What Is a Subplot—and Why Do You Need One?

2 weeks ago 4

When I first started considering writing novels, I found the idea of subplots daunting. I knew I needed to put them into my stories, because I saw them everywhere—in movies, TV shows, and a lot of novels I read. But I had no idea how they worked, why they were needed, or where they were supposed to fit into the structure of a novel.

I instinctively understood that subplots added depth to a story. But that was about as far as my understanding went. And some subplots in novels I read seemed superfluous and unrelated to the main plot. They seemed to have been included as filler—and I certainly didn’t want to do that in my novels.

Over the years, I’ve come to see subplots as one of the most useful tools a novelist has. When they’re done well, they can deepen character, reinforce theme, increase tension, create wonderful complications, and make a fictional world feel much more real.

Plot Layers That Mimic Real Life

I developed the concept of plot layers because I wanted a practical way for writers to understand how multiple storylines can coexist within a novel. I’ve written about plot layers before, and if you want to explore that idea more deeply, you can read my earlier post on layers and layers of plot here.

The basic idea is simple. Imagine the story of your own life. You probably have some large, long-term goals that occupy a lot of your thinking. Perhaps you’re trying to earn a degree, build a career, raise a family, find a spouse, start a business, or accomplish something you’ve dreamed about for years.

But you also have shorter-term goals. You need to finish a paper for a class. You need to prepare a presentation for work. You need to repair something around the house. You need to deal with a conflict with a friend.

And then there are the little daily goals that make up ordinary life.

Those goals overlap. They compete for your attention. Sometimes one affects another. Sometimes a problem in one area of your life makes it much harder to accomplish something in another.

That’s exactly what we can do with our fictional characters.

Give them more than one thing going on. But don’t give them more simply for the sake of making their lives busy. Layer in additional goals and problems that will enrich the main story. Real life is full of various layers, and while a Plot B or Plot C element in a story can also greatly enrich it, those “layers” of life don’t necessarily scream for a place in your novel as a subplot.

For example, a minor Plot C might have your character continually dealing with an irritating issue in their life: their car keeps breaking down; their teenager keeps staying out late and refusing to answer her phone; their boss at work keeps pressuring them to finish a particular project.

But here’s an important caveat: you shouldn’t add a subplot simply because you think your novel is supposed to have one. That’s an easy trap to fall into.

Yes, great “real life” added tension that can help exacerbate your character’s stress level. But not the type of story element that needs a fully developed subplot.

You’ll want to differentiate between those plot layers, which have minor bits in your story, as opposed to a subplot, which carries a lot more emotional and thematic weight (takes up more space in your story too).

Subplots Must Serve Your Story

The subplot has to serve the story (the interests of the story). What do I mean?

Every scene needs to ultimately impact your protagonist’s effort to reach his goal. Subplot scenes with parallel themes can help your protagonist make the important choices that affect that effort. And subplots can work beautifully to emphasize the character arc.

For instance, the things your protagonist learns while dealing with the subplot can move them to make a different decision than what they might have had they not dealt with the subplot.

I go into a long discussion of my novel A Thin Film of Lies in my writing craft book Layer Your Novel. Without reproducing all of that here, let me summarize:

My protagonist, Fran Anders, is a detective investigating a hit-and-run death. She believes Mike Jepson is guilty—all evidence points to that. Yet, he protests his innocence, says he’s been set up.

I decided to develop a subplot with Fran’s teenage son using that exact issue: Trevor is accused of hacking the school’s computer system to change grades. All the evidence points to his guilt, but he insists he’s been set up.

You can see how helpful this is. As Fran investigates her’s son’s situation, he challenges her default to believe he’s guilty. That affects the way she treats Jepson’s case, which leads to her helping prove he is actually innocent.

That’s what I mean about all your scenes “serving the interest of your plot.” You don’t want to throw together a clever, interesting subplot that has nothing to do with your protagonist’s goal, that doesn’t impact her in some important way as she pursues her goal.

The goal is everything in a novel! That should be one of the first lessons every aspiring novelist learns!

Okay, But Remember That Ordinary Is Boring

If we want our characters to feel like real people, shouldn’t they have some of the ordinary, everyday concerns that real people have? Of course they should. But if you put every mundane aspect of a character’s life onto the page, your novel is going to become very boring very quickly.

Your protagonist may need groceries. She may need to get her car serviced. She may have laundry piled up. She may have a dentist appointment.

That’s real life. But none of those things are necessarily good fiction. The secret is to take the meaning behind those ordinary layers of life and turn them into story.

Maybe your protagonist’s strained relationship with her son becomes a subplot because it exposes her fear of failure. Maybe a difficult relationship with her sister forces her to confront a secret she’s been hiding. Maybe a problem at work threatens her ability to accomplish her main goal or writing a devastating report on corruption.

The everyday concern becomes interesting when it creates conflict, reveals character, raises stakes, or connects to theme.

You want your subplots to earn their pages. They should make the story richer, deeper, more complicated, or more emotionally satisfying.

Subplots Can Do a Lot of Work

A good subplot can accomplish several things at once.

It can reveal a side of your protagonist that the main plot doesn’t expose. It can create conflict between characters who have different goals or beliefs. It can give a secondary character an arc of his or her own. It can mirror or contrast with the main plot. And it can provide another way to explore the themes of your novel.

Most importantly, a subplot can make your protagonist’s journey harder, and that’s a very good thing.

The more pressure you put on your protagonist, the more difficult her choices become. And when she has to make difficult choices, we get to see who she really is.

Don’t Throw in Random Subplots

Even if the subplot itself is well written, it can feel like a distraction.

And when that happens, readers may skim those pages because they want to get back to the story they actually care about.

That’s the last thing you want.

So before you add a subplot, ask yourself what purpose it serves. Does it put pressure on your protagonist? Does it reveal something important about her? Does it create character clash? Does it reinforce a theme? Does it eventually affect the main plot? Does it give you scenes that deepen the emotional journey?