And we’re back. First, I was at the Write to Publish Conference this past week. If you’re a writer and have never been, you need to put this on your conference bucket list. It was my first time to attend, and I truly hope not my last.
Okay, now, on to subplots.
I don’t know if you noticed this, but it’s clear that subplots are equal to relationships. The easy way to remember to incorporate subplots into your story is to think of them in terms of the relationships in your story.
To recap: In our story with Oliver and Sophia, who are their relationships with?
Oliver: his mother, his ex-wife, his daughter, his coworkers, and Sophia. Sure, there are more people in his life; but these are the main ones who will introduce the others.
Sophia: her parents, her missing sister, her coworkers, Oliver, and so on.
When you’re building your subplots, look at your protagonists’ relationships. Your subplot characters need to directly engage with your main characters. There has to be that connection. The reader has to understand why this subplot is there. Why it matters. How does it push the story forward?
And remember, the main characters are the ones we care about first. But the secondary characters? We either love them or hate them based on our main characters’ feelings toward the secondary characters, right?
We talked about Act I last time and the subplots that were introduced in this act. Now, let’s move on to Act II and see how they need to be developed. At the end of Act I, you should have left your characters making a decision that’s going to catapult them into Act II.
For the Oliver and Sophia story, Oliver has been attacked in the parking lot of the restaurant. Someone warns him to let the dead stay dead. Sophia asks him if he plans to quit working on the facial reconstruction. He says absolutely not. He’s determined to get it done and find out who it is.
The opening of Act II should probably show Oliver in the lab, working on the reconstruction since his goal was to do it ASAP. While he’s working, he’s thinking. It can be about Sophia, his mother, his daughter, his internal conflict about being attracted to Sophia. Or all of the above. LOL.
But here is a great place to bring in more of the subplot information. Here, we can learn more about Oliver’s first marriage. Maybe he’s thinking about something his ex spitefully shouted at him during an argument. Something like, “You’ll always be alone. You’re not worth anyone’s love.” Ouch! Maybe deep down he knows that’s not true, especially if he’s been leaning on God to get him through the bad times.
But you and I both know when someone says something like that, no matter who they are, the words have a way of digging into our subconscious and making themselves known every so often. So maybe this is what happens here when he thinks about pursuing things with Sophia.
So, all of this is going on. Then he gets the package delivery with a picture of the face he’s reconstructing. That painting has a tear running down the unfinished cheek. And Oliver knows someone is watching him.
He calls Sophia.
On her way to the lab to see what’s got Oliver torn up, Sophia gets a call from her mother, asking questions about the investigation, probing for information, and more.
All of this action and information is subplot being woven into your story. You continue until the end where you wrap everything up. Sometimes you wrap up the subplot before the main climax. Often there’s a thread that is finished right after the climax. It doesn’t matter as long as it works for your story.
This is it for subplots. Next time, I’ll talk about . . . well, why don’t you decide? What craft topic would you like to see discussed? Looking forward to your answers.
Until next time.
