by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
My last post was about my layering approach to writing books, and I got a question from a blog reader about how to create subplots and then how to weave the subplot layer into a finished draft.
Subplots are sometimes my favorite part of a book. In fact, occasionally the main plot of a novel will leave me cold as a reader and I’ll flip ahead in the book just to find out how the subplot ends up.
My subplots are almost always humor-based and end up tying into the book’s ending. Your subplot could involve a budding romance, or the protagonist’s teenager’s gradual descent into drug use…really, any plot smaller than the main one that can enhance the main plot (through conflict or character development or by adding complications) in some way.
*****Since I don’t like to write spoilers for anyone else’s books, I’ll do a couple for mine (in books that are older releases) as examples… they’re minor spoilers. But heads up if you’re one of my readers!*****
What I do is come up with complete, small episodes…almost short stories. Then I create scenes with each installment of the subplot story, to create what will end up being a running serial throughout the main plot. For me, it could even be on the level of a running joke that suddenly has more significance at the end of the book.
Most of my books have more than one subplot. The subplots vary in length and complexity. I’ll use two for examples…a very short one and a longer one.
One of my subplots involved two men who were friends with each other and also friends with my sleuth. One of the men was bragging about a prized bottle of expensive and rare wine that he’d acquired. The other man kept dropping hints or outright begging to come over and share a glass of this wine. He found opportunities to celebrate and eagerly asked his friend if he’d open the bottle. But the friend always refused.
I started this subplot fairly early in the book—and dropped in the dialogue mentioning it following a regular scene in the book. So I had a first mention of the subplot with the man bragging about the wine. Then I continued with it at intervals throughout the story….again, each mention was like a mini-episode or the next installment of the mini-serial. So I wrote in a couple of other mentions, escalating the friend’s frustration and his requests to participate in a wine tasting.
Then, at the end of the book, I had the friend completely give up on the chance that he’d ever sample the wine. He decides to go to the wine store and purchase a bottle himself. On the way back with the wine, he comes across the sleuth in a perilous situation near the wine store, and drops the bottle to come to her aid.
This is really, the briefest of subplots. It adds a little humor to the story when things get serious with the murders. It gives the opportunity for bits of character development as my protagonist reacts to the friends’ battle over the wine. It gives a change of pace. And then the subplot makes a surprise appearance again at the end of the story and lends a feeling of continuity and completion at the finish.
Another subplot I wrote into a different series was a little longer and a bit more involved. My protagonist for that series, Myrtle, is a crotchety elderly woman who has a reputation for being prickly. A feral cat takes up with her and she genuinely becomes charmed with it…although the cat attacks visitors to her home. She admires its toughness.
Again, I wrote the subplot straight through on a separate document—the whole story of the subplot in episodes. Then I wove those little episodic scenes into the main plot and tied it into the ending.
Throughout the story the subplot developed: Myrtle becomes acquainted with the cat, the cat acts out with various visitors to the home. The cat develops a true fondness for Myrtle and decides to bring her gifts—sometimes gifts that aren’t dead. Myrtle receives bunnies and other creatures from her determined cat friend. I interspersed these episodes throughout the book. This particular subplot helped develop Myrtle as a character—and showed another, softer, side to her.
At the end, when Myrtle is confronted by the killer, a separate subplot comes back into play (Myrtle’s horrible cooking that plagues the series) which leads into the cat’s intrusion during Myrtle’s confrontation with the murderer….which creates enough of a distraction for Myrtle to take control of the situation.
So….that’s it in a nutshell. I do want my subplots to end up impacting the main plot, develop my characters a bit, and relieve tension in my books. I write them as complete stories, then chop them up into scenes and intersperse them through the main story. Then I tie the subplot into the ending of my book (which also helps me with writing endings…never my favorite thing to write.)
Hope this helps instead of being completely confusing. Now it’s your turn—how do you write in subplot layers to your book? I’d love to hear some other ideas (especially since, when I find something that works for me, I stop thinking of other approaches!)
Interesting approach you have. Almost like writing subroutines for a computer program, and the inline to speed things up >:)
Cold As Heaven
Elizabeth – Thanks for those examples of how you wove those sub-plots into your novels. I think sub-plots really can add richness to a story and yes, they add layers. One of the things I like about the way you do it is that you integrate the sub-plot with the main plot. I think some form of integration – even a little – helps the story along. For instance (I won’t give spoilers) I like the way you integrate a big event that Lulu Taylor and her friend Flo are involved in with the main mystery in Finger Lickin’ Dead.
I’m eating this stuff up like a good piece of pecan pie.
Thanks,
Cold–Ha! Well, I do have an inkling what you’re talking about, since my husband is in the computer biz (not on the programming end, though.) It *is* sort of like that. And it *is* a lot faster, which is one of the reasons I adopted that approach.
