: Re: Can I have scenes that aren't directly related to the main plot but strengthen the relationship between two characters (which is a subplot)? I have some scenes in my novel that have nothing

@Welton431

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Yes, absolutely. Every scene should advance something, but that includes the main plot,sub plot, characterizations, explanations of setting, etc.

Sometimes these are inter-linked, and a single scene can do work on multiple things at once. But it is okay if it doesn't.

For example, I generally have sex scenes in my stories. I don't write erotica, but I do think sex is a part of life, and my adult characters experience it. Especially if I have a love story subplot, which is often the case.

I almost never write a sex scene to do anything else except be a sex scene; whether that is consummation of a building relationship, a reconnection, or just having sex for the fun of it.

I am not trying to advance the main plot at all.

Write your "date night", or hanging out, advance the characterization of the two characters involved (for good or ill), and strengthen or weaken their bond with each other. That's enough to accomplish, and the state of their emotional connections is typically very important to the reader, they are living this story vicariously through your characters.

The only scene you shouldn't write is one in which absolutely nothing new is revealed, or nothing changes; a scene you could delete without the reader being confused at all. Unless it is just there for comic relief, I'd delete it.

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