Avoid transitional clichés
Transitions can be hard to write. Maybe that’s why we keep turning back to these hackneyed transitions, listed in a Poynter Institute forum:
Let’s pause and ponder that for a minute too.
But then the dream became a nightmare.
But then something went horribly wrong.
But that was about to change.
When he first … he never dreamed …
But then something happened that would change her life forever.
Then she experienced every parent’s worst nightmare.
For now they can only watch and wait.
What a difference a (day, week, month, year) makes.
Now the victims are picking up the pieces of their shattered lives.
At the end of the day …
Fresh transitions drive readers further into the story. These clichés just cause readers to roll their eyes — and go back to sleep.
