100 ways to improve your writing - Gary Provost 2019

Don’t explain when you don’t have to
Nine ways to save time and energy

Writers often write long-winded and unnecessary transitions because they are afraid that the short phrase hasn’t said enough. In the example below, you can see how the writer slows down the story by trying to explain how Sam got to the church when all he needs to do is acknowledge that Sam got from his apartment to a church:

Sam moved slowly down the stairs of the apartment building. He walked across the street and climbed into his car. He turned the ignition key and put the car in gear. Then he pulled out into Maple Street traffic. When he reached Wilder Avenue, he took a left and drove for three blocks. At Warren Street he waited for a red light that seemed to take forever. Finally he got onto Carver. He could see the Bethany Church up ahead.

A better transitional sentence appears below:

Sam drove to the church.

Unless something important happened to Sam while driving his car over to the church, don’t describe the drive. A transition is simply a bridge and should be used to carry readers as quickly as possible from one place to the next.