the paragraph ends
Paragraphs are very odd things. There certainly are guidelines out there -- prescriptivists are great at setting down rules --but I have yet to run across any really helpful ones when it comes to learning how to cut a narrative up into bite sized chunks.
I'm not talking about the easy kind of paragraph. Sometimes it's obvious, as here: Mary stops talking and Gertrude starts.
"I did tell you, paragraphs are tricky things." Mary ruffled through the ten pound book in her lap until she found what she wanted. "Here, Dr. Grammar tells you exactly how to do it."The troublesome nature of the paragraph is buried in this OED definition:"But he's so mean," Gertrude wailed. "He's always scolding. He doesn't like ellipses."
2. a. A distinct passage or section of a discourse, chapter, or book, dealing with a particular point of the subject, the words of a distinct speaker, etc., whether consisting of one sentence or of a number of sentences that are more closely connected with each other than with what stands before and after.The problem is (in part) that there's a stylistic element that overrides the idea of closely connected. Some authors like to take the strongest sentence at the end of the paragraph and... set it off by making it a stand alone. Other authors seem to throw random paragraph breaks in that don't follow from anything at all, either in terms of subject matter or rhythm. Some seem to be afraid of crowding and never put more than three sentences in a single paragraph. My rule of thumb, sometimes broken, is this: put the strongest sentence at the end of the paragraph. That will give it definition, if it's definition you're after.
One good way to approach this is to think of reading outloud. Where natural breaks would come in telling the story, most likely you need a paragraph break. Another hint: print out the page, and hold it up. If you see a rhythm -- alternating short paragraphs and long ones, most probably things are flowing well. If you don't, go back and look at the structure of the passages in question.
If you think paragraphs are hard, wait for chapters. I'll try that tomorrow.