: 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

The answer is of course, yes. The comprehensive answer provided by Amadeus is sound but I would go further. The general advice offered on this and many other boards is appropriate for simple story writing but more substantial works do not work that way.

Within a story all scenes are relevant. The art of the craft is the author's control of when the scene becomes relevant, and what it is it relevant to.

In "The Blues Brothers" Carrie Fisher spends a good deal of the story trying to kill John Belushi using increasingly violent methods. Nobody knows who this woman is or why she is trying to kill him. It is arguable that the character or her motivations have anything to do with the plot.

In "Sixth Sense" Bruce Willis is portrayed in difficult scenes with his wife. None of these scenes are relevant in real time, however, they are understood by the audience retrospectively.

Indeed, in one of my own stories, in the opening scene, a woman is dancing naked in her apartment with the curtains open - apparently irrelevant. (In the denouement we discover the scene's relevance).

In most good thrillers all the apparently irrelevant scenes come into focus in the finale.

The key is confidence. The reader needs to trust the author. "I wouldn't be shown this unless it contains information I need to know."

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: 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

More posts by @Shelley992

: Can you discard the plot for a better character arc? I think I failed to communicate my intentions in the previous question. I was always fascinated by JoJo's Bizzare Adventure, and to an extent

: In this day and age should the definition / categorisation of erotica be revised? My experience tells me that a disproportionate number of wannabe writers are prudes. I recently wrote a scene

: Can a useless protagonist be interesting? So, I was thinking about one of my little worlds, when I stumbled into an interesting problem. At first, this is a run-of-the-mill isekai (trapped in

: What to remember when switching from audiovisual comedy to written ones? "Oh for God's sake, get on with it!", the half-elf's scream boomed through the fort. The uneasines was palpable,

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