Unveiling Subplots: Understanding Their Role in Storytelling

What is a subplot?

Answer: It is a secondary storyline in your story.

For example, you main plot might be about the break in and entry at your home in Abuja, while the subplot might be about a Nigerian politician who too gets burgled but receives more help from Nigerian police resolving the crime because of his notoriety while you’re ignored by the authorities because you’re a nobody.

In creative writing, a subplot can reveal more about secondary characters, create plot twists, and add another dimension to a story.

      Don’t forget that a good subplot raises the stakes for a main character.

 

      Make sure your subplot runs parallel to the main storyline.

For instance, if you attribute a thousand two hundred words to your main story, leave about eight hundred for the subplot.

Use spacers or adverbs to denote the break in the chain of events, example: meanwhile, earlier or later. Use double spacing to indicate a break from the events in your main plot.

Here’s an example: 4 Types of Subplots

1.      Mirror subplot: A smaller-scale conflict mirrors what is happening with the main protagonist.

2.      Contrasting subplot: A secondary character is in the same predicament as your major character, but they make better decisions than your main character.

3.      Complicating subplot: A secondary character that might add insult to injury and complicate things for your main protagonist.

4.      Romantic subplot: The protagonist has a love interest, and this relationship creates conflict or complicates the storyline.