Usage of filler scenes

What is the general consensus on filler scenes, especially in more realistic fiction novels (such as based in schools, people's daily lives?) Referring to those scenes where the characters aren't necessarily doing anything, the plot isn't necessarily being moved forward, but it just surrounds the characters hanging out or discussing life, sort of fleshing out the atmosphere and their relationships.

To what extent can filler scenes be used (or not used at all?) without stalling the plot, and can there be a balance?

From what I've learned and observed it's unwise to include scenes that don't create any substantial change in the characters or forward movement of the plot. The general thing I've seen is that each scene should definitely have a purpose and create change and movement, but filler scenes can seem to provide some pacing especially when the plot and character relationships are moving unreasonably quickly.

What's any of your opinions/thoughts?

 

Filler scenes can be really fun. We can take a break and learn more about the setting, character personalities, history, etc. My only rule is that every scene has to accomplish something. We have to hear or see something we need to know. This can be done through a variety of fun ways.

 

No filler allowed. Find something important about a scene or delete the fucker. Same applies to every other part of a story.

 

I don't think there's any excuse for actual filler. That said, a sequence can slow the plot down, give the reader time to breathe, and still contribute to the story by developing the characters/relationships. I wouldn't consider that filler. You want to avoid feeling like the plot has stalled, imo, but slowing down for a moment can be all right - if that makes sense. Bad: the plot is put on hold for no other reason than so that these characters can fill in their respective backstories. Good: during a sensible lull in action, we take a moment to let these characters have an organic conversation.

 

Seconded. Create it in fitting moments, where there might be a sensible time for the scene to happen. For example, make the protagonists talk while taking a short break in a 5 hour journey. However, don't put too much filler scenes whereas they will distract the readers from the plot. Also, like these guys have said, every scene should accomplish something.

 

I wouldn't call them "filler" scenes. I'd call them "breather" scenes. They can be calm, but they should have some purpose.

 

As you've probably already gathered from this thread, opinion is very much split on this topic.

Writers like Kerouac and Bukowski apparently write entire novels about the mundane, but the key to their readability is in their writing, and how entertaining they can make a 'slice of life'.

If your 'filler' scenes are interesting and hold the reader's attention, go for it.

 

I will tend to agree with the 'NO FILLER' crowd, unless it is
central to the story, or plot.
Though as a reader these can be found around the middle of
the book, and tend to drag on a bit regardless of the fact they
are relevant to the story. I would say don't make them extended,
and try to keep them interesting to the reader, as well as keeping
the narrative plodding along. So if you can don't rely on lulls
or it might really bog down the rest of the story.

 

If your filler has something meaningful to provide to the plot or characters, then why not just make it a purposeful part of the story in the first place? I don't usually see filler as having use other than to fill in gaps in a story that shouldn't even be there, or to provide unnecessary insight into certain characters. If you have something important to say about a character, I see no reason to not include it in the story itself. It's like adding ingredients to a dish that provide no nutritional value and do not add any flavor or zest. They are just there to fill your belly, yet ultimately make you bloated and discontent.

EDIT: To address your point about pacing, if your plot is moving unreasonably fast, then that means you have issues in your plot that need to be addressed, whether they be gaps in the story or specific events that have not been detailed appropriately. No amount of filler is going to fix bad pacing, because it is a structural problem. In fact, filler will only make things worse, because after all of that quick-moving storytelling, suddenly being thrust into an irrelevant filler scene will stand out like a sore thumb, and now make your story unreasonably slow. You don't throw icy water on an overheating engine to cool it off, or else the metal will crack. You don't throw slow filler into a speeding plot, or else the story's flow will crack.

 

I think every scene should advance the plot (or subplots), but I also think the shifting relationships between characters are part of the plot.

If the scene is just a "getting to know the characters" scene, I don't think it's pulling its weight. But if it's a "characters getting to know each other" scene, it might be pretty useful. There needs to be something significant that's different between the situation at the end of the scene and the situation at the beginning.

 

Every chapter scene in either a book or a film should add something to the story, no matter how small. Even if it just reveals a little something about a character. That's why in Die Hard we never see Bruce Willis going shopping for vests. Although I did hear it was included in the Director's cut.

 

Since the MC is John McLane, any footage of Willis shopping for vests was taken on a video camera by the director's 5-year-old daughter.

 

I'd like to that it very much depends on the plot, tone, style and theme of your book. If it's a fast-paced thriller then I agree filler is inappropriate, but if it's a slice of life affair then requirements change. We also need to fully define and understand the term 'filler'.

