Reviewing and editing books, I regularly come across a piece of narrative or dialogue that should have a section break, or worse still, a break is injected needlessly in the mistaken belief it will add suspense. Makes me want to tear my hair out. Why do writers do this to readers? The simplest explanation is that they don’t know what a section break is supposed to do.

So, what is a scene or section break anyway?

A section break is a transition from one scene to another, a change in time, location, and point of view.

Identifying a section break can be done by leaving a blank line or inserting asterisks in a blank line. Both techniques work, and serves to alert the reader that the scene is finished, allowing him to prepare for what’s coming next. Or, he can take a break of his own.

Let’s look at the point of view scenario. Some writers like to jump from one character’s POV to another within a scene. This is also called head hopping. Used sparingly, the technique can enrich the story, as the reader gets an insight into what the principal characters are thinking and feeling in real time. Great care must be employed with this technique, as indiscriminate shifting between characters can give a reader mental whiplash, losing track of who is doing what to whom. These days, most editors frown on its use, preferring a POV shift to be punctuated by a section break, the new scene being told entirely from the new character’s POV. That way, the reader can comfortably concentrate on the story, knowing he is dealing with a new character. This form of writing is much harder to do than shifting POV within a scene, but using head hopping can work, provided you can pull it off. Read more about this in my article: https://stefanvucak.com/point-of-view-and-head-hopping/

Why is keeping a single POV in a section harder to do than head hopping? Take a piece of dialogue between two characters. Well structured dialogue can tell the reader a lot about the character’s feelings, emotions, intended action, and musings, without the need to enter into that character’s head with supplementary comments. The problem is obvious: dialogue is limited. There is simply no way to convey the wealth of information within dialogue that can be presented in a piece of narrative. To overcome this, some writers resort to an awful practice of inserting very short scene breaks that denote a shift in POV. They end up with a dozen lines or less of narrative or dialogue from one character, then another half-dozen lines for another. It’s like having your car going over a series of potholes. How to overcome this? You can only do two things: tell the scene from one character’s POV, or shift once or twice at most between characters within the scene.

Another thing that makes my hair stand on end is encountering a section break for no apparent reason. What did the writer do? He or she inserted a break simply to emphasize something or add tension within a piece of dialogue or action. A reader is happily following an interesting—hopefully interesting—part, and suddenly comes across a section break or a chapter break. It’s like going over a set of speed trap wires. This used to be a popular tool way back, but these days, writers should avoid using it. If the story has merit, it will not lose anything by having a scene run its natural course.

Handling changes in time and flashbacks can be tricky for some writers. A straight-out time shift within a story should always be predicated by a section break. The reader must be shown he is entering a completely different part of the story, and not simply a shift of scenes in present time. Some writers denote such a shift by labeling the section with a place and date. That’s okay. Flashbacks are somewhat different, as they can be told within the current scene without having to invoke a section break. However, it is important the author clearly signals that a flashback is coming. Also important is to indicate that the flashback has ended and the reader is again in present time. Not done correctly, the writer will lose the reader completely.

There is another change in time that does not necessarily require a section break, and that’s a shift between days; typically when the character’s present day has ended in some way and the start of a new day. Or the writer is having his character engaged in an activity that spans a timeframe in present time. A section break could be employed in both these instances, but is really not necessary.

What about changes in location? No drama here. Shifts in location can be treated in the same way as flashbacks or contiguous set of events experienced by a character. If there is both a time and location shift, it is probably a good idea to insert a section break. It all depends on the writer’s skill, but both techniques are acceptable.

Of course, there are other scenarios where a scene break can be inserted, but don’t do it simply to grab attention. It won’t work and will only irritate your reader. Chapter breaks? Personally, I like long chapters. Some writers start chapters when a section break should have been employed. There are several definitions, but I look at chapters as a collection of related scenes dealing with a single plot element. Having short chapters takes the reader over those potholes. Better to use section breaks.

Having reached the end, it is time for me to take a different sort of break.