A 101 Level Craft question I see all the time!
I see a lot of mostly newbie writers asking version of this basic question: How do I write filler scenes, or scenes in which nothing important happens but feel necessary (for some reason) to pad out the word count and not make everything seem rushed? How can I make those scenes interesting?
and my sibling in Christ I’m going to hold your hand when I say this: you don’t. Scenes that are pure filler should not exist in your manuscript. Now, having scenes that are slower paced, which give the reader a breather, is valid but they should not be ‘filler.’
in my experience, there are three main reasons for a scene to exist: to advance the plot, to develop character/relationships/backstory, to explore important Worldbuilding. if a scene does none of those things, cut it!
For my purposes, I will not include a scene unless it accomplishes at least two of those three goals. Three is better, but two is plenty. I might occasionally include a uni-tasker, but that is rare.
Having a purpose to your scenes is important for pacing, and by having multiple goals you can make sure things keep moving, and also slow them down when appropriate.
This is why, against all publishing advice, my best selling book is 210,000 words long and not one person has complained about the length. That book is packed full of stuff and it moves.
So anyway, that’s an important nearly lesson every writer needs to learn. There should be no such thing as filler in your story.
Thank You for coming to my Ted talk..