 

Also check out Iain Banks if you want examples of how filler can make it past editors and publishers.

 

This. ^

I agree that a definition is needed. There seems to be some confusion over the term 'filler' as used in this context. I'll go with the one on the Merriam-Webster website:

e :material used to fill extra space in a column or page of a newspaper or magazine or to increase the size of a work (such as a book)

In other words, if you're sticking in a scene because you want to increase your word count, that's probably filler. It's not usually something you do unconsciously. You're aware that you're creating filler. Some people would call it 'padding.' More or less the same thing.

Every scene should advance the story in some way, but just because it's a quiet scene doesn't make it filler. If the reader leaves that scene with a better understanding of one of the story's components—a character, a situation, a relationship, a character's opinion of a situation or relationship—then that scene has been moving the story forward.

The trick to ask yourself, before you start writing any scene is: what is this scene supposed to accomplish? If you can give a specific answer to that question, you probably aren't creating filler. Asking that question at all times will be helpful. It should keep you from repeating yourself, and it should also keep you from writing stuff that doesn't matter.

 

I agree on general principles, but for me it's "what does this scene accomplish?" because I don't necessarily know before I write it. Yes, that means that a fair percentage of scenes go unused. This does not bother me.

 

Ah. Well, I suppose you can ask the question after you write, and then tweak it so it does accomplish something!

I suppose what we ought to worry about are the scenes we write 'just for fun' or 'just because I like that topic.' Those are the kinds of scenes that might be well-written, but might also derail the story train a bit. On the other hand, they might be enjoyable enough to leave in.

It's like a birthday cake, I suppose. You can have a delicious white cake with a tasty chocolate frosting and the words 'happy birthday' written on it, and that's a birthday cake. Or you can have a delicious chocolate cake covered in marzipan, royal icing, individually-made sugar flowers, a fairy castle on top, with tiny little gremlins running around the sides of the cake, holding wee signs that say 'happy birthday.' Both of them are birthday cakes that taste good. They will appeal to different kinds of people, though.

 

I increasingly suspect that the part of my brain that's best at planning the novel is somewhere subconscious. I write many scenes because I crave a particular moment, and then I'll realize, on draft two or three of the scene, that, oh, this handles that motivation issue, and that character interaction that needed resolving, and this other issue and that other issue and, hey, it even replaces that plot Macguffin! So the craving got me to what looks to me like a scene that was planned.

So writing a scene for fun is pretty much a summary description of my planning process.

 

I'm experiencing this with my current WiP, and it's a very nice feeling. It's never happened to me before and I very much suspect it's all down to the fact I sat down and outlined the plot in much more detail this time.

But you're right; it's almost as though I write a scene without really knowing its purpose, and then afterwards, or sometimes during it, my brain 'pings' and I think, yes, this scene explains why... or this scene will serve as a great reference to the ending.

 

There are three things any scene can do those being:
A)Move the plot forward.
B)Develop the characters further.
C)Develop the environment the character is in.
You should aim to be doing at least two of these per scene, preferably all three. If you aren't then I would scrap it.

 

THIS THIS THIS

I think this is at the root of writers when writers say their characters or story have gone amok and have a life of their own. Even though I know it's me, I am sometimes not aware that my lizard brain is inserting things in the story that only make sense five chapters and three months later. It's a regular part of my writing process by now.

 

Yeah, I think it means you know your story and characters pretty thoroughly. The right stuff comes out at the right time. Excellent.

 

I agree, but I don't really think filler is even necessary to accomplish a scene where the characters are getting to know each other. I get that some people want to add volume to their stories, but I don't think that should be a reason for writing a story, just a result. Filler is exactly what it sounds like, "something that fills", whether that be as jannert described, extra space in a magazine article, or to expand a book. But a story doesn't need to be "full" to be written to the best of one's ability. In fact, not every point needs to even be addressed. Every story is written toward the ultimate goal of ending. If one has the ability to write a meaningful scene that still works toward that conclusion, with the characters getting to know each other, and allows the story to flow naturally, why deviate with a filler scene instead?

In conversation, filler words are those added in just to fill in gaps, words such as "like", "you know", or "well". Do they provide any additional meaning? No. They could easily be taken out of the conversation, and the content of the conversation wouldn't change. In a speech, words like these are discouraged, because they stand out and don't accomplish anything. In fact, they counteract the purpose of a speech, which is to get a point across to the listeners.

 

At this point I feel as if we need a definition for "filler scene" because I feel as if we may not have general agreement on what it means.