The Importance of Subplots

[Avery_Rayne]

I think this is the place to post this...


When writing a novel/novella/novelette/story story, one must remember the significance of plot. The story cannot evolve without a plot. The characters do not flourish if the story leads them nowhere. However, the main plot is the not the point of this class – subplots of the main plot are.

Of course, no human on Earth possesses an unfailing daily routine – no one’s life revolves around one, singular, never-ceasing point. Perhaps you might feel as if yours – or your character’s – does, but it does not. This is where subplots come in, like sprinkles on ice cream; they add zest to your writing. No plot is realistic without them.


An example of a subplot:

Main plot: Jeff Dunn is meant to save the world. Only he posses power enough to stop planet Earth from being sucked into unyielding oblivion. But what happens when an old adversary arises from the depths of the universe and challenges his power?

The subplot could consist of Jeff’s rocky marriage, or Jeff pushing for a promotion at his day job, or even his thought-to-be lack of ability to overcome his, say, “kryptonite”, in order to salvage this world. However, if his daily life is comprised of saving the planet, he becomes what I call a “perfect” character.

Perfect characters have one purpose, one goal, and their vision (state of mind, in other words) is usually very narrow. They see what they want and nothing more. They do not have issues outside this one purpose. They become tedious. This is why, young writers, you must assure yourselves that your characters have more than one, solitary flaw – we would love reading about a character(s) who have multiple imperfections (especially if they overcome or learn to live with a few/all of them by the end of the story). Flaws (also known as subplots), despite what you have heard, do not show weakness, but strength. Protagonists with a thousand mental/physical blemishes will prove more realistic and likeable than a protagonist with none.

What to be cautious of when writing subplots:

1) Overdoing it. Be careful of playing it up too much – the subplot could become exasperating. Stick within practical boundaries.

2) Beware of cheesiness/clichés. Love stories frequently convey cheesy subplots, such as: love triangles, affairs, false love, etc. I have also seen various fantasy fantasy/sci-fi novels that depict cheesiness in subplots.

3) Don’t randomly sprinkle subplots. Be sure that they somehow pertain to the overall plot and development of your characters. Don’t, say, have a plot about a ghost and a subplot about vacationing in the Grand Canyon, if the Grand Canyon has nothing to do with the ghost.

4) Don’t sprinkle haphazardly but also don’t limit yourself. So long as they are valid to the rest of the story, you could have an infinite amount of subplots. There are no restrictions. And once you have constructed subplots as you feel needed, your story and characters should be pretty well-rounded.

[Shaun]

This is useful for those that have no idea what a subplot is :P.

[jordanisonfire]

Someone with an ounce of writing sense should be able to guess.

[Avery_Rayne]

I didn't know about subplots for a long time, and they are of importance to the plotline, so I thought I would create a guide on them.

[Simmi]

I had a general idea of what subplots; this cleared things up, thanks.

[Ninjatrone]

Here's my problem:
Everytime I begin to implement a sub-plot, I get caught up in my own ideas.
This can result in a sub-plot that stretches on forever, and branches so far off from the main storyline that the whole thing ressembles two seperate works with completely different storylines.
This might be because I start writing the sub-plots on their own, and then try to intertwine them with the main storyline.

[Andy]

Here's my problem:
Everytime I begin to implement a sub-plot, I get caught up in my own ideas.
This can result in a sub-plot that stretches on forever, and branches so far off from the main storyline that the whole thing ressembles two seperate works with completely different storylines.
This might be because I start writing the sub-plots on their own, and then try to intertwine them with the main storyline.
I've done several subplots that begin on their own and then get fitted into a different story, one of which involves a runaway slave whose knowledge of the place he escaped from helps the main plot's guys later in the story.

My advice is to go ahead with subplots, but try to think of ways they will later contribute to your main plot. Think about what you want your subplot to do, then ask, Will the ending of this subplot play a significant role in the main story? If yes, then keep going. If no, then either remove that part of the subplot or add onto it so that it WILL play a significant role.