We writers have all been through it. You’re working on that blog post, that article, that chapter, and you come to a paragraph that doesn’t seem quite right. It bogs the flow. It says the same thing as something before it. Your cursor darts to it. You hit backspace. And in an instant, the piece has clarity.

But what if that was the paragraph that held everything together? Not all paragraphs present new ideas. Other paragraphs perform a subtler task: they develop trust, establish empathy, or teach the reader a reason to care.

A paragraph may feel like a digression, but it may be an important reinforcement. For example, a paragraph may feel repetitive because it makes the same point as a paragraph you had just written. But the reader might need to hear that point again before they understand where you are heading.

Writing isn’t just about piling fact upon fact or idea upon idea. It is about walking your reader from one point to the next. And other times, a tiny paragraph can do the biggest work.

When Cutting Goes Too Far. Writers are encouraged to be tough editors. Cut the fluff. Cut the excess words. Say what you mean. Great advice until you start cutting words that are there for a reason, and that reason isn’t immediately apparent.

If you always edit solely to be fast, you might eliminate personality. You might lose the interesting example that sticks with readers, the connection that helps them follow a complex idea, or the simple vulnerability that makes readers feel they can rely on you. It might be more concise, more precise, and technically accurate. It might also be forgotten. Speed is great, but not everything.

Ask Before You Delete Next time you find a paragraph that seems dispensable, pause before you delete.

Ask yourself three questions: 1) Does this paragraph help readers understand something important? 2) Does it create an emotional connection or establish credibility? 3) Would the surrounding paragraphs still make sense without it?

If any of these are yes, then try to rephrase the paragraph rather than delete it. Could it need an introductory line? Might it need to go in a different location? Or, might it need to be shortened instead of deleted?

Every paragraph should justify itself. It’s not about leaving in everything you put on paper. It’s about seeing how much of it is unnecessary and how much is necessary but not yet refined. Which takes courage but which also takes self-restraint.

So before you delete that hard-to-reach paragraph, ask yourself one last question: Am I taking out clutter, or am I taking out the part that makes this piece what it is? This answer could be revolutionary.

Thank you for your continued readership and support. Until next week…Blessings and Peace!

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