Cockeyed Optimist

In my life as an editor, I get to see lots of word-processing files, written mostly by students, but also by a range of other authors.

What I see, all the time, is that blank lines are used to separate paragraphs (not TOO bad), and, more seriously, they are used to pad out the ends of pages, so the next section, or chapter or whatever, can start at the top of a nice new page. What this means is that if there are any deletions or additions done later, this spoils the whole effect, and the writer has to laboriously add or delete blank lines to put it right.

1.  To separate paragraphs visually, it is much better to use a paragraph style with built-in space (before or after, or both). In Microsoft Word this can be done using the menu item: Format/Paragraph. Then you can dispense with the blank line you were using before.
2. Instead of 10, 20 or 30 blank lines at the end of a page, you can insert a Page Break (In Word, use the menu item: Insert/Break/Page Break). This will take you gracefully to a new page.
3. And, finally, if you want a certain level of heading (for chapters or major sections, for instance) always to start at the top of a page, you can add this feature to the heading style. In Word, the appropriate menu item is under: Format/Paragraph/Line and Page Breaks.

Now you can go for it, and your readers (and editors) will bless you!

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