EVERYONE: How to handle filler?

[matt0044]

My fanfic, Pokemon Adventures: Black & White, has a story that's modeled after a television series in that it's episodic but has a plotline. It will include some filler stories and some pseudo-filler stories (stories that are mostly pointless but serve some sort of importance to the story) integrated into the overall plot. This will either be to showcase a Pokemon and to use them as a basis for the story or for the sake of unleashing my imagination.

Of course, I'm not exactly sure how to balance the filler with the plot-important episodes. I know not to cram them all in a row like the Pokemon Anime sometimes does but I'd like some advice from you guys.

 

[LightningTopaz]

Make the filler as interesting as the plot. Showcasing a Pokemon is a great start, as is character development and worldbuilding.

 

[Legacy]

I agree. Filler in the anime usually contributes the storyline. For example, Ash taking an episode to teach a particilar Pokemon a new move or something.

In my fic, there's going to be a fair amount of "filler" as well, but basically I'm going to use it as an opportunity to build and introduce the world I want my readers to see.

My story is a journey fic, so I'm going to have my characters encounter these "filler" episodes while on their journey. It isn't as forced as it seems either because think about it, if you were traveling around the world/country, you would encounter all sorts of things on the way.