"Still...I Am Sorry You Were Born, Child. I Have Brought You A Hero's Fate, And A Hero's Fate Is Never

Writing Subplots

Who doesn’t love a good subplot? Some of my favorites books are the ones that have super interesting subplots because who doesn’t love hearing about that secondary character development arc or those lovely side characters with the inevitably doomed romance? What’s not to like? But, subplots can often be one of the hardest to write and the most misunderstood storytelling elements. They aren’t part of the main narrative thread, so they can’t overtake it, but they also need to have their own story arc separate from the main plot. It’s a delicate balance that can be kind hard to strike, because subplots aren’t just secondary plot-lines, they have to serve a narrative purpose and engage with the story’s central conflict. 

First, let us define some different kinds of subplots

Mirror Subplot: A subplot where a side character experiences a conflict that mirrors the protagonist’s main conflict and gives the protagonist the insight or motivation they need to resolve their own conflict.

Romantic Subplot: The protagonist’s relationship with a love interest complicates their journey to resolve the story’s central conflict.

Parallel Subplot: a subplot where something seemingly unrelated occurs at the same time as the main plot and then all of a sudden the two plots collide towards the end of the book.

Complicating Subplot: a subplot where a secondary character’s actions actively complicates the protagonist’s journey with the central conflict

Foil Subplot: a subplot where a secondary character experiences the same or a very similar conflict as the protag but wants to resolve that in a different way (this contracts or creates a “foil” that highlights the protagonists qualities and characteristics)

There are a lot more different kinds of subplots, but these are some of the most common, so here are some tips for writing subplots!

Is That Necessary? 

This is the first question we should ask ourselves anytime we add anything to our stories, but especially subplots. Sometimes, authors (meaning me) will get to the end of writing their first draft and realize that they are not anywhere close to their goal word count. To remedy this, they will just throw in a cute little subplot. Unfortunately, friends, this does not work. The best, effective subplots should be integral to a story’s central conflict. If you can remove your subplot from the story without their being a big impact on the central conflict, then the subplot doesn’t really serve a strong narrative purpose. We most often see this problem arise in romantic subplots. Authors will just throw in a romance or the dreaded love-triangle as a subplot for absolutely no reason. I’m the first person to admit I love a good romantic subplot, but I also like it to be there for a good reason. That is why the Hunger Games will never go out of my top five all time books/series because despite what a lot of people think the romantic subplot in that story is essential. Katniss and Peeta’s love story is the reason they both survive the Games which is the central conflict of the book. It works perfectly, and if you want a good example of a subplot done well, look no further.

Keep the SUB in Subplot

Honestly, sometimes the subplot really is better than the main plot. That’s not necessarily a good thing, but I think we have all read a book where the main plot just drags and you just can’t wait to get back to your favorite side characters and their little adventure. But, a good subplot shouldn’t steal the limelight from the main plot. It should enhance the main plot and maybe add a layer of complexity but never overshadow. Going back to my example for the day, the Hungers Games does a really good job of this. I read something once where someone said Katniss’s romance overshadows the Games and the Rebellion, and I was like, did we read the same book? If you go back and read the books, Katniss doesn’t think about her romance with Gale or Peeta all that much. She’s mostly thinking about her own survival and the survival of her family. Both of which relate directly to the main plot. We never forget about the romance in the book because it is important, but in my opinion, it never overshadows the main plot of the Games and the Rebellion even in the first book where it’s more heavily featured. 

But, Its Still A Plot

On the flip-side of that, even though the subplot shouldn’t overshadow the main plot, it still needs to follow its own narrative arc. This is where a lot of new author’s get lost. A subplot is way more than just a short conversation or a quick event that inconveniences or helps the protagonists. All your subplots need their own beginning, middle, and end. Make sure that you definitely developed all of your story’s subplots accordingly. That includes paying attention to all of your characters’ goals, motivations, and the conflict that they experience. Generally when I’m in the development stages of the subplot, I develop it the same way that I develop one of my main plots. While they do not necessarily need the same attention or development as your main plot, developing them with the same goals in mind will only help you in the long run!

My Spider-Sona!!

Sorry for the bad quality of the image! I made it while I was in class.

I'm not that good at drawing, but at least I can draw a little bit, so I tried to made my Spider-Sona. I'm very indecisive and bad at superheros suits designs that almost every time I draw him, I do it with a different suit and style, plus my art style is not very stable, but this is the suit that I draw the most and I like it too, so.

Most of the concept of them and his suit is based on the inotopia superpower. So I add four extra eyes to the suit, even though he just has two eyes irl. They also draw eyes on their hands for the same reason. And I think he would carry some sticker with drawn eyes with himself, plus a pen.

I didn't colored it because I'm really really bad at that, but the suit should be black or dark grey with the web pattern as a dark red (although I'm still debating the colors).

They are a salvadorean transmasc aroace, and goes by he/they pronouns!

I still don't have a name but I will maybe named him Spider-Eye or something.

