A topic I have often struggled with.
For those who may not know, "Slice of Life" refers to the addition of a mundane day-to-day element to otherwise fantastical or unrelated stories, most often seen in romance subplots. Many people have come to roll their eyes at the Slice of Life in writing, and I can somewhat understand, as it saturates nearly every medium. However, as someone who cannot write a story without romance or other factors of life involved, this is a topic that interests me a great deal.
Obviously, in drama or romance, it's not as big a deal. Both often revolve around the difficulties of the mundane or romance, so it's to be expected when these pop up. However, the frustration usually comes when an action movie of very limited scope or a story about a scientific expedition suddenly has a love interest out of nowhere or in a place where it's inappropriate.
I often wonder if there is something of a sliding scale. If a story is tight, has a very focused plot and a romance is otherwise extraneous, why keep it? However, if it's a loose story, taking place over years (stories like Harry Potter of SOIAF come to mind), I find the addition of Slice of Life more passable. Still, I do find it disappointing if that facet of the story takes over the entirety of either character, or if a character is written in for that purpose and that purpose only.
I often write fantastical stories (sci-fi/fantasy are my favorites), and I am pathologically unable to write a story without sticking romance subplots and other facets of the mundane day-to-day, though I don't dwell on them. Since all of my stories take place over long periods of times (one will take place over a decade) and are very broad in scope, I find it more or less acceptable, and I make sure that they don't affect the thrust of the story in any other way than to simply be another aspect of a character or two. Another reason I think it justifiable is that real world people(even people whose lives are very busy) typically find the time to make friends, establish relationships, work towards personal goals, etc over the course of years. Unless, of course, you're me, but that's why nobody writes stories about me.
Anyways, like I said, it's a topic that interests me. Thoughts?