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FEATURE ARTICLE: The Mechanics of Effective Transitions
by Mike Klaassen
According to Gary Provost, in Beyond Style, "A transition is a phrase or sentence which takes readers from one place, time, or subject to the next." Jessica Page Morrell, Between the Lines, recognizes an even wider role for transition when she observes that "Not only do stories move around in time and place, they also trace the characters' changes in mood and emotion and the general change in tone that happens in any drama."
Numerous issues should be considered when developing effective transitions:
- Location
- Timing
- Length
- Selectivity
- Consistency vs. variety
- Obtrusiveness
- Headings and datelines
- Disguised transition
- Multi-tasking
- Reader involvement
LOCATION
Transitions may appear anywhere there is a change within a story. These changes may reflect shifts in time, location, viewpoint character, mode, pace, etc. Many changes, especially those within a structural unit of the story, are so small they require little, if any, transition. Significant changes that require transitional help are most likely to occur between structural units of a story.
It may be helpful to review the structural composition of a story, especially regarding plot. On a micro level, plot consists of stimulus and response (sometimes referred to as action and reaction). On a macro level, plot has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. But plot also has a midlevel structure of scenes and sequels. Fiction often has another level of structure that includes chapters and/or sections.These structural units don't just pop up in the story, they often require at least some transition from one unit to another, so structure actually looks like this:
- Stimulus - - transition - - response
- Scene - - transition - - sequel
- Chapter/section - - transition - - chapter/section
- Beginning - - transition - - middle - - transition - - ending
In addition to the beginning, middle, and ending of the story as a whole, each scene, sequel, chapter, and section has its own beginning, middle, and end. Although changes requiring transition may occur anywhere within a structural unit, the most significant changes requiring transitions tend to cluster at the endings and beginnings of those units.
TIMING
Transitions may be categorized in several ways, including their timing. Writers have three distinct time frames within which to alert the reader of a change:
- Before the change occurs
- During the change
- After the change
An example of a transition before the change occurs: Cisco grabbed Gabby by the shoulder. "I'll meet you back at the ranch in three hours."
Various means may be used to portray changes as they occur, including action, summary, and dialogue. An example of a transition during the change: Cisco took the shortcut and arrived at the ranch three hours later.
A shorthand means of signaling a change while it is occurring is through punctuation: section breaks clearly signal the reader that a change is occurring. (By default, a section break coincides with the change: at the end of the previous section, a change has not yet occurred, but the change has already occurred before the beginning of the next section.) Section breaks (also known a line spaces or jump cuts) are used for significant changes in time, location, or viewpoint within a chapter. Chapter breaks signal a change between chapters.
At the beginning of a new section or chapter, the writer needs to make clear to the reader:
- from whose viewpoint the section is being viewed
- how much time has elapsed since the last section or chapter
- where the viewpoint character is located
An example of a transitional phrase AFTER the change:
Cisco eased out of the saddle. He had been riding for three hours.
Depending on the circumstances and the writer's objectives, he may signal a change using all three time-frames: before, during and after. Frequently a major change may be signaled using just two of the time-frames (for example, a section break and then a clear transition at the beginning of the next section. Relatively minor changes (such as those within a scene or between two closely related scenes) may be signaled within one time frame (using action, for example).
"These clues," according to Morrell, "let the readers know how much time has elapsed since they last spent time with the viewpoint character, where he is presently located, and other vital information needed to resume that part of the story."
LENGTH
Transitions may range from being very short (just one word or a single item of punctuation) to quite lengthy (paragraphs or even pages). Long transitions run the risk of being boring and destroying the pace of the story. Short transitions run the risk of jarring the reader out of the fictive dream.
In The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing, Evan Marshall likens transitions and the various units of a story to a pearl necklace. "The best-made strands . . . have tiny knots in the string between the pearls, to hold them tightly in place and keep the necklace strong." David Madden, in the Writer's Digest Handbook of Novel Writing, seems to agree: "Keep transitions crisp. Do it quickly, instead of sending readers trudging over a long, elaborately constructed transition bridge."
SELECTIVITY
Much of writing has to do with making choices, and transitions are no exception: an author must decide which transitions to show and which to leave out. According to Morrell, ". . . readers do not need to follow characters through every doorway. Especially when your character is performing commonplace or normal action, this sort of reporting is gaudy, awkward, and unnecessary." Her bottom line on which transitions to use and which to omit: " . . . if you can leave a transition out . . . without causing confusion, do."
