New writers often struggle to get the right words on the page and in the right place. This is a skill that simply takes practice to perfect. There are several different types of gaps that can appear in your writing. These are generally handled in the editing stage, especially when considering gaps in plot and character motivation. Gaps in action are fixed in edits too, but these types of problems are something that you’re going to want to train yourself to avoid as soon as possible. Once you learn to write scenes with continuity, you will be a stronger writer overall.

Many new writers have the tendency to skip things in the natural flow of a scene. For example, two characters will be talking at school, then one of them is suddenly at home. Study the following example:

This passage has several gaps. First, Julie offers Megan a ride home, but we never see the girls leave the school or get into a vehicle. We don’t see the vehicle move. There is no mention of time passing. Suddenly, Megan is in her house, taking to her mom. It feels like Megan suddenly teleported home.

It’s okay to write these kinds of drafts if you’re excited to get a scene down, but if you train yourself to give the right kinds of details in your first drafts, you’ll save yourself a lot of editing time.

How much information to add depends on your goals for the scene. You could make the car ride home as short or as long as you want. It depends on your goals. If the ride home isn’t important to your story, simply skip that time with a quick transition sentence. That could look as short as this:

Or maybe you have reason to give some details about what kind of car Julie drives. Perhaps that detail is important to your story, so you write a little longer transition.

If, however, you need Julie and Megan to have time to talk, you can lengthen the scene. Maybe you need them to get to know each other. Or maybe one knows something the other one needs to learn. In that case, letting them talk during the drive can be a good use of a ride home from school. Since this scene will be longer, I want to show the movement of the car and the passing of time. Take note of the phrases below that are underlined. Those details were added to show time and movement.

One other method you can use to skip time if you need to is to use a scene break. Simply center some asterisks to mark the end of a scene, then start your new scene.

So, those are a few ideas to help you with gaps in your writing and showing the transition of action and time with continuity.

Do you struggle with leaving gaps in your writing? Share in the comments any tips or questions you might have.

Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms, and the author of several young adult fantasy novels including the Blood of Kings trilogy. She loves teaching about writing. She blogs at goteenwriters.com and also posts writing videos on her YouTube channel and on Instagram. Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant. She grew up in Alaska without running water or electricity and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids. Find Jill online at jillwilliamson.com or on InstagramYouTubeFacebookPinterest, and Twitter.