That blank line is doing more work than you think (a guide to scene transitions)

Ever walk into a room and forget why? Your readers do that between scenes. Learn the 4 types of scene transitions you can use for your book.

A scene transition is one of those elements in writing that lets you skip the boring parts or switch POV characters comfortably. With it, the traveling, waiting, and other routine elements still happen, but off the page, so they don’t take away from your word budget (or reader’s attention).

In this article, I bring you the types of scene transitions you can use in your book and what a scene transition can do.

Table of contents:

• What’s a scene transition?

• 4 Types of scene transitions

Author’s note ✍️

When I started writing my book, I wanted only scene transitions between chapters. Meaning that one chapter was one consecutive scene all the way to the end. And while that’s possible, I came to realize that I don’t have to force myself into it.

A chapter with multiple scenes isn’t any weaker than one without breaks. Sometimes it’s the best choice because not every scene is long enough for a chapter, and not every chapter needs only one scene.

This article was inspired by a question @myjewishbookshelf asked in another article about the advice on “start late, leave early.”

Hope you enjoy it!

What’s a scene transition?

A scene transition is the “hand-off” from one scene to the next. This, as you may infer, happens when there’s a change of space, a stretch of time, or a different character POV.

Now, you’ve surely experienced walking into the kitchen or, well, any other room and forgetting what you came for in the first place. And while some of you may blame age or just consider yourselves absent-minded individuals (like me!), the truth is that this is called the doorway effect.

The doorway effect 🚪

In simple terms, our brains are designed to segment our lives into events, so it’s easier for us to remember them later. A doorway acts like an “event boundary,” which is why your brain gets rid of old information that may not be relevant anymore when crossing those boundaries.

Even so, a study by Dr. Jessica Mcfadyen (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) and Dr. Oliver Baumann (Bond University) found a twist to the doorway effect. They tested it by asking participants to wear a VR headset and memorize objects as they moved from one room to another.

Initially, crossing the virtual doorway alone didn’t have an effect on their memory. BUT when participants had to do a difficult counting task at the same time, overloading their memory, the doorway effect showed up.

Also, in this study, the rooms were identical, so researchers concluded that it’s not specifically the doorway that causes the doorway effect but the change in environment. Usually, your kitchen would look very different from your living room, and this change of context affects your memory.

And that’s even worse when our minds are busy thinking of something else…

So, what does this mean for us writers?

(Don’t worry, I didn’t explain all of that just to not tie it back).

Well, scene transitions are our reader’s doorway, and they work very similarly, which means three important things:

1. The size of the change between scenes matters. A scene break that stays in the same space with the same people doesn’t immediately flush out the information in your reader’s brain. A break that jumps to a new place or time may.

2. Busy readers forget more. If your story is juggling a lot of storylines, character POVs, or worldbuilding (ahem, fantasy), readers may get memory overload, just like in the study, and forget more details between scenes. So, after a big jump, reminding them of the one detail that matters for the current scene helps a lot.

3. Having multiple scenes in chapters is okay. When a reader flushes out information from the previous scene, they actually have more space to settle in the current scene fully.

Now, how do you build those doorways?

Writers use one of four. These can be a chapter break, a blank space, a separator (like ***), or a short summary that carries the reader with no break.

Let’s look into each one.

4 Types of scene transitions

In this section, let’s go over the different scene transitions briefly. I’ll tell you what each means and when to use it.

Still, these aren’t rules, just guidelines that may help you along your writing journey.

1. Summary

It’s the smallest transition step. Your reader often stays in the same “room” or follows the same immediate thread, so nothing gets flushed out.

Use it when: the jump is small and the next moment depends on what just happened.

Example: “She didn’t go back that afternoon, or the next. And by Saturday morning, there was a thin layer of snow in the garden.”

This one shows a transition of time, but it ties subtly into the next scene without letting go of the reader’s attention.

2. Blank space

In this one, something more prominent changed (time, place, or POV). We’re in the same thread, but now the doorway is more obvious. The reader knows we’ve moved.

Use it when: you’re jumping within the same chapter thread.

Example: [Well, it’s just a blank space on the page!]

One thing to have in mind on this one is that, on e-readers, a blank space at the bottom of a page may disappear. Which means a reader may not notice it. And this is where proper separators come in.

3. Separator

Same as the blank space but now you have either the “***” or a cool design to signal the break of scenes.

Use it when: you want to make sure readers notice the break.

Important note 💡

Blank spaces and separators do the same job, so you don’t have to save each one for specific situations. A blank space works for a POV switch too. What matters more is consistency, so pick a style and stick with it.

4. Chapter break

This one is the biggest doorway. It may be because of a big jump in time, a new place, or a natural pause.

Use it when: the story needs a fresh start, or… you’ve reached a natural stopping point.

After a chapter break, it may make sense for you to remind readers of the one detail that matters from the previous chapter.

In the end, scene transitions are just doorways for your reader. Pick the one that works for you and remind them of anything they may have left in the other room. Just ensure your reader can follow along. They may even follow you to the second book.

And scene

If you made it this far, you’re probably one of those readers who 100% their book. So, thank you for bearing with me until the end :)

If you found this article helpful (either as a writer or a lurker), consider following along as I figure out how to actually write that book.

Take care and keep writing. ✍️