How to Avoid ‘Filler’ Scenes in Your Screenplay

There is a common moment as script readers are reading and evaluating scripts when certain scenes are just… there. 

They’re not necessarily always bad. They may read fine. The dialogue could even be good, great, or, at the very least, sufficient. The action may flow. But nothing is really happening.

These are most commonly known as filler scenes. They may be written well-enough as stand alone cinematic moments, but they don’t actively push the story forward, deepen character arcs, or raise the stakes. 

What filler scenes usually do is:

• Slow story momentum down
• Weaken pacing
• Cause script readers or the audience to disengage  

And that’s not something any screenwriter wants to happen. 

The good news is that filler scenes are avoidable, and they are fairly simple to spot as well. 

With that in mind, here we discuss how you spot filler scenes in your scripts, and how you can either fix or delete them to make your script even better.  

All screenwriters can conjure a great scene. That’s really part of the fun of writing scripts. You get to find ways to create not just scenes, but moments. 

Where screenwriters at any experience level can go wrong is not making sure those hilarious, terrifying, thrilling, or heartwrenching scenes actually serve the script. Writing a powerful or entertaining scene is great. Making sure it flows well within the script is the true display of screenwriting talent. 

A scene becomes filler when:

• It doesn’t move the plot forward
• It doesn’t reveal anything new about the character
• It doesn’t increase the stakes or tension
• It doesn’t evolve the conflict characters are facing
• It repeats information the reader or audience already knows

It may check one of those boxes slightly, but not in a significant enough way to really belong in the script. 

Every scene should create change and forward progression. If it doesn’t, no matter how amazing the scene is, it should be the first scene you delete in your rewrites before you go looking for more. 

An age-old screenwriting phrase touches on the need to kill your darlings, which means that sometimes you’ll have to delete those treasures you otherwise love but don’t fit within the big picture of your script. 

If you look at a classic cinematic film like Jaws, you’ll notice that every single scene matters. We don’t just get scene-after-scene of the shark killing unsuspecting victims. Each scene builds the tension and raises the stakes higher and higher and higher until the final climax. We’ve seen plenty of copy cats make the mistake of creating filler scenes of a “monster” terrorizing their victims. But none of them match a film like Jaws where the tension is always growing, the conflict is getting bigger and bigger, and the stakes turn from the town losing tourist revenue to protagonists (not to mention pets and children) losing their lives. 

Every scene needs to change the story. Fillers don’t do that, even if they are written well. 

As we mentioned before, filler scenes pop up in screenplays from all levels of screenwriters. Beginning screenwriters write them, and so do experienced pros as well. 

Filler scenes are a natural part of the screenwriting process. They’re going to happen. They’re going to pop up in your early drafts. The lesson is learning how to spot them when they do happen so you can make your further drafts stronger.  

During the writing process, writers are figuring the story out. Even if you have a detailed outline going into the writing stage, you’ll still see filler scenes that are created on the fly, or ones that have slipped through the cracks in the outline. 

When you’re writing, you’re exploring characterization, testing out dialogue, playing with scenes and sequences, and searching for the right sweet spot of pacing. All of that can lead to scenes that just don’t belong in the final draft. 

You may be:

• Overexplaining plot points
• Processing a cool idea floating around in your head
• Discovering leftovers from a previous draft that no longer need to be present

Don’t worry. It’s natural to see these types of scenes in your work. The key learning point is to be able to spot them. 

Filler scenes are easiest to spot after a full draft is complete. The key during the initial writing process is finishing the script. Get to the end and celebrate that first draft. After a day or weekend of much-deserved celebration, take an extended break from the script. Try not to think about it, talk about it, market it, or do anything else with it.

Then, after a week, two weeks, or even a month if you’re not under a strict deadline, open the script and read it cover-to-cover. This is when you’ll start to see things stand out, in both good ways and bad.

Patterns slowly become more and more clear. 

