At the very beginning of the story, normally, the first chapter there's more descriptions than character talk.
Well, I start with the protagonists talking about the core of the book. (Do you understand? :p )
Should I... you know... put some straw there, or just leave it like that?
Have you read Harry Bingham 'How to Write' published by Bloomsbury?
He mentions descriptions and suggests having them in later chapters; not to be in a rush to give it all at the beginning.
I liked Kate's second example, it creates interest and makes you want to know more. Great to see it so clearly. Thanks Kate.
Yes, it made a lot of sense to me actually! Thank you very much Kate!
Personally, I enjoy books with plenty of dialogue - I'm more interested in people that furniture or daffodils.
But, I wouldn't think of description as empty padding (although it feels like a lumpy mattress when done badly). If your description adds to the flow of the storytelling then it is serving a purpose, and I'll try to give an example.
"She had long, dark hair, a straight nose with freckles and she was wearing a purple dress. She sat by a table in the corner. He went over to speak to her. (Insert dialogue)."
Boring and pointless, right? The description tells you a bit about her physical appearance but nothing about who she was, who he was, where they were, zip. That would be what you call straw. But how about this?
"She sat with her head bent forward; a long, dark curtain of hair shielding her from the room. He wondered why this smartly dressed woman was waiting in a dive like this? He edged past the pool table and stood in front of her table. He waited a while before she looked up. (Insert dialogue)."
Hopefully, there's a contrast between those two examples. With the latter, even though very little backstory has been revealed (maybe that'll emerge from the dialogue) the reader will start to generate some thoughts about who the characters are.
With your piece of writing, maybe you have a clear idea of what your characters look like, their posture, their gestures as they speak... but perhaps readers will need some clues to that in snippets of description in between what they are saying. It may not have to be much to make it gold rather than straw.
Hope that made sense.