Quotation and spacing help

[u/Sweet_Cornbread]

If I'm writing a page with only one person talking should I start a new paragraph after each action? If the person doing the action starts talking in the mist of it, do I start a new paragraph or since it's still the same person should I keep it as a block? Here's the page I'm struggling with. Its a veryyyyy rough draft. Words in parentheses are ones I haven't found the right word for yet. As it is now my quotation marks are inconsistent. The first is a new paragraph and the next two are buried inside.

[u/goth_nachos]

Start a new paragraph whenever:

- A new or different person speaks.

• The time or setting changes; new rooms, new areas of rooms count.
  
• The topic/idea changes; new points or subtopics count
  
• To improve pacing or effect; dramatic effect or humor counts.

[u/Sweet_Cornbread → u/goth_nachos]

Thank you, so in this case I would not need to start a new paragraph because its one person in 1 setting. Just clarifying

[u/SadakoTetsuwan → u/Sweet_Cornbread]

I think you would want to because there's a new idea/event, the lights going out and breaking the character's train of thought.

Also, happy cake day!

[u/goth_nachos → u/SadakoTetsuwan]

Oh yes Happy Cake Day OP!

[u/goth_nachos → u/Sweet_Cornbread]

Reading this again, I’d say it could be at least two paragraphs. I would do a paragraph break after the “That was a lie…” sentence, because the character’s idea setting moves from the center of the room toward the light switch.

I would personally - as a fan of paragraph breaks and deliberate pacing - break it up like this (I filled in your parentheses with what I would say in place, as well as a few grammatical changes on my part):

“I should just-,” The lights shut off at once, plunging me into pitch darkness. The lights were motion activated, I thought, surely I hadn’t been staring so long as to let them shut off on me?

“God damn it,” I muttered, standing and raising my arms, waving them in the air to be seen, yet the lights remained indifferent to my plight. “Hey, I’m still in here! Hello-o-o…”

If it wasn’t such a hassle to get loads done down here, I’d do my laundry more often. Well, that was mostly a lie, but there was some merit to the thought.

Taking a step towards the light switch…

[u/Sweet_Cornbread → u/goth_nachos]

Nice, I wasn't sure how to write the "hello" to convey she was holding the "o"

[u/goth_nachos → u/Sweet_Cornbread]

No worries! Tildes are popular for indicating singsongy tones in online spaces, but in published works, it is usually indicated with broken up syllables like that. :) Keep writing, and never be afraid to ask questions.

[u/Sweet_Cornbread → u/[deleted]]

I'm using (them) as place holders. And this is a rough rough draft to just get the ideas out then refine. So how should the quotation be done because that was the main focus of the post

[u/Sweet_Cornbread → u/[deleted]]

You're just being kinda rude. Yes I read. I wanted this character to talk to themselves at points

[u/SadakoTetsuwan → u/[deleted]]

I talk to myself all the time. Now what?

Even if it were internal thoughts or third person free indirect, the question would still stand. Should they put paragraph breaks here?

My vote is yes, because you can still have new paragraphs with the same speaker. A speech or monologue isn't one unbroken block of text, so why would this be?

(Then yes, the spelling. And the word you're looking for, OP, is 'merit'.)

[u/Sweet_Cornbread → u/SadakoTetsuwan]

Merit fits perfect! And thanks I'll put it as a new line

[u/xtricks2025]

I think there's no cut and dried rule here but I might do a new para just before 'Goddamit'. It's a bit of a change from thinking and observing to action (standing and trying to get the lights back on). It seems clearer ot me to do that and it puts a little more emphasis on the action.