Should I describe the town, or is it filler?

[Caged Maiden]

Okay, so I have a novel which I have edited already, and I was reading through the other day.....
Here's a brief summary:
Opening, introduce the characters, establish their conflict, both of them get captured and tortured, they escape, they hide out, they continue to have conflict though they are trying to put the past behind, they travel in a small group to unlock a secret, they run once it is done...
Then there's a sort of lull, and I don't know if that's okay. The beginning was pretty action-packed (sorry the summary was brief, it's really a captivating story, but I hate being long-winded)
SO the problem is that the group is in a hidden elf city and can't do much until the guy they're waiting for returns to meet them. I sort of have them doing nothing, because I didn't want to put in details for nothing, but now I'm rethinking that.
I sort of sum up the stay in a few paragraphs about how they fill their days, and then I have one very heated dialogue between the two main characters, but that's it until the elf returns..... which is a revelation of some more plot stuff. The point at which this is happening is page 230 of 350, so sort of the last third of the book, but I don't want it to feel like it drops off. Any suggestions? I think I'm definitely stronger writing the first half and weaker during the resolution, and that gets me worried about losing momentum.

 

[Veralius]

There isn't anything wrong with the occaisional lull now and then, especially after a big action sequence. Think of it as the reader getting a chance to breathe.

Reading your summary, I guess what you need to ask yourself is what does describing the town actually do for the plot?

If it's killing the pacing, especially towards the end of the book where you want to be building to the climax, perhaps you need to think about skipping to the next 'wham' moment? Or, mix things up a bit whilst they are waiting in the hidden elf city. Perhaps there are elves who don't want these trouble-magnets loitering around in their city?

 

[Ophiucha]

Lulls are fine as long as they enhance some secondary element of the story. Presuming, from your summary, that this is a typical plot-y story, lulls are good for character, setting, relationships, and themes. Many authors use a 'lull' to develop a romance, for instance. So I would say that you could describe these things as long as they enhance something. For instance, if your story takes place midst a war, you could describe some destroyed buildings, a lot of conspicuously absent fathers, etc. Basically, don't describe it for the sake of filling up a few pages, rather think of it as "there are pages missing, so what haven't I included?" What element of your story lacks its time in the spotlight, what element could use a bit more development (as I said before, a lot of authors use a lull chapter to develop a romance so it doesn't seem so out-of-the-blue)?

 

[Motley]

Like other have said, lulls are fine if they're not actually dead air, or dead page or whatever. Something still has to be happening inside a lull: character building, realizations, planning, etc. They can't just sit there.

Since this town does not seem to be the main setting of the entire story and, presumably, you did not describe in great detail the rest of the settings, I don't think you should describe this one. It's just not essential.

 

[Memmorio]

Give some detail so that the reading can visualize the place, but don't kill the pacing by describing every brick and building.

 

[Caged Maiden]

This was all really helpful, and leaves me less worried. The elf city ISN'T an important setting, and I think that's where I was getting panicky. I didn't want to go into details about the elves themselves because this isn't a story about them, it's about my other characters, and all I had done was briefly described how the characters felt there and what they noticed as far as oddities, but I didn't want to drag it out.
I think I might reread it in the future and make sure I am happy with the pacing, but with the feedback I've gotten, I think it's exactly what I've already got. Thanks for the help.

 

[SeverinR]

The MC's just escaped, running the guantlet and finally find rest in this town.
When you're tired, you don't do much exciting. You tend to notice the interesting surroundings that until now have been rushing by.

Keep the flow of describing the town peaceful, enjoying the respite, highlighting the mundane peaceful lives, and beauty of the town. This will reinforce the stress of previous events, while not just being fluff until action picks up again.

Most towns I have I never mentioned the name. (Like characters I make up a small history just in case I need to mention it.) I don't even name towns or villages they pass through without stopping or have an encounter in.

One of my current novels the MC's do a stop over for supplies, I name one tailor that sells the MC clothes, but the town is without a name. Just like a stop for gas in modern times, do you remember the name of a random gas stop on a long road trip? This would probably be how the MC's remember the town too:
"Do you remember the town I bought the cllothes from that tailor?"
"The one with the children that played with Eildetha?"
Two different ways of remembering one town, without it having a name.