In my novel, my MC has arrived in Earth but i dont want him to find My other mc the minute he arrives becasue thats unrealistic. I might want to spend another chapter of them looking for her and exploring earth but i'm scared it will be boring. Is there a way i can do this without boring the reader or should get straight to the action? By the way, its only the forth chapter?
Do you know how your 2 MCs will meet? How about you write a connecting chapter that leads up to the meeting - like, the first MC must do something or go somewhere, or something happens, and the 2nd MC gets involved and is introduced at the end of the chapter. Basically, the build-up chapter should have some purpose to it, other than just act as a filler.
I don’t think it has to be boring. I suggest the key here is to relate the frustration - - for example (placing yourself in the MC position), what if you went to Spain and tried to find someone named “Roberto” - - imagine the difficulty of that task. Of course, the more your MC knows about “Roberto” the easier the task becomes. If the MC knows too much (his exact address for example) then there’s no sense in writing the chapter, but if the MC knows just enough to start the search and you can weave in some suspense, have the MC learn some facts about the tenants of human trust/nature, then it might be worth writing.
If your main characters are from another world, they may find Earth very strange. It could be interesting to see our society through their eyes as they search for each other. This could add depth both to their characters, and to the world they come from. Do your characters know a common Earth language? Do they have their own means of travel? Do they know how airline travel works? Do they have money? Do they understand how an ordinary retail store works? Do they recognise a restricted area? Do they know what to do if a policeperson yells at them to stop? Do they recognise what a policeperson is? Do they have passports? Do they know how to find a public restroom? Do they understand ordinary, everyday social interactions on Earth, like how to greet someone, when to take off their shoes, or when something is intended as a gift? If not, I think you could easily devote several chapters to their difficulties in getting around.
They only know the language of earth but the society and things in it is new for them. I sort of want this chapter to have something happen to them so they meet my other MC... I was going to say one of them gets attacked by a Fox or falls sick (They have taken shelter outside and of my MC's is easily ill) and due to one them panicking, he runs to the nearest house which happens to be Alexis's but they don't know that until later.. But so far, all of you have got my idea ball rolling
Introduce one of the novel's main conflicts during the time period that the MC is looking for the other MC. I typically prefer when conflict happens right off the bat to launch into the plot; I don't like having to read 3 chapters of setting description before anything happens. (Unless it's like "1984" where the setting kind of IS the conflict.) Like others have said, don't just think of it as "filler."
It's not really a filler, it's a connecting chapter...Hmm but the conflicts I have planned so far don't really start until the MC meets the other MC. Maybe different society can be one of the conflicts I introduce in that chapter?
