Post by Lady Hammer on Sept 10, 2007 12:38:28 GMT -5
Filler – How and Why
What is it about certain books and stories that really ensnares you? How do certain characters win us over so indefinitely? It is the presence of Filler and a character’s role in it. It is seeing a little piece of normality, inviting us as the reader to be a bit of a stalker, if I do say so myself.
What is Filler? It’s a window for the reader to look through and see how a character acts in a normal situation, or perhaps a window into their minds so that we may see their thoughts on any matter at all, though trivial ones are the most amusing and beguiling. Filler is a way to add length and bulk that is not just irrelevant chatter or mind-numbing description. It allows us to see what happens outside of the hustle and bustle of the plot-driven chase of the antagonist, answering hungered for “what would this character do if…” questions.
All too often, amateur writers ignore Filler because it seems like it is irrelevant, distracting, off-topic, drawn-out, or they’re just too immersed in the action to take a break and elaborate on something simple. Take a break and fit in a little scenario for the readers to catch their breath, describe the feelings in the air, or perhaps in the middle of the chase, the emotions of your character gush as they find hiding places! Anything can become Filler.
What I mean by all of this is… if your party of characters is on a long chase across town / state / country / whatever and for any given reason, they have to stop, whether it be simply for a few minutes or for the night at an inn, take the time to employ some related scenarios:
Scenes like these, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant, conjure up a wide variety of things. Insight to multiple character personalities, chances for odd quirks to surface, revealing of red herrings to throw your reader for a loop, fun little scenes to entertain your reader and give them relief from action, and a little flesh and muscle to make your setting more realistic and believable, no matter how outlandish it may be.
Here is a bad example of a chapter intro:
Amelia’s day, though almost over, was garish. Horrible people were coming into the coffee shop left and right, making their demands unclear, and throwing fits and complaining when those demands weren’t met correctly. However, Amelia merely sighed after every brutal confrontation; making mistakes was the only thing she could do right, anyway.
So it’s not too bad, but if I’m constantly going to go about my story like that, it’s never going to be interesting, believable, or deep. It’ll always be short, to the point, offering no excitement, and all of my readers’ hopes of truly getting to know my characters will be thrown out the window.
Let’s employ some Lady-brand Filler:
Amelia’s day, though almost over, was garish. She thought nature had set the day up bad enough when it started; bad air quality, 98% humidity, temperatures soaring over 100 degrees, and every allergen known to man lingering in the air. But no, the day decided to hand her irritated office workers who couldn’t get off their high-horse enough to state their “medium, quad-shot, soy-milk, no-whip, white chocolate mocha frappuccino” clearly, as well. And those came in large numbers.
Most of them came from the home-insurance office building two blocks down the street, the one with the air conditioner that shut down on them early in the day. Amelia looked cautiously to one officewoman in particular – CEO Gloria Watts. The olive-skinned matriarch lived in the apartment kitty-corner to her and Scott’s, and never failed to have the same premium scowl on her face.
“One large raspberry cream frappuccino, cut back on the milk.”
Amelia bit her lip and looked back at the carton of raspberry cream base that Beatrice was preparing to use behind her.
“I’m sorry, but it’s a premade base. I’m afraid I can’t take out the milk, but I can put some chocolate in it to mask the taste some! Or would you like me to put a shot of espresso in it for you?”
“Fine.” A bead of sweat ran down Amelia’s face as she wrote down the order on the plastic cup, and handed it to her coworker.
“Relax, ‘Lia, these people always have sticks up their asses!” Beatrice whispered to her, mixing the raspberry cream and espresso in a blender. “There’s nothing you can do about it!” It wasn’t enough reassurance for the young girl, however. Once Gloria tasted her drink, all hell broke loose.
“What the hell? I didn’t order a goddamned mocha! I ordered a raspberry cream f*cking frappuccino! What the hell didn’t you understand about that? It’s on your f*cking menu! Right there! I swear, you damned teenagers are so careless! And incompetent! Why don’t you waste less time f*cking up your customers’ orders and go to college?”
CEO Gloria Watts stormed out of the coffee shop, throwing her drink on the floor, the well-prepared raspberry-chocolate ice reflecting the sunlight from the windows. Several others standing in line murmured their discomfort and decided it would be best to leave. Beatrice was shocked.
“I… I—“ she looked to Amelia, suddenly feeling horrible, and when she thought she saw the girl tear up, she blurted her words all at once. “That-was-all-my-fault!”
“No,” Amelia said glumly, grabbing a mop behind the counter, “it was mine.” Her shoulders fell, and she sighed in defeat.
Brilliance! This is what happens when you employ Filler to the max! A simple opening to a chapter becomes an entire scene, rich and full of character interactions, emotions, relationships, drama, action, and excitement that otherwise wouldn’t have been there! By simplifying things, cutting out detail of events and failing to describe or elaborate, you are left with a bland story. Make use of opportunities like this and use Filler, but know when enough is enough! While the thoughts of your depressed character in the shower as they glumly reach for the shampoo bottle and wonder “Why do I bother anymore?” are useful means of showing their traits and emotions, we don’t need to know about every bowel movement that occurs, every useless thought that piles up in a person’s brain during the day, or every car they passed on the way to and from work. Filler is like a seasoning – it makes things taste good, but too much, and you’ll ruin your meal.
So get in the habit of spicing things up!
What is it about certain books and stories that really ensnares you? How do certain characters win us over so indefinitely? It is the presence of Filler and a character’s role in it. It is seeing a little piece of normality, inviting us as the reader to be a bit of a stalker, if I do say so myself.
