forum Things You Want LESS Of In Books

Started January 21, 2019 by @HighPockets group

tune

• 'The [Important Thing] happens only on [celestial event]. Oh what a coincidence! That's tonight!'

YEP AGREED

filler is only good if it's done right, and i have almost never seen it done right

No, filler isn’t good, it distracts from the plot, it’s either not important to the plot, the characters don’t learn anything, and most of the time it just gets the plot off track.

Well, some fillers can be good. You don't want a plot where every page is jam-packed with fight scenes and love confessions. I have a few fillers where the main characters are journeying to an unknown place and establishing trust in each other.

i like the type of filler where like they explain an inside joke, or its a flashback to some hilarious event that got them kicked out/banned from somewhere

I mean yeah sure, but it can at least be funny… most of the time writers do it it’s not even funny…

No, filler isn’t good, it distracts from the plot, it’s either not important to the plot, the characters don’t learn anything, and most of the time it just gets the plot off track.

Actually, sometimes filler can be good because it can humanize the characters a bit more, sure it usually doesn't do anything but when the filler is done right you can see a team's relationships in another light because they're actually communicating and enjoying their time instead of constantly being in the middle of all the action

• MC = Mary Sue √
• Edgy bad boys, with a heart of gold √
• MC's romantic relationship with her childhood friend/crush from school/guy she's never seen before, who comes out of nowhere √
• Over explaining everything that's happening with the five senses- I agree with ppl above, if it's important to the plot, that's okay. If it isn't, don't do it.
• Mental illness = character. 'Hi, my name is [Generic Character], and I have [mental illness]! This is the only thing that defines me from [Other Generic Character]!' √
• 'The [Important Thing] happens only on [celestial event]. Oh what a coincidence! That's tonight!' √
• Token diversity, with their race being the only thing important about them. What! Tolkien is my boy! Please explain!
• Sex coming out of nowhere. Sex without a point to move the plot forward. I don't like sex scenes, but if it moves the story forward or establishes something about a character, okay. If it's just filler, then stop. √√√!!!

Or when a character goes through something very traumatic (usually sex related in this case) but has no symptoms of PTSD and 3 pages later is banging the Perfect Love Interest TM. Bonus DoneTM points if he's the one who did it to them.

Fun fact: ™ = Alt 0153

Well, some fillers can be good. You don't want a plot where every page is jam-packed with fight scenes and love confessions. I have a few fillers where the main characters are journeying to an unknown place and establishing trust in each other.

Very much trueness!

Whenever I read a book, and the character's appearance is given several pages after they've been introduced. By the time the narrator explains what a character looks like, I probably made an assumption about their appearance completely different from what the author says. For example, you could say that "X is a confident scientist". I would guess they would carry a very slender appearance with this overconfident smirk and greasy black hair. Then, five-hundred pages later, the text says "they're this blonde buff dude with tattoos on their face". It confuses the everloving hell out of me since I have to constantly wrestle with how I perceived the character previously versus how they were just described.

that makes sense, but i also think that authors shouldnt just toss appearances in list form in like the first paragraph, otherwise im out

that makes sense, but i also think that authors shouldnt just toss appearances in list form in like the first paragraph, otherwise im out

True

Agreed.

When mcs are rude to their friends and it's ok "because they're the mc"

When mcs are rude to their friends and it's ok "because they're the mc"

Oh my god I hate that, or when the MC is the most boring piece of パンケーキ ever and everyone kisses his パンケーキ for being a little good for nothing piece of パンケーキ.

I just want less cheesy cliches that are the whole story. You read a story and it is like you can guess every event that will happen.

_{I'm writing a story just making fun of a cliche and completely changing it while still making it seem completely cliche.}

When mcs are rude to their friends and it's ok "because they're the mc"

Oh my god I hate that, or when the MC is the most boring piece of パンケーキ ever and everyone kisses his パンケーキ for being a little good for nothing piece of パンケーキ.

Nutella would be proud.

When mcs are rude to their friends and it's ok "because they're the mc"

Oh my god I hate that, or when the MC is the most boring piece of パンケーキ ever and everyone kisses his パンケーキ for being a little good for nothing piece of パンケーキ.

Nutella would be proud.