• Repeated beats
• Redundant dialogue
• Scenes that don’t progress the story

As you’re reading the draft, you can make note of these types of scenes. When you go into the rewriting phase, you can:

• Cut scenes entirely
• Combine multiple scenes into one stronger scene
• Add additional conflict that results in higher stakes present within that scene

When trying to decide what to do, ask yourself questions like:

• Is new information revealed?
• Is a protagonist’s or antagonist’s decision made or altered?
• Do relationships shift?
• Do the stakes go higher?
• Does a goal become more difficult to achieve?
• Does the conflict evolve and multiply?
• If I take this scene out of the script, does anything change for better or worse?       

The answers to these simple questions will help you spot filler scenes with ease. 

Some filler scenes may seem like they are there for a reason, but if they are overly repetitive, you’re risking the script reader or audience losing interest because you keep saying the same thing over and over again. Always try to look specifically for repetition in your scenes. 

• Two characters arguing about the same situation in multiple scenes without escalation
• Information we already know being told to other characters
• Multiple displays of the same emotional reaction without change
• Multiple scenes of action, thrills, scares, or laughs that are created for the sole purpose of just offering more action, thrills, scares, and laughs

Trust the script reader and audience. You don’t need to force your points over and over. They’ll pick up on what you’re trying to say, and what experience you’re trying to give them. 

Sometimes you need transitional scenes to get you from Point A to Point B. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, the transitional filler scenes can be turned into scenes full of necessary and powerful story, characterization, and conflict. 

Travel scenes, check-in scenes, and expositional scenes usually lack tension. They’re not story. They exist as bridges to the next scene or sequence. There’s nothing wrong with those types of scenes. Sometimes they are needed. However, you can make them matter to the story. You can dramatize them in a way that offers a shift in conflict, stakes, and character/story arcs. 

Example: Instead of having characters calmly go over their plans for their next move, have them disagree over what the next step should be or inject a complication that interrupts the conversation and showcases how each character reacts. 

Even moments of planning or problem-solving can be driven by urgency, uncertainty, and conflict. Installing that type of addition into your transitional filler scenes can not only help you to avoid losing those otherwise well-written moments, but they can also turn those moments into vital parts of your story. 

Once you know and understand what filler scenes are and how they can affect your script, the rewriting process is much easier to get through. It isn’t about cutting everything down to the bare minimum (although sometimes that isn’t a bad idea). It’s about ensuring that every moment in your script matters. 

Every scene should:

• Move the story forward
• Reveal or confirm something new
• Increase stakes and tension

If you follow and apply those three directives, you’ll see that your script will create momentum with each scene, which, in turn, creates amazing pacing to keep script readers and audiences engaged. Your scripts will feel tighter, more engaging, and more cinematic. And that’s exactly the type of scripts Hollywood is always looking for in future prospects. 

They’re not just looking for good writing. They’re looking for stories that keep giving them a reason to turn the page. 

You should always try to be training yourself to write like a pro, even when you’re first starting out. Spotting, fixing, and deleting filler scenes isn’t just about making your screenplay better. It’s also about training yourself to avoid having them show up in the first place. 

Yes, even experienced pro screenwriters continue to deal with filler scenes they’ve written. But as you evolve as a screenwriter, you’ll start to see those filler scenes earlier on in the process. You’ll then either inject them with more conflict and stakes to make them matter, or you’ll scrap them early before they become embedded within your drafts. 

This knowledge and experience helps you to be able to write fast and amazingly well at the same time. You’ll gain confidence in your abilities as you see that your rewrites are becoming easier and easier to get through. Problem-solving becomes that much easier as well. 

These types of traits will not only help you to write better scripts, but they’ll likely become the deciding factor between whether or not a production company, studio, network, or streamer chooses you over another for a contracted pro writing assignment. If you can showcase that you’re up to the challenge, and can meet tight contract deadlines (one to two months to write a solid first draft), you’ll be the one signing on the dotted line more often than not. 

Consider going through all of your screenplays with these thoughts in mind. If you’ve written just a couple, read through them and search for those filler scenes. If you’ve written multiple scripts, maybe it’s time to take them off the shelf, dust them off, and revisit them with a new set of eyes. Maybe the changes you make with this new perspective will turn one of your scripts into a new Hollywood prospect.