That's a pretty bold statement, and I can't honestly say that it's true. I make this statement less as an absolute truth, and more as a goal I think all writers should attempt to obtain. I first was exposed to this concept when I was in middle school. We had been reading Ethan Frome, a short story that is often considered a classic by many. I had ended up stumbling upon a review written for Ethan Frome from an allegedly sexist, famous author. Despite Ethan Frome being written by a woman, he greatly praised it, and there was one sentence that stuck out for me and has continued to remain in my thoughts to this day.

"There was not a single word wasted."

Sorry, I can't find the original review, nor do I remember the author who made it, but for some reason, that particular line caught in my mind. Ethan Frome is a very succinct story. From beginning to end, it attempts to tell a very simple tale, and it does so marvelously.

Certainly, bloat is a problem for a lot of writers. I already have a chapter about certain words that get added to writing and serve to just bloat it out. A lot of it can be cut out, and many of the "pacing" issues we feel justify our "just" and various adverbs are more in our head than something that actually enhances the reading experience. This chapter is not here to talk about bloated words. To be honest, I've always been on the fence about this, and while being more succinct in your writing works in most cases, there is always the exception where adding a little bloat can improve readability.

So this chapter is not about writing the most refined work possible. I have chapters you can read to help you on that. This chapter instead focuses on fillers. This isn't to be confused with the filler introduction chapter, which is a very particular type of filler. This is just here to talk about fillers in general. What are fillers? A filler is a writing put there to fill in a word count or to get from point A to point B. Sometimes, it's a means of poor transitioning. Sometimes, it's a means of just keeping the scene from feeling short. Either way, it should be avoided in most writing.

-She gets up.

-She talks to her best friend.

-She falls in a hole.

-She finds the magic crystal.

-She's told she's a magical princess by a talking cat.

However, in your limited knowledge and expertise, writing all that happening only takes you 500 words. So, what do you do? You fill out the chapter to reach an arbitrary word count. You end up describing her brushing her teeth and eating breakfast. Then you describe not just her best friend, but her parents, her favorite color, and her boyfriend's information. She falls into the hole, then wonders around aimlessly for twenty minutes, maybe meets a bat, and then finally she gets her hands on the magic crystal.

It's like the fetch quests in video games. Those randomly generated quests in Bethesda stuff where you're basically doing the exact same thing over and over and game developers want to convince you infinite repeatable quests is fun. They're not fun, no one wants to play them, we just want to do the requirements needed to get to the next thing that IS fun. And therein lies the problem with filler.

Writing stuff just to fill out the word count is just boring. It makes things take longer, and it causes that reader's fatigue I mentioned a few chapters ago. My urge to skip is never greater than during some filler where you're going through the motions until the next cool scene happens.

A lot of web novels these days lean heavily on that. It's not as big of a deal on Wattpad from what I've seen, but when you go to web novels or fanfiction, a lot of people try to replicate popular stories written in China. A lot of writers in China get paid by the word... so their writing styles often involve them finding a formula, and then endlessly repeating that formula as long as they can keep the readers hooked. Many of these books go 2000-3000 chapters. In these stories, I'd go so far as to say 90% of about everything you read is just filler. It might be action filler, with characters fighting and bombs exploding... but that can only grab a person's attention so long before they start to lose interest, as any Micheal Bay movie can attest. Writing for maximum word count and dragging your readers along for 1000 chapters is a skill all unto itself, and I think more people rage quite Chinese novels than actually ever finish them. So, let's focus back on the filler.

The single person reading this now who has actually read all of my Wattpad 101 chapters might be confused. I've written numerous chapters in the past that seemed to embrace filler and encourage people to do it. I've said stuff like "what you don't write doesn't exist, so even if it needs to be edited you should put it in" and "writing filler can potentially lead to more dynamic stories and characterization". Aren't I now telling you the exact opposite?

Yes... and no. I have said before that Wattpad 101 isn't a how-to guide. If there was a how-to guide, everyone would be a famous author and would just be following that. This just gives you ideas, sparks imagination, and shows other points of view. Sometimes those points of view you agree with vehemently, other times they're something you can't wrap your head around. This is kind of one of those situations where I'm taking it from both sides and letting you decide what fits you best.

I will say, however, that when I talk about writing filler in the context of this book, I'm usually talking about the rough draft. I'm referring to the stuff you create when you're still trying to just get something on paper. Here, now... when I'm talking about filler, I'm talking about your final product. Your final product shouldn't be filled with filler. Heck, the draft you show to the public, at that point, should have most of its filler removed. If you're finding yourself losing readers fast, there is a good chance too much filler is one of the reasons.