What is Filler? It’s a window for the reader to look through and see how a character acts in a normal situation, or perhaps a window into their minds so that we may see their thoughts on any matter at all, though trivial ones are the most amusing and beguiling. Filler is a way to add length and bulk that is not just irrelevant chatter or mind-numbing description. It allows us to see what happens outside of the hustle and bustle of the plot-driven chase of the antagonist, answering hungered for “what would this character do if…” questions.
All too often, amateur writers ignore Filler because it seems like it is irrelevant, distracting, off-topic, drawn-out, or they’re just too immersed in the action to take a break and elaborate on something simple. Take a break and fit in a little scenario for the readers to catch their breath, describe the feelings in the air, or perhaps in the middle of the chase, the emotions of your character gush as they find hiding places! Anything can become Filler.
What I mean by all of this is… if your party of characters is on a long chase across town / state / country / whatever and for any given reason, they have to stop, whether it be simply for a few minutes or for the night at an inn, take the time to employ some related scenarios:
- A character’s thoughts as they enter an inn and see the people there. Elaborate! Is there a drunkard at the bar who makes suspicious eye contact? Does that develop into its own scene? Is there an attractive stranger at a lone table that beckons?
- The stress level of a character; perhaps you should employ drinking as well, which could lead to a conflict if they lose inhibitions.
- A character overhearing two insignificant people’s conversation. Let this be a window for your character’s inner dialogue and what they’re thinking as the strangers talk. Or, make it a significant eavesdropping, and overhear people talking about how they’re going to break into your inn room at night!
- Perhaps a character is dirty and worn and wants to take a bath. Offer inner dialogue.
Scenes like these, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant, conjure up a wide variety of things. Insight to multiple character personalities, chances for odd quirks to surface, revealing of red herrings to throw your reader for a loop, fun little scenes to entertain your reader and give them relief from action, and a little flesh and muscle to make your setting more realistic and believable, no matter how outlandish it may be.
Here is a bad example of a chapter intro:
Amelia’s day, though almost over, was garish. Horrible people were coming into the coffee shop left and right, making their demands unclear, and throwing fits and complaining when those demands weren’t met correctly. However, Amelia merely sighed after every brutal confrontation; making mistakes was the only thing she could do right, anyway.
So it’s not too bad, but if I’m constantly going to go about my story like that, it’s never going to be interesting, believable, or deep. It’ll always be short, to the point, offering no excitement, and all of my readers’ hopes of truly getting to know my characters will be thrown out the window.
Let’s employ some Lady-brand Filler:
Amelia’s day, though almost over, was garish. She thought nature had set the day up bad enough when it started; bad air quality, 98% humidity, temperatures soaring over 100 degrees, and every allergen known to man lingering in the air. But no, the day decided to hand her irritated office workers who couldn’t get off their high-horse enough to state their “medium, quad-shot, soy-milk, no-whip, white chocolate mocha frappuccino” clearly, as well. And those came in large numbers.
Most of them came from the home-insurance office building two blocks down the street, the one with the air conditioner that shut down on them early in the day. Amelia looked cautiously to one officewoman in particular – CEO Gloria Watts. The olive-skinned matriarch lived in the apartment kitty-corner to her and Scott’s, and never failed to have the same premium scowl on her face.
“One large raspberry cream frappuccino, cut back on the milk.”
Amelia bit her lip and looked back at the carton of raspberry cream base that Beatrice was preparing to use behind her.
“I’m sorry, but it’s a premade base. I’m afraid I can’t take out the milk, but I can put some chocolate in it to mask the taste some! Or would you like me to put a shot of espresso in it for you?”
“Fine.” A bead of sweat ran down Amelia’s face as she wrote down the order on the plastic cup, and handed it to her coworker.
“Relax, ‘Lia, these people always have sticks up their asses!” Beatrice whispered to her, mixing the raspberry cream and espresso in a blender. “There’s nothing you can do about it!” It wasn’t enough reassurance for the young girl, however. Once Gloria tasted her drink, all hell broke loose.
“What the hell? I didn’t order a goddamned mocha! I ordered a raspberry cream f*cking frappuccino! What the hell didn’t you understand about that? It’s on your f*cking menu! Right there! I swear, you damned teenagers are so careless! And incompetent! Why don’t you waste less time f*cking up your customers’ orders and go to college?”
CEO Gloria Watts stormed out of the coffee shop, throwing her drink on the floor, the well-prepared raspberry-chocolate ice reflecting the sunlight from the windows. Several others standing in line murmured their discomfort and decided it would be best to leave. Beatrice was shocked.
“I… I—“ she looked to Amelia, suddenly feeling horrible, and when she thought she saw the girl tear up, she blurted her words all at once. “That-was-all-my-fault!”
“No,” Amelia said glumly, grabbing a mop behind the counter, “it was mine.” Her shoulders fell, and she sighed in defeat.
Brilliance! This is what happens when you employ Filler to the max! A simple opening to a chapter becomes an entire scene, rich and full of character interactions, emotions, relationships, drama, action, and excitement that otherwise wouldn’t have been there! By simplifying things, cutting out detail of events and failing to describe or elaborate, you are left with a bland story. Make use of opportunities like this and use Filler, but know when enough is enough! While the thoughts of your depressed character in the shower as they glumly reach for the shampoo bottle and wonder “Why do I bother anymore?” are useful means of showing their traits and emotions, we don’t need to know about every bowel movement that occurs, every useless thought that piles up in a person’s brain during the day, or every car they passed on the way to and from work. Filler is like a seasoning – it makes things taste good, but too much, and you’ll ruin your meal.
So get in the habit of spicing things up!
Good stuff Lady.