I’ve got a lousy memory so before I started layering in the subplot, I’d be writing my first draft and wondering where I’d left off with the subplot. Then I’d have to flip back in the story (which I *don’t* like to do in a first draft) to find out.
With this method, I know exactly where I am in the subplot (because I’m interspersing it all in one session) and I also know that the subplot itself is its own, cohesive story.
Sub plots can also be developed through more than one book. I’m starting my next mystery, and am trying to decide “what else has to be going on”.
The risk, of course, is that readers will skip over sub-plot scenes (or, as you mentioned, prefer them to the main plot.)
I use my tracking board to make sure I don’t lose these threads.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
My subplots tend to involve the main character’s relationship with other characters.
He dropped the wine? That’s alcohol abuse.
I don’t usually plan out my subplots. My books are usually character-driven, and so the subplots just sort of crop up as a result of the characters’ development. For example, in my current WIP, a subplot builds around tension between the MC and her sisters, and ends up adding another layer to her character while at the same time giving the sisters each a satisfactory storyline. I didn’t plan to give each of them a story, but it happened pretty organically as a result of who each of them are.
Great post, Ms. Craig. There seems to be a lot of tips about plots out there, but not so much with subplots. I think it is a great way to “fill out” the novel. I especially like how your mysteries have humorous subplots. Fantastic.
I’ve always felt that subplots are really the key component of the cozy mystery (or it’s cousin, the darker “domestic” mystery):
All the clues, all the motives, all the red herrings are in the daily life of the characters. And since the key motives and clues to the key event — the murder — are hidden, the subplots take front and center.
I never thought of writing the subplot completely out before adding it in! What a cool concept! Thanks for sharing it. :)
Margot–Thanks! I had a good time with that scene, too. And it helped me also to bring in the cooking theme again. Knocked out several birds with one stone.
Alex–It certainly is! And it hurt me deeply when I wrote it. :)
Louise–That would make for an interesting subplot. Mine are usually connected to my main plot, but definitely a very different storyline…but I think that’s just genre-related for me. A little levity to lighten up murder. What you’ve written really makes a lot of sense in the context of your novel. For me, most of my characters are suspects (ha! Never thought of it that way, but it’s very true) and so subplots involving them might unintentionally take my readers off to follow a red herring.
Teresa–Ha! Thanks. And now I want some post-lunch dessert…
Fred–I absolutely love subplots. I honestly think they’re the unsung heroes of most novels and contribute a lot to the success of a book.
Terry–So far I’ve been reluctant to really do series subplots because I’ve tried to write my books as standalones. I *do* have one, though, for the upcoming series. I’m interested to see how that’s going to work. With the other series, I just tell readers it doesn’t matter which book they read first…seems to work so well. But I couldn’t resist a seris subplot for this next one.
Jill–I’m always looking for little ways to make the writing go easier. :)
Thanks so much for coming by!
I like this idea of developing them separated and weaving them in over the course of the story. Subplots are something I’ve tended to stay away from, unless they are direct offshoots of the plot, but they can add a lot of value and texture to a story.
Gotta say – that’s bloody brilliant! It hasn’t crossed my mind to write out subplots separately then weave them in. Just brilliant! :)
The Daring Novelist–That’s very true. I used to write more suspect subplots into my books, then I pulled away from it a bit and started just including it in dialogue during my sleuth’s interviews (usually one suspect dishing on another.) Hmm. Now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t go back to my previous method a little.
Bluestocking–I completely understand where you’re coming from with that. Honestly, subplots can be scene-stealers. I keep them short and sweet so they aren’t distracting to the main plot…they just spice things up a bit. :)
So glad to read this post! I love subplots in stories, but struggle to work them into my own writing. Thank you so much, Elizabeth!
Excellent post–I loved reading your own examples and seeing how they added levity to the story. :)
Angela
I love that idea of writing them as complete episodes then working them into the main story!
I’m afraid my sub-plots unfold just as the main plot does while I’m writing a first draft. My lack of advance planning makes the revision process a bit more challenging, but since I enjoy revising, I don’t really mind.
Jemi–It’s fun to write them in, too. I love subplots. I think they really make a story.
Wendy–Hope it will help!
Critique Sisters–It’s just really easy that way. Easy to write it, easy to thread it through the story. Sometimes I’ll connect the subplot episode to the previous/following scene, but frequently it’s just a vignette.
Angela–Thanks so much! And thanks for coming by.
Patricia–You always were an enthusiastic reviser! I need to follow your example. :)
This is very helpful – great to see real examples! I think sub-plots are one of my biggest weaknesses. Do you think about how the sub-plot will tie in at the end before you write it?