Does that mean that your chapters are doomed to be short things with no substance? Of course not. That's kind of the point. Don't write filler, write plot and characterization. Don't say "I need to get my character from point A to point B in 1000 words or "I need to write something... anything... to fill that gap". If that's how you're writing, just cut that part out and don't write it. Or if you do write it, definitely don't include it.

If you do want to write between A to B, there should be something happening in it that makes that time you spend on the journey worth it. Perhaps the characters are having a conversation. If they're just talking to fill out words, then you're writing filler. However, if someone's sharing a piece of their backstory, or a plot-important fact, or something... anything... that matters to the plot, then you're writing something that's more than filler, and thus more interesting.

So, to take the list above, you might think the answer to your 500-word chapter is just to have more "things" happen. Add more bullet points will surely add more words. However, from a pacing and organizational point of view, if you have too much stuff happening in a single chapter, it'll feel frantic and bloated. You don't want to do that to your story either. I know, I know... don't write filler, and don't add a ton of extra content, how the heck can you reach your word goals? How can you prevent your chapter from ending prematurely?

The answer isn't to add more bullet points, but to add to the bullet points already there. The problem with not having enough to say is that you haven't thought clearly enough about what you want to happen in the chapter. I feel a lot of filler is a result of people not having a clear picture of what they want to happen. They have an idea, they have the basic movements, but the details are lost on them. You need to put together the details... hopefully details relevant to the plot and the future of the story.

Let's add to your bullet points above, turning something that can barely flesh out 500 words into something that can easily fill your word goal.

-She falls out of bed, hitting her head on the floor. With a stiff shoulder, she contemplates the strange dream she had the previous night while stretching, but it's hard to think through her throbbing headache, so she searches for some headache medicine. She can't find any in her apartment.

-She goes to the room next door, where she knocks on the door and realizes it is unlocked. She hears a scream, and convinced the next door neighbor is in danger, she bursts into the room, only to find a girl engaging in sex with her boyfriend! Gasp! After this embarrassing moment, it's established that the friend next door is the best friend, and she finally gives you some painkillers after chastising you for barging in on her with her new boyfriend. During this time, the reader learns a bit about how she's a party girl who brings home many different "boyfriends". You get a real sense for her character. The MC realizes after being mortified, she no longer has a headache.

-While returning back to her room, she notices that the emergency exit for her floor is open. Curious, but not wanting to go back and bug her friend who is still entertaining her BF, the MC moves forward, trying to figure out what's beyond. This is the second time she's barged into a place she wasn't invited, so you begin to get a sense for her personality as a jump first and ask questions later kind of MC, and she clearly didn't learn her lesson from walking in on her bff in a compromising situation. She pushed her way into the room, and then discovers where there were supposed to be stair was instead an endless abyss. She falls.

-She's in a room shrouded by darkness. She can hear whispering. There is a single glowing light. She calls up to her friend, hoping someone in the apartment hears her, but she begins to realize that this place looks like a completely different world, and she's not in her apartment any longer. She finally decides to walk over to the light, which turns out to be a magical growing crystal.

-She grabs the crystal, and as in shines brightly, a voice starts speaking and she turns around. She can't see the person in the darkness, especially with the bright crystal right in her eyes. The voice says weird things. Is she a princess? What does that even mean? Ah... she can see the eyes now. The thing emerges from the darkness. It's a... talking cat? Gasp!

Just this summary of the events was nearly 500 words. I don't add anything wasteful. Everything I just described adds characterization, plot, depth, or sometimes just atmosphere. The magical cats reveal has more punch by not just having them randomly talk, but be hidden in the darkness first. Even the random scene of walking in on her friend had a legitimate starting point of a headache and added the dynamics and characterization between the girl and her friend.

You want to write more chapters... don't say "I got 500 words I got to fit in here." Instead, tell me how you're going to engineer the scene so that it needs another 500 words to give you the characterization and plot that you want. Long story short, don't aim to write filler. If you can't come up with an interesting way to describe a scene, don't have the scene. If you need the scene, you need to come up with an interesting way to move it forward. Every event in your story should in some way be driving the plot forward. Introducing characters, establishing motivations, setting the mood, depicting the scene, establishing characterization, or pushing forward the plot. Everything else is just filler. I don't write filler.

Good Luck and Happy Writing!