What Is Filler?
The filler is the unnecessary information writer’s insert between two scenes. A scene needs to advance the story forward in some way. Filler does the opposite and is the stuff a writer loves and a read skips. Too much filler and you lose your reader.
Example:
Scene 1: Nancy interrogates Sue and learns the location of a stolen item.
Filler: Nancy gets into her car, waits for a lag in traffic, admires the city buildings on her five-mile drive, and parks her car across from the location.
Scene 2: Nancy is ambushed when she arrives at the location.
Scenes 1 and 2 advances the story. They also build momentum because they’re exciting. The filler slows down the two otherwise fast-paced scenes by describing the ride from the interrogation room to the mystery location.
The Filler is a Killer
The filler is fine in rough drafts. But after that, it will bore your readers.
New authors are the usual culprits of excessive amounts of filler. They see everything along the journey is vital. It’s important to learn when to use details, and when to let the momentum of the story build with short, precise sentences. Learning to determine, what’s important to the story is key.
How to Determine What’s Works
Beginning writers tend to get attached to the details of their story or the way certain words come together and find it hard to “cut” filler. My suggestion is to read a book you own with a highlighter. Every time you see something that could be left out, highlight it. It’s usually the words you skim over that can be deleted without losing the storyline. As a critic of another’s work, you’ll more easily see the flaws.
Key: If it’s important to the story, keep it. If not, delete it.
The Caveat
I’m sure you can think of examples that disprove this general content edit—and you’d be correct. That’s because this is a content edit that is a matter of degree, rather than an absolute rule in writing. It is also untrue to say that a segment of text either is or is not filler; there is a gradient. Editing is not black and white, so use good judgment once you learn what works.
As one who does this for a living, I can tell you, cutting filler will improve your writing immeasurably.
Enjoy!
Jasmyne