CONSISTENCY VERSUS VARIETY
Fiction-writing often involves a struggle to find an appropriate balance between two extremes. In transitions, a balance needs to be struck between establishing helpful patterns and avoiding monotonous repetition.
Jessica Page Morrell recognizes the benefit of patterns: "When you use a pattern that the reader can easily recognize, the pattern, in a sense, serves as a transition." For example, in multiple point-of-view fiction, repeated use of section breaks to signal a change of viewpoint character will accustom the reader to the change. Likewise, limiting each chapter to one viewpoint character is, in effect, using chapter breaks to signal a change of viewpoint character.
At the other end of the spectrum, Morrell advises writers to "Be sure not to overuse a particular transitional approach. For instance, many writers always use setting details and weather to announce a change of location or scene. . . . when overused they become dull. Transitions need to be varied," continues Morrell, "sometimes unobtrusive, sometimes colorful, and always graceful. Expand your transition repertoire and find fresh ways to indicate the passing of time and influence the mood of your story . . . ."
OBTRUSIVENESS
Les Edgerton, in Hooked, notes that transitions ". . . have to lead into the rest of the story as effortlessly as possible, so as not to cause the reader to hesitate or even completely stall.
That means you need to create transitions that are as seamless as possible."
Failure to use a transition may leave the reader bewildered. Likewise, a transition may be so subtle that the reader misses it and gets confused. On the other extreme, transitions that are too obtrusive may jolt the reader out of the "fictive dream." The challenge is to find the balance that fits the situation just right: transitions that are effective, yet seamless.
Small, insignificant changes may require no transitions at all. More pronounced changes may only require subtle transitions (maybe just a transitional word or two). Big changes, such as a large shifts in time, location, or viewpoint may require much more pronounced transitions (such as section or chapter breaks accompanied by appropriate transitional content).
HEADING AND DATELINES
Two obtrusive forms of direct narration, closely related to chapter breaks and section breaks are headings and datelines. As explained by Jordan E. Rosenfeld, "To keep the reader oriented, authors [may] use a header below the chapter title that gives the character's name, as in: Chapter 1 Mary, Chapter 2 Jack."
Likewise, instead of writing transitional text into the body of the story to indicate a new location or time, the writer may simply tell the reader (via direct narration) where or when the new chapter/section takes place.Tom Clancy uses datelines extensively in Red Storm Rising, a novel depicting multiple viewpoint characters scattered geographically. Examples include chapter and section headings such as:
- USS NIMITZ
- HILL 152, ICELAND
- KIEV, THE UKRAINE
- DOVER AIRFORCE BASE, DELAWARE
DISGUISED TRANSITION
Another technique for creating seamless transitions is to disguise them as other fiction-writing modes. An old audiotape commercial used to ask, "Is it real? Or is it Memorex?" Similar questions regarding disguised transitions would be:
- "Is it transition? Or is it dialogue?"
- "Is it description? Or is it transition?"
- "Is it transition? Or is it action?"
The answer to each of these questions is that "it" can be both. And in the world of fiction-writing, that's highly desirable. Transitions that are accomplished through the use of one or more of the other fiction-writing modes can be invisible except to the most discerning eye. They can also be said to be multi-tasking.
MULTI-TASKING
Transitions are often designed to accomplish several tasks in a few sentences. Rather than insert a transition (of whatever appropriate length), and then writing action, description, or dialogue, the writer combines them, so the words do double or even triple duty. For example, Jordan E. Rosenfeld, in Make a Scene, notes that "Scent is a subtle way to transition . . . ." In Between the Lines, Jessica Page Morrell provides a list of "transitional devices" which could also be described as multi-tasking techniques for transitions:
- Lighting, shadows, sun, stars, moon
- Weather
- Seasons, years, eras
- Objects
- Mundane activities
- Character's appearance, health
- Time, date
- Activities, interruptions
Multi-tasking transitions is also an effective way to economize word usage.
READER INVOLVEMENT
Morrell states that "Crafting transitions might not make you feel like a creative genius, and it doesn't qualify as one of the captivating parts of storytelling, but it reveals your respect for your reader." However, she also ads a caution: "Transitions are your way of showing courtesy to reader, but do not imagine your reader is an intellectual invalid." Effective transitions balance the need to be courteous to the reader, while at the same time trusting the reader to "get it," to "fill in the blanks" where necessary.
Transitions help the reader adapt to changes of time, location, and viewpoint character. As with many aspects of fiction-writing, there are numerous issues which may be addressed to create effective fiction.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Author Mike Klaassen publishes "For Fiction Writers," a free monthly e-zine.
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