: Re: When is it ok to add filler to a story? After a couple iterations I came up with the "skeleton" or summary of my story. I have read many places and guides saying "if it's not advancing

@Hamaas631

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There's a difference between filler and moments which aren't advancing the main plotline.
What one might consider filler at first glance often holds important information about setting, character, and character relationships.
I love using moments of 'downtime' from the plot to establish certain character traits, because it lets the reader focus on the character.

If you want to tell your readers that Ron Weasley is brave enough to get knocked unconscious by a huge stone chess piece for his friends, you don't do this just as the chess piece is raising it's weapon. That would seem out of character and surprising to the readers, and they might not even pay it very much attention, since they're a little more preoccupied with the whole 'how will Harry get through these tests and stop Voldemort' plot.

But if you establish Ron's bravery several chapters earlier, when he fights a troll for some girl he barely knows...

You're the author. You kind of get to decide if something is important to the plot or not. Use these five dates to show the characters interactions with each other, to reveal important information about them.

Even if the dates aren't important, writing them to space out your story IS important to your story. Passage of time is a hard thing to show, and if these dates are your tool of choice to illustrate the weeks/months/etc between points A and B then that's perfectly fine!

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