Questions 3: Cliffhangers and Transitions

Posted on May 9, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Let’s just dive right into the questions.

  1. What advice would you give an author about writing a smooth scene transition?
  2. What advice would you give an author about writing a cliffhanger?
  3. What is a pet peeve about any type of story transition?
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About Charles Yallowitz

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.
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10 Responses to Questions 3: Cliffhangers and Transitions

  1. L. Marie's avatar L. Marie says:
    May 9, 2025 at 10:39 am
    1. Have a plan for what’s next. Be prepared to revise if you don’t have one. In the revise, you can be more intentional about leaving a breadcrumb to guide the reader. Writers who outline have an advantage here.  
    2. If a book ends on a cliffhanger, have a good plan for the next book. Don’t just end a book for shock value if you don’t have a good plan. We’ve all read books that ended on a cliffhanger only to be disappointed by the next book.
    3. The only thing that irritates me is when there is little to no transition, particularly when switching character perspectives. Some of these switches involve setting changes. Some authors don’t provide enough details to help the reader track what’s going on. If you start a scene with “Joe kept moving” after ending a scene with “Harriet thrust her blade into the spider’s abdomen,” I need to know where Joe kept moving if he is not in the same place with Harriet. Please don’t assume I remember where Joe is, especially if your book has sixteen characters in eight different locations.

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  2. John W. Howell's avatar John W. Howell says:
    May 9, 2025 at 5:03 pm
    1. What advice would you give an author about writing a smooth scene transition? The smoothest is the transition that has been prepared in advance giving the reader enough information to make the transition believable.
    2. What advice would you give an author about writing a cliffhanger? Do not make the cliffhanger so dire and unrealistic that it would seem impossible to recover. Less is more.
    3. What is a pet peeve about any type of story transition? That the author pops the transition with any warning.

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  3. DebyFredericks's avatar DebyFredericks says:
    May 10, 2025 at 10:11 am
    1. What advice would you give an author about writing a smooth scene transition? Try doing the scene more than one way, see what works for your characters.
    2. What advice would you give an author about writing a cliffhanger? Like somebody said, have a plan for what comes next. When I ended Acorn Canyon that way, the next thing I said was “adventure continues in Willow Lake.” So the reader knows more is coming. This isn’t just a really unsatisfying conclusion.
    3. What is a pet peeve about any type of story transition? Let it end naturally, not keep adding one more quip.

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  4. V.M.Sang's avatar V.M.Sang says:
    May 11, 2025 at 10:17 am

    The best way, I think, to make a scene or POV transition is to make a new chapter. Not always necessary, of course, so a line break is essential, preferably with some kind of mark, such a three stars.

    On this, I agree with L. Marie. You must know where the story is going or you may find yourself with an unfinished manuscript.

    Not beginning a new paragraph when POV or speaker changes. I’ve read several books where this happens. You have to think hard about who is speaking, and often get confused.

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