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Transitions
>> Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Transitions. How to transit (is that a real verb?) from one dramatic scene to another. Or from a cliffhanger ending to the beginning of the next piece.
No head hopping allowed. That was my first easy choice. I could do that. So I'm not doing that. If you need a stunning transition, how do you manage it? Grab someone else and go to their point of view? Try to pick up where you left off? I try to use movie transitions as a model but that doesn't always work. How do you do it? What works for you? What does not work? Would you tell me if what I did didn't work? Would you tell me if it did? Or give examples of what worked beautifully and what didn't quite make it.
The shot has nothing to do with anything except I needed one and pressed Tyler into service. It's sort of a transition. He could be transitioning out of the pool. Now I KNOW that's not a verb.
10 comments:
Hmm...I can't say that I've really done any transitional pieces. I think you do them really well! Like, I don't even realized we transitioned until I see someone and they're grown and I'm like HEY!!! hahaha! For RG when I need to move something along I switch to someone else. Case in point: I was dozing and I suddenly realized what(or rather who) the next update was going to revolve around. If I went back to Kaylee and Co. it wouldn't have the same effect sooo...
For LT it's much easier because I have the prompts(as well as the word count thing). So pretty much everything has to be tight and to the point but not jarring and leave the readers wondering...w-what? I can make use of those and set everything up around it.
What doesn't work for me is to try and force something to shape up. I end up scraping everything and being mad that I wasted so much time and energy into something. And yes, I would tell you if it did or didn't work. But as I haven't stumbled across anything of yours that hasn't worked I'd be shocked if I did! Haha!
I know, this wasn't much help but just thought I would throw my two cents in while I took a breather from entering warrants!:P And Tyler is hot! Haha! I love the pool scenes!!
Tyler looks so absolutely comfortable there! I think I could almost melt LOL!
Transistions are a big point of contention to me, I never quite know how to work them in but somehow I plunder along and manage. LOL!
I suppose I need to use BAtT here, the biggest transistion, well actually there were two were Ava and Catherine going from Child/Teen to adults. Granted I kept getting an error with Cat as a teen so, I had to grow her up and pretend she was still only a teen LOL!... Back to subject at hand, LOL!
I transistioned by using a time frame, stating I believe, "Three years later, Beatrice..." Something along those lines to help assist.
Now DE is a completely different scenario, the whole story so far has been focused in 'Days'. I continue out that particular day until I come to the end. IE Chapter 9 left off with Lydie realizing how much Jayden felt for her, chapter 10 transgressed I think 2 days... and ended with Lydie seeing an unknown woman emerging from the water. Chapter 11, (which I debated time and time again) and must admit I wrote several different scenarios that just didnt fit the bill, Too boring, too unbelievable, didnt fit the flow of the previous hanging point etc. I cant begin to say how many different scenarios probably about 10 before I chose one based on everyone's comments! So when I got to Chapter 11 I knew what I wanted and was able to transition into it fairly well. Now on that point I am guilty give me a ticket! I plead guilty to H-H, LOL!
Now I am faced with the wonderful writers block of, what should I do next, should I continue with Lydie and where she went, or should I cut it off and go to another character set? and if I do go to another set will it ruin the value?
I have to go with what I enjoy reading here, if I am reading a book and it gets to an extremely tense point and leaves me hanging for three or four chapters, unless they are explaining the other characters emotions... (Trying to avoid H-H here LOL!) I am going to lose interest. So I think about what I would want to read and what my readers would want... The best way to set up the next piece!
Now on that hand I would certainly tell you if there was something that didnt seem to flow to me, but I have yet to come across anything like it in your writings!
Ok I am sure I am forgetting so much here... But hopefully it helps a bit. 80)
thanks - both of you!
Right now I'm trying to figure out how to do an internal transition instead of one between chapters.
Action going on from one characters perspective. This goes on long enough to be a scene in itself. Then I need to switch to another character's point of view but stay in the same set. The action continues but from someone else's perspective. In a book, this would just be another chapter. Can't do it like that. So I'm thinking of showing a break point by using some kind of device, like a tilde or something. One of these things: ~
Or astericks.
Breaking up the action by going somewhere else and coming back just isn't going to work well.
That would probably be the best way to transistion is to use ~ or a line of *
Come to think of it, I have done that on several occasions... And never did anything and wondered the same thing, how could I show this!
I wanted to add something to Phoenix.
You have a lot of complicated sets and characters and storylines but you manage all of them including transitions very very smoothly. I'm never left wondering, wait a minute, when did we switch to Janet's issue, for example.
Yeah, Cherie, I understand the problem LOL. When you don't want to change sets or the time or anything but the perspective changes, what's the best way to do that?
I don't really know. Up until now, I just found a way to "go" somewhere else and then come back to get around it. This time, I can't do that.
Thanks S.B. I worry sometimes that it won't make sense when I go from scene to scene like that. Happy that it comes across correctly!
Hmm...for your scene how about a transitional phrase? Something leading up to when you want to switch? Something like:
He was tired of the whole situation. He just wanted it to be over and done with him. He was just...tired. Placing his elbows on the table Coop stared blankly at the table top.
Ryan walked into the room and barely spared a glace at Coop who was staring at the table as if it held all the answers...
blah, blah, blah!
I know it's lame but I just wanted to show you what I was talking about. I hope that makes sense. If I read that I would know that scenes had switched but we were still in the same place. Maybe the person was upstairs or something. *Shrug*
Phoenix - that's a great idea! A transitional phrase that makes it clear that we've switched 'heads'. we can do that.
I've thought of all kinds of things. A new 'header' line, which would be lame. Astericks. And actually there is a minor change in 'place' even though it's from outside to inside.
It still probably violates the POV rule but I don't think I can stick with that all the time.
You make sense. Your transitions are always very very clean!
I have to add that I wish I could write like that. Even your example....I just don't think like that and can't produce it. Really really well done!
Thank you!
Not a problem Beth! I've read WAY too many books so that's how it came to mind! LOL!
Yeah, the headerline always throws me for some reason! I don't know why. When I'm on wordpress and want to switch POV I used a new page...that might be just a jarring! *shrug*
It probably does! LOL!! But you know how I am with POV!:P
OH! Thanks Beth! Haha!! It always startles me because your writing is bloody brilliant! I don't know how you come up with some of your stuff!
LOL thank you Phoenix, but the brilliance is Gayl's! I definitely have fun with it though.
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