Novel Helps Part II: Subplots Are a Writer’s Best Friend
Yes sirree, they are. In fact, I find my subplots more interesting – dare I say, more important – than my main plot. It’s through the subplots the characters come alive, and novels differentiate one from another. How many “girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl is tempted by some other boy, girl and first boy fall madly in love and live happily ever after” books are out there? Thousands. What make one different from another? Subplots.
I’m going to refer back to movies for a moment. About ten years ago, two disaster movies with a similar main plot were released months apart – Deep Impact and Armageddon. In both movies, an asteroid is hurling towards Earth, and with it comes the impeding doom of civilization. But the subplots of the films are completely different. Deep Impact focuses on more on the relationships of several key characters within the developing story, as well as how these relationship change as the date of the asteroid’s impact approaches. Armageddon, on the other hand, concerns itself with mainly with the process of destroying the asteroid. Armageddondid better at the box office, appealing to those who liked fast-paced, action movies; it had many more explosions, and a one-two punch of Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck. However, Deep Impactwas better reviewed, considered scientifically accurate, and drew viewers who respond to character-driven films. These movies, nearly identical in their main plots, turned out quite different due to their sublots.
In my novel, Home Another Way, my main plot is this: a bitter woman is stuck in a tiny mountain town for six months. Not all that interesting by itself. What makes the story breathe is Sarah’s interactions with the people who she’s stuck in the town with. The subplots.
I’ll say it again; don’t forget your subplots. But don’t force them. There’s nothing worse than a novel with so many subplots, the reader can’t keep track of them all. Make sure your subplots are relevant to your story, and they don’t bog down the progression of either your main plot or your protagonist’s growth. They should also resolve naturally by the conclusion of your novel; the last thing you want to do is try to tie up 20 loose ends in the last 20 pages.
Here’s a great article by James Scott Bell on the importance of subplots in a novel.
Novel Helps Part II: Subplots Are a Writer’s Best Friend
Yes sirree, they are. In fact, I find my subplots more interesting – dare I say, more important – than my main plot. It’s through the subplots the characters come alive, and novels differentiate one from another. How many “girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl is tempted by some other boy, girl and first boy fall madly in love and live happily ever after” books are out there? Thousands. What make one different from another? Subplots.
I’m going to refer back to movies for a moment. About ten years ago, two disaster movies with a similar main plot were released months apart – Deep Impact and Armageddon. In both movies, an asteroid is hurling towards Earth, and with it comes the impeding doom of civilization. But the subplots of the films are completely different. Deep Impact focuses on more on the relationships of several key characters within the developing story, as well as how these relationship change as the date of the asteroid’s impact approaches. Armageddon, on the other hand, concerns itself with mainly with the process of destroying the asteroid. Armageddondid better at the box office, appealing to those who liked fast-paced, action movies; it had many more explosions, and a one-two punch of Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck. However, Deep Impactwas better reviewed, considered scientifically accurate, and drew viewers who respond to character-driven films. These movies, nearly identical in their main plots, turned out quite different due to their sublots.
In my novel, Home Another Way, my main plot is this: a bitter woman is stuck in a tiny mountain town for six months. Not all that interesting by itself. What makes the story breathe is Sarah’s interactions with the people who she’s stuck in the town with. The subplots.
I’ll say it again; don’t forget your subplots. But don’t force them. There’s nothing worse than a novel with so many subplots, the reader can’t keep track of them all. Make sure your subplots are relevant to your story, and they don’t bog down the progression of either your main plot or your protagonist’s growth. They should also resolve naturally by the conclusion of your novel; the last thing you want to do is try to tie up 20 loose ends in the last 20 pages.
Here’s a great article by James Scott Bell on the importance of subplots in a novel.
