Writing Lessons: Some Tips on Writing Good Transitions

WHEN AMY DAWS wrote to me about her recently published memoir, I asked her about her writing challenges in the project, which led us to a discussion about writing good transitions. Ah, transitions. More tears are shed over these, perhaps, than most writing topics. But in Amy’s case, this was particularly trying since she was using a timeline of a pregnancy interspersed with flashbacks. Not an easy thing to do, but necessary in a book that tackles the hope she had for a successful pregnancy after suffering multiple miscarriages. So I invited her to take on the transition. See what you think. Write a comment and ask Amy about writing her new book, Chasing Hope, and enter to win a copy of the book.

Writing Good Transitions

by Amy Daws

When writing Chasing Hope, I structured flashbacks in time that attached to the overall theme of my story. The important thing I had to focus on was making sure the reader knew when they were being transported to a flashback, and when they were being brought back to present day. This meant that I had to pay extra attention to my transitions. My transitions were the bookends that told my readers where we were in my story. Without a good (and seamless) transition, my readers would have been confused. Here’s what I came up with.

Four Transition Tips for Memoirs

1. Foreshadowing

2. Scene Break

3. Lyrical Closure

4. Reminders

1.)  The basic idea of foreshadowing works well to transition a reader from the present day storyline to a flashback. Foreshadowing, which gives the reader a warning or indication of a future event that is coming up, was utilized here to bring on the flashback of a previous miscarriage, the details of which I needed to share.

Example: (Chasing Hope excerpt from Chapter 9)
Everyone froze. I was not prepared for such a question, but somehow I managed to tell her something about having the gold rings so I could remember them forever. I eventually scooted her off my lap and ran into the bathroom to hide my tears from everyone’s watchful eyes. I’d never stop wearing my gold rings; they were a part of me. But to have them brought up in random conversation still jarred me at times.

I received the gold rings in 2010, after I suffered my third miscarriage. We had lost twins that time. This foreshadowing transition lent itself perfectly for me to begin my flashback story of my twin pregnancy loss.

2.)  Scene Breaks appear in books in a variety of ways. In Chasing Hope, I used three asterisks to indicate a scene break.

Example: (Chasing Hope excerpt from Chapter 13)
Once I got through the first trimester and things seemed to be staying calm in my uterus, I felt comfortable enough to discontinue doctoring in Chicago and had my maternal fetal medicine specialist and hematologist in Sioux Falls manage all care from then on.

***

By adding those three asterisks, I’m able to break away from that storyline and go wherever I want. In this case, I go in to another flashback.

3.)  Lyrical Closure of a subject gives you the opportunity to transition into the next subject, whether it be with a new chapter or just a new topic. You can achieve closure of a subject by being slightly more lyrical and definitive with your phrasing.

Example: (Chasing Hope excerpt from Chapter 4)
I carefully opened the gift bag to reveal a couple of simple baby rattles, a package of pink baby onesies, and some bibs. It was a Christmas gift for my baby. This was a first. I was overwhelmed at the acknowledgement that this baby was different from all of the others. Giving me this gift showed me that they, too, had hope.

Ending that paragraph on a lyrical word like hope (in italics) gave the paragraph finality, allowing me to jump into a new chapter with a new topic without needing to use asterisks or foreshadow an upcoming event.

4.)  Reminders. Throughout Chasing Hope, the storyline is a 33+ week pregnancy with flashbacks going back in time about five years. When I would transition from a flashback to the primary pregnancy storyline, I would remind the reader how far along I was in the pregnancy.

Example: (Chasing Hope excerpt from Chapter 9)

Being thirty-four weeks pregnant, Kevin’s sister, a photographer, had convinced us to do a maternity photo-shoot. I always wanted to have pictures taken because taking pictures was a side-hobby of mine. Of course I wanted to capture the amazing body I was currently rocking.

I added that reminder to the reader that the pregnancy was now at 34 weeks.

Those are the four tips I learned in creating solid transitions. What are yours? I know there is no perfect formula for transitions that works for every memoir,but these are some ideas to keep in mind when struggling to move your story along.

Author bio

Amy is passionate about sharing her story and connecting with other couples like her who have suffered losses and are in search of some realistic, true to life understanding. Amy held on to hope in her journey because she knew the payoff of a miracle child would be worth the wait. Her new book, Chasing Hope, is just out.