Missing Scene
| Synonyms: | missing moment, episode addition, gapfiller, spackle, interstitial |
| See also: | episode tag, Missing Year. Post-ep, Time Skip Fic |
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Some fandoms with visual sources use the phrase missing scene for stories set during a particular episode of the source text but not within aired material. It is also sometimes used for fanacs created to fill perceived plot holes and other unsatisfying moments in canon.
Missing scenes were often contrasted with episode tags, set immediately after a particular episode. However, in the Janeway/Chakotay part of Star Trek: Voyager fandom, missing scenes and episode tags alike were called "episode additions".[1]
In print zines, missing scenes were sometimes referred to as "scenes from the cutting room floor," a reference to editors physically cutting clips from reel to reel film.
In lit fandoms, such stories are usually termed gapfillers. For example, the Mithril Awards in the Tolkien fandom defined gapfiller:
Gapfillers should take place between two events in any Tolkien book or film. An example of a gapfiller would be the story between the battle before the Black Gates, and Frodo and Sam's awakening at Cormallen; or detail of Tuor's stay in Gondolin before its fall. The work can reference events described in canon, but must be focused on events that are not explicitly described by Tolkien/the filmmakers.[2]
Interstitials has been coined for this type of story in Austen fandom.
[stef_bee]
For me, gapfics are really gratifying to write.There's nothing wrong with sparing, judicious use of canon lines. LOST for instance has "signature" canon phrases that get repeated at critical intervals ("Leap of faith," "Nobody does it alone," etc.) Fans will immediately recognize & relate to them. That said, I don't think it's a good idea to use big swaths of canon dialogue.
Why wouldn't it be "okay to include controversial content?" LOST was a prime-time major-network TV show. Nobody could say "fuck," for instance (because of FCC rules.)[3]
[Smiley_mask]
My first two fics came about as an attempt to fill in the gap in canon.It's not too difficult to come up with extra scenes. Canon events constrain the boundaries of what is possible or not, and I come up with events that make emotional sense within those boundaries. I included some bits of canon dialogue but the vast majority was original. It's not too different from writing regular fic except that you have more constraints and boundaries. Filling in gaps can be boring. But there are cases where very dramatic things happen to side characters, while the canon does not show the events in detail. In that case the event is more than worth filling in. I think it's perfectly fine to include any canon-implied content. I went a step further and highlighted the controversial canon elements, because I was filling in a tragic event and it would make more sense for the circumstances to be dark.
The length really depends on the time frame of the event. One of my fics is 4 chapters and the other is a one-shot.[4]
What is that one fandom that’s just too hot to touch?
[Taltyelemna]
That’s why gap fillers exist. You can weave around canon is so many fantastic ways, particularly in the First and Second Age where so little is known![5]
Fanwork Examples
- The Prodigal Took by Lullenny, a Lord of the Rings story
- See How They Run by Doyle SB4, a Buffy fic
- Fairy Dust by Jedishampoo. Vorkosigan fic (2006)
- The Councils of Despair a Vorkosigan story by Parhelion
- The Hand that Rocks the Cradle by Philomytha. A Vorkosigan Gapfiller fic (2010)
- Thread of Fate, a Lord of the Rings vignette by Forodwaith
- Alfriston Gardens by marauderthesn/Marauder. A Maurice Gapfiller (2004)
- Too Little to Bite by Daegaer, a Mary Renault's Alexander Trilogy, Fire from Heaven written for Yuletide 2009
- After by Teinisydan, a Brian/Justin QAF gap-filler fic
- Season One Missing Scenes and Tags by K Hanna,[6] a SPN gapfill collected in "Hunting on the 'Net #1" published by Neon Rainbow Press
- Sparkweed by McTabby
- Actions Speak Louder than Words by pearly_eyes
- Hearing Light by Tree. First kiss
- Mr. Darcy Steals a Kiss by Kerry
- One Has All The Goodness by James. Darcy's PoV on the search for Lydia & Wickham
- Season of Courtship by Elizabeth B
- Cori Falls's early Team Rocket fanfiction, which she termed "What You Didn't See".
Resources
References
- ^ "J/C Episode Addition Story Index". Archived from the original on 2002-11-26.
- ^ "Mithril Awards for Tolkien Fanfiction". Archived from the original on 2003-12-13. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
- ^ "stef_bee comments on Filling in the gap fics". r/FanFiction at Reddit. Archived from the original on 2025-10-05.
- ^ "Smiley_mask comments on Filling in the gap fics". r/FanFiction at Reddit. Archived from the original on 2025-10-05.
- ^ "the-robot-test comments on What is that one fandom that's just too ho…". r/FanFiction at Reddit. Archived from the original on 2025-10-05.
- ^ hopper_ho (2006-09-14). "Gapfillers?". spnstoryfinders — LiveJournal. Archived from the original on 2025-10-05.