Friday, September 23, 2011

The Mind-Numbing Necessity of Transitional Scenes

Today, I have Dianne Hartsock who will be guest posting on my blog. Dianne lives in the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon with her husband and college-aged son, and works as a floral designer in a locally-owned gift shop. Which she says is the perfect job for her. When not writing, she can express herself through the rich colors and textures of flowers and foliage.


The Mind-Numbing Necessity of Transitional Scenes



Yep, they have to be done, but they’re my least favorite part of writing. I’ve been known to create whole novels without them then going back to put in all the little details of characters moving from point A to B and ignoring C all together. With ALEX, if I could have included a believable transportation device, Alex would have used it at every turn. So many exciting scenes lay ahead of him! But how to get him there without my readers banging their heads in boredom as he trudged across the street or town or whatever to reach that point was a problem. My solution? I threw obstacles in his path along the way until he begged me to just let him get there already. Now, whenever I’m faced with the blank page of a transitional scene, I try to think of a crazy wild thing to trip my characters up with and make the journey an adventure in itself.

To find out more about Dianne, please check her website at: http://diannehartsock.wordpress.com/

ALEX: http://www.solsticepublishing.com/products/Alex%252d%252dPDF-EBOOK.html



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7 comments:

  1. Kate EvangelistaSeptember 23, 2011 at 5:36 AM

    I recently learned the importance of transitional scenes myself. It helps develop character. It lets readers get to know characters a little more, almost like voyeurs.

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2011 at 8:56 AM

    I agree Kate, I just have to learn patience!

    Thanks for having me here today, Geraldine. :)

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2011 at 9:32 AM

    I have to say, I prefer transitional scenes if they're well written. At the same time, if there's nothing interesting along the way, you might as well "tele-transport" and get it over with. I'm an observer which probably has had a negative effect on my auto insurance rates! Still, I see things with an artists eye - art being the written kind, as I can't even write my name so people can read it! I doubt one can travel a mile without seeing something worth describing well.

    Dan Chamberlain

    www.daniel-chamberlain.com

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  4. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2011 at 1:38 PM

    Hi Dan. Thanks for commenting. It's not that I can't write a transitionsl scene, I just wish I didn't have to! I want to get to the good stuff. :)

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  5. GeraldineSeptember 23, 2011 at 5:04 PM

    I love transitional scenes. It's what makes you hang to the edge of the seat wondering what will happen next. Thanks for sharing today, Dianne and thanks to everybody that shared their comments.

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  6. Grace ElliotSeptember 26, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    I've learnt something! I didnt know those niggly scenes to get the character from A to B were called 'transitional scenes' - I actually feel a bit better, knowing they have a name!
    Grace x

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  7. GeraldineSeptember 26, 2011 at 11:14 PM

    @Grace, that's good to know. We learn something new everyday.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete

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