I did this mostly for fun, but feedback is always appreciated!

(I'm not that good at making image descriptions, so if I failed to explained it in an understable way, I apologized)

Create your outline - full guide

Here’s my quick and easy run-down on how to create a full outline for your projects — all the plot beats your story is meant to have!

The only thing you should really have before you start plotting is your character arcs.

Why? What happens if you don't have them?🤔

- Your plot is way more likely to feel unfounded

- You're going to lack change through the story

- You'll be writing for plot only, and lose any deeper meanings

- Your outline could feel decent to you, but when you start writing you will quickly lose interest

📌Remember this one important thing before we start.📌

Plot & world building are just tools to tell your characters' story.

👉ACT 1

Here are the beats you should hit in the first 10-20k words.

STATUS QUO - Your protagonists current situation, with all its faults and potential.

INTERNAL CONFLICT - Most important one!!! You have to paint the start of your character's arc (preferably on page 1), by hinting at their fatal flaw, misbelief, regret, or something that holds them back.

INCITING INCIDENT - The event that pulls your character out of their comfort zone and makes them debate.

DWELLING AND ACCEPTING - Your character's first actions: do they refuse the call? What makes them finally accept it? This is where you form a clear external goal.

Are you ready for the murky middle?

👉ACT 2

Beats to hit in the murky middle.

NEW WORLD - The character finds themself in a new uncomfortable place they need to learn to navigate.

A FEW CHALLENGES - What's the external goal they're working towards? What are the steps they can take to get closer to it and what challenges do they find along the way?

MIDPOINT - Plot twist! They've reached their goal but it turns out not to be what they expected. Introduce a higher stakes goal.

THINGS TURN SOUR - Your hero's thrown off their rocker and they can't keep up with the blows.

BIGGEST HIT - Your hero experiences the worst hit in the whole story, and they give up. They go back to their status quo, defeated.

Is the middle feeling a little less murky now?👀

👉ACT 3

Beats to hit in your final stretch.

THE LIGHTBULB - What breaks your hero back out of their darkest moment? What makes their little brain cogs turn again? ...or who?

THE NEW PLAN - How do they decide to deal with the whole mess they've created?

EXECUTION - How do they tackle it, and does everything go smoothly, or do they face one final challenge that forces them to reconsider some things?

THE TRANSFORMATION - They complete their character arc, they've finally learned their lessons.

TYING UP LOSE ENDS - They resolve any remaining open questions, and showcase the change from who they were at the start.

I teach you this and so much more inside my Academy. You'll start from the really important stuff, so you know the purpose behind your book, and your full character arcs. That's when the outline snaps into place.

Join 200+ students inside the academy today, but be fast, prices are going UP at the end of the month!

Join NPA through the [link here] or below!

the-plottery.com

Novel Plotting Academy

Self-paced online writing course that provides all the tools you need to plan your novel, and teaches you how with fun, easy-to-follow video

Reblog if you have read fan fiction better than some published books

Help me prove a point

I like the idea that the Matrix was said to contain "The wisdom of the Primes" and while it kind of DOES, what he actually got was the ability to commune with the Primes, and while everyone expects them to be a well of wisdom they're kind of just normal people and tell Optimus that Megatron's a glitch.

He's basically just got 13 older annoying siblings.

some times collective wisdom means knowing how to build and lead an entire army while restructuring your entire society after decades of oppression.

others it means knowing that mixing the cybertronian equivalent of vodka and tequila is a Stupid Idea and you will definitely regret it oh my god-

and being the youngest of fourteen sometimes means knowing that and doing it anyway lmao

but yeah that's basically it! that's kinda the point of the au! yeah they were wise and intelligent and almost divine but they were still people! and the concept of wisdom can be very subjective when there's thirteen of you and you have thousands if not millions of years of Opinions™ aklsjdlalds

haunted au

App Rec

So Ive seen very few post about this app and thought maybe i should rec.

Ive been using this app to read ao3 works this last two weeks, and boy, it's great! It's way easier than having the 20+ open tabs in Chrome, plus u can follow specific searches in addition to just follow works and users, you can also download works and keep them in the app so its less messy, and you can block tags permanently (It also has other features).

Believe me just go and try it.

play.google.com

Archive Reader (AO3) - Apps on Google Play

Unofficial AO3 Reader with offline reading (To Read list) and saved searches

when no one has written the exact fic to scratch a very specific emotional itch and you absolutely do not have time to write it yourself but you still want to read it dammit

This scene got me and my Silbling cracking, we were the only people besides one lady in cinema that laughed at it. Because it's true, British did steal all of their stuff.

We could also use some qprs

Just saying...

I don’t know who needs to hear this but YOUR CHARACTERS DONT NEED TO FALL IN LOVE. PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS ARE JUST AS FULFILLING AND AMAZING AS ROMANTIC ONES. NOT EVERY STORY NEEDS A ROMANTIC SUBPLOT STOP IT