How to Write Effective Subplots in Your Fiction Novel
Have you ever read a story without a subplot? I have. It was booooring, LOL. Subplots add complexity and depth to our stories, provided they don't steal the show. I had a question roll in about how to write an effective subplot, so let’s chat.
First, What is a Subplot?
Well, it's a side story involving secondary characters that somehow enhances the main enchilada and connects to the central conflict. Enhancement is the key. Some say you can define a subplot by removing it. If you can take it away and still have a story, then it's a subplot. I disagree.
A good subplot is necessary to the main storyline.
It shouldn't be there if it's not. But I do agree a subplot should not be able to stand on its own. It is not the star of the show; it's the stage lightning that lets the reader see what you want them to see when you want them to see it.
Ways a subplot can enhance the main storyline.
Showcase your main character in a different light and give them more dimension/characterization. This is my favorite. You get to explore how your MC will react in different situations and with other people. This can develop empathy, likeability, and, most importantly, relatability.
Reveal information about the central conflict to the reader that your MC doesn't know. Showcase dramatic irony.
Insert moral lessons by using the subplot to mirror what your main protagonist needs to learn. This is also a great way to enhance your theme.
Increase conflict in the story by adding plot twists and obstacles for the MC to overcome.
Subplots can also help you control the pace of your story.
What all subplots must do: Advance the main storyline in some way. They need to link together, and the reader must connect the two. Otherwise, you might as well write two separate books.
How to write a compelling subplot.
Look at your global story and see where a subplot could naturally occur.
Ask what you want your subplot to accomplish/showcase before writing it.
Make damn sure your subplot has an arc of change, as do the side characters involved, and that these connect to the main storyline via the central conflict.
Specific ways to weave in a subplot
Run a parallel story that begins after the reader is anchored in the main narrative. It will eventually merge or collide with the central plot. You can shuffle this in and out of your main narrative, use alternate POVs, and have dedicated chapters for the subplot. Just make sure to alternate the chapters in a pattern with the main narrative that makes sense for the global story.
Bookends: This is where we introduce a side character and their subplot early, then we don't see them again until much later in the story. But what they do off-screen directly affects the central conflict. Think of every time Gandolf disappeared to do something mysterious and then brought back an army to help the hobbits.
Common subplots in stories.
Romantic subplot -self-explanatory, I think.
The mirror- the conflict of the subplot serves as a mirror for the main character, and they learn part of the lesson necessary to solve the major conflict.
Contrasting- a secondary character faces a similar conflict to the main character but will choose a different path- also relates to learning a lesson of what not to do.
Complicating- secondary character's purpose is to create more obstacles and twists so that it's harder for the main character to accomplish their goal.
How do you weave subplots into your story and keep them from taking over? I'd love to know!
Write on, Writer Friends!
