JournalismFree
Write transitions between story sections
Paste your article and get a bridge for each place the story jumps, built from facts and quotes already in your draft.
River reads your article and finds the places where it jumps: from a scene to background, from one source to another, from the problem to the response. For each jump you get a suggested transition built from material already in your draft, plus a note when the real problem is the order of sections rather than a missing sentence.
Good transitions in journalism carry information. A line that says meanwhile or on the other hand does little. A line that links two sections through a fact, a date or a person moves the reader forward and keeps the story tight. River writes the second kind and never adds a fact you did not report.
It is for feature writers, long-form reporters, students and newsletter writers whose drafts read as separate blocks.
How transitions work in reported stories
In a feature, each section usually does a different job: a scene, background, the stakes, a counterpoint, what comes next. The transition between them should tell the reader why they are moving on. The strongest transitions do it through content, such as a date that links two events, a person who appears in both sections, or a number that sets up the next question.
Transitional words such as however, meanwhile and additionally can help, but on their own they are signposts rather than bridges. If several are needed in a row, the sections may be in the wrong order. Moving a section is often a better fix than writing a longer transition.
An illustrative example: after a scene in a busy clinic, a section on funding might open with The clinic exists because of a state grant that ends in June. That single sentence connects the scene to the money and sets up the stakes. It uses only facts already in the story.
How it works
Paste your article
Paste the full draft, keeping section breaks if you have them.
River finds the jumps
It reads for places where the story changes subject or time.
Get the bridges
A transition for each jump, with a note on why it works.
Revise in chat
Ask for a reordered outline or a shorter version of any transition.
What you get
- Every jump between sections identified, with the reason it feels abrupt
- A suggested transition for each, built from facts or quotes already in the draft
- Notes where moving a section would work better than adding a sentence
- No new facts, quotes or claims added to your reporting
- The draft with transitions inserted and marked, so you can compare
Common questions
Will River change the rest of my article?
No. It writes transitions and marks where they go. If a structural problem would be better fixed by moving a section, it suggests the move and explains why, but it leaves your paragraphs as they are unless you ask.
What if a transition needs a fact I do not have?
River will not invent one. It writes the best bridge from what is in the draft and notes when a stronger transition would need a detail, such as a date or a connection between two people, that you would need to confirm.
Are transition words like however enough?
Sometimes, for a small turn. Between sections, a sentence that carries a real fact usually works better, because it tells the reader why the story is moving. If you need a however at every section break, the order of sections may be the issue.
Does this work for news stories too?
Yes, though straight news written in inverted pyramid needs fewer transitions, since each paragraph is less important than the one before. The tool is most useful for features, profiles, explainers and narrative pieces.
Write transitions between story sections
Describe what you need, add any files you have, and your workspace opens with the work already underway.