I am proud

For example, you could say that "X is a confident scientist". I would guess they would carry a very slender appearance with this overconfident smirk and greasy black hair.

cough Victor Frankenstein cough

No, filler isn’t good, it distracts from the plot, it’s either not important to the plot, the characters don’t learn anything, and most of the time it just gets the plot off track.

There can be good filler; then, it isn't filler. A good 'filler' should introduce something new about a character or establish more things about a character. It can be the calm before the inevitable storm (any SU fans: 'Escapism' before 'Battle of Heart and Mind') and give the reader & characters a brief reprieve from the action. Filler done wrong, I agree, does usually get the plot off track. Filler done right, however, can make a world of difference.

I definitely agree with this. Any and all writing should have some kind of purpose in progressing the story, whether through development of characters and themes or foreshadowing or anything else, really, as long as it contributes to the plot. Stories don't have to race along at a breakneck pace for the entire time, and a quiet conversation between a few characters can actually amp up the tension for any following action.

On the topic of filler, I may have only watched a few animes but why is it that almost every filler episode involves going to the beach or to a hot spring? There are other locations in the world you know, and if you really want to include water or swimming try having your characters sail to another destination or something? That has potential to push the story along and doesn’t just look like an excuse to draw the female characters in swimsuits cough FAIRY TAIL cough

One of the many things I LOVED about Star Wars Rebels is that the episodes everyone thought would be filler (like the pergill one) ended up being VERY important later on. Filler is good for building character, but if it ultimately contributes nothing, why have it?

One of the many things I LOVED about Star Wars Rebels is that the episodes everyone thought would be filler (like the pergill one) ended up being VERY important later on. Filler is good for building character, but if it ultimately contributes nothing, why have it?

Exactly! If it is important later on, then it isn't filler; it's foreshadowing! Or important, at the very least

Good filler: side quests, character growth, calm-before-the-storm, after-action patchups, talking through plans/trauma
Bad filler: sex, pointless banter, fights with no good motive or resolution, describing what the character is eating or wearing in full detail.

Speaking of describing what the character is wearing in full detail… anyone else just sick of that thing that happens at the beginning of lots of YA novels and self-insert fanfic where the main character either describes their appearance in full detail for no reason or is looking in a mirror and taking in every one of their features? Kind of drives me nuts because it's just not… realistic I guess, to look at yourself in such great detail.

Yeah….like, I have a 3rd person narration story so my characters get described by each other. Generally certain characters will describe the others less harshly, or notice something about them that others wouldn't. Such as the first thing that Jon notices when seeing Therese is that she has the same eye color as her brother Oliver, whom Jon loves, as opposed to Nich's first reaction being her height or Nell's being how pretty and confident she is. Joan usually doesn't notice eye colors because she avoids eye contact.

IKR!?!? Like, I love to know what the characters look like, but I don't want to know the exact angle of the tip of their nose and the length and width of their face! Just do it subtly… gradually. This one book I read literally only described the main character with long brown hair and her being short because it was first person and who in the world goes around describing themselves!?!? And there is a picture of her on the main cover, so we don't need to know what she looks like because the author confirmed that that is what she looks like.

Yeah….like, I have a 3rd person narration story so my characters get described by each other. Generally certain characters will describe the others less harshly, or notice something about them that others wouldn't. Such as the first thing that Jon notices when seeing Therese is that she has the same eye color as her brother Oliver, whom Jon loves, as opposed to Nich's first reaction being her height or Nell's being how pretty and confident she is. Joan usually doesn't notice eye colors because she avoids eye contact.

And that Makes SENSE, Unlike, "I took in my reflection, natural platinum blond hair, deep blue eye's, my sun kissed skin and freckled button nose. slim shoulders and dainty arms. The figure hugging periwinkle blue floor length ball gown I wore was adorned by intricate beading, each bead sparkling individually in the light, the beads were stitched onto the fabric to create the illusion of flower petals that made up the flowing full skirt that swished around my ankles. My shoes were a bright silver, bright butterfly dissing could be seen placed on the shoe by hundreds of painstakingly placed crystals. The shoes matched my jewelry a simple silver chain wrapped around my slender neck with a shimmering butterfly pendent that appeared as if it would fly away at any given moment."