

When a reader opens your book and looks at the formatted blocks of text without reading the words, how does your writing look?

Fast-paced with lots of dialogue?

Daunting, with heady, long blocks of text and large paragraphs?

A line break is a powerful tool that writers can use to control the visual page and create