Character relationships and personalities

nickj47 said:

I'm one of those readers who just want the author to 'get on with it'. I like to learn about the characters through their actions, past or present, and not through long-winded descriptions. It seems to me the 'popular' authors are pretty good about doing it this way. These revealing actions don't necessarily further the plot, but they're at least entertaining to read.

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I'm with Nick, filler to me is describing the environment in excruciating detail, and having characters interact in monotonous, boring ways.

...that weird sensation when almost everyone on the same thread seems to be on slightly different pages

Questioner said:

Hello!

I'm very strict regarding filler. I cut out everything that can be defined as filler, jut because I know the reader just wants to get on with the story.

I was wondering what counts as filler, and what doesn't. Currently I've planned for the main characters' personalities and character developments to in some way further the story and benefit the plot further on.

Is this over-doing it? I've found that the characters fall kind of flat and boring just because of this.

What I'm asking is: is it generally considered okay to have the characters have "free" personalities and developments that don't affect the plot more? Or do I just need to work on my writing-characters-skills more?

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One book I read on writing said "every scene should either advance the plot or develop character. Ideally the scene will do both."

I'd say it's filler if it doesn't have something in it that will serve to move the plot forward, OR tell us something interesting about the characters OR just be a general delight to read (which is a very subjective thing). Again, the more the scene can do a combination of these, the better it will be, and the leaner, more focussed, your writing will become.

Try to have each scene that's plot-related say something about your characters. And if you want a "character" scene (say, MC breaks up with his or her loved one), find something in there that you can add that relates to the plot.

Twick said:

Try to have each scene that's plot-related say something about your characters. And if you want a "character" scene (say, MC breaks up with his or her loved one), find something in there that you can add that relates to the plot.

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I try to write to this advice, but I'd just qualify it a little to say: have every scene say something NEW about your characters. I don't need to see several scenes that demonstrate the same personality trait or quirky habit - once something has been established, either develop it further, or assume the reader will remember it for whenever it becomes relevant to the story.

I do like character establishing scenes though. I was trying to come up with a way to show the reader what a nasty piece of work my Big Bad is, so I had him stage a fight to the death between a pair of his own prize hunting hounds and a baboon to entertain his dinner guests. When the baboon ripped them to pieces, he was more annoyed at losing the bet than losing the two dogs.

It might have been a little 'kick the puppy', but one reader said that made her hate him more than anything he could have done to the MC.

To make the scene pull double duty, I also had a messenger arrive mid fight to convey an important plot development. There's nearly always something you can add to a scene to make it more relevant.

One of the biggest failures that I see in a lot of stories is the constant description of character's personality, instead of let the readers know who is the character or how is the character's personality as they go deep in the reading. For example, if your character is impatient and anxious, instead of constantly writing about those features, you may better show an impatient and anxious reaction from the character to some facts, drawing an evolution in the relationship of the character with the story.

Mr. Rig said:

One of the biggest failures that I see in a lot of stories is the constant description of character's personality, instead of let the readers know who is the character or how is the character's personality as they go deep in the reading.

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I read a trilogy recently where the reader was always being told (either in the POV of the MC or through other characters speaking to the MC) that the MC had a tendency to be a certain way, but in fact the MC's actions completely put the lie to that. And I don't think that was deliberate. I think the author was blind to the mixed signals she was giving.

Don't forget the readers. My readers don't see what I show, and so I need to also tell.

(The writers see me showing. The non-writing readers do not. But telling and mostly showing seems to work for them.)

Sometimes having the telling and the showing contradict each other is a clever little tool the author uses to create an unreliable narrator - then the trick is to pick up on those discrepancies to put together the clues as to what the narrator is really up to

CathleenT said:

The classic filler scene is someone drinking coffee or tea and mulling over their situation. We all do this in real life, but it's dull to read about. No conflict.

Consider having a scene antagonist (who doesn't have to be the story antag) for your MC in every scene. Make your MC work to overcome whatever the obstacle is, against the antag, and then you've got character development going for two characters.

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For example, in that 'mulling' scene the 'antagonist' could be the friend who sits down and starts babbling about her own life while the MC is trying to work out the solution to the real problem.
It not only becomes a reluctant dialogue, but, you can show things about the MC by how they respond to the babbler. Is the MC short with them, pretends to listen, or just gets up and rudely walks away?

The little scene is not a waste of space.