Alternatively, a protagonist’s mistake results in a secondary conflict that complicates their journey.Įxample: When Lydia runs away with Mr. Alternatively, a subplot shows readers the story’s central conflict through the eyes of a secondary character, showcasing two sides of the same story.Įxample: As Frodo and Sam journey to Mordor, the remaining members of the Fellowship experience journeys that lead them to wage war on Sauron, ultimately enabling Frodo and Sam to reach Mount Doom.Ī secondary character’s actions complicate the protagonist’s experience with the story’s central conflict. The protagonist’s relationship with a love interest complicates their journey to resolve the story’s central conflict.Įxample: When Capitol citizens decide that Katniss and Peeta would make a handsome couple, the pair must engage in a false romance to better ensure their survival in The Hunger Games.Ī seemingly unrelated plotline occurs in tandem with the main story until the two collide in exhilarating fashion.
Subplots typically revolve around a story’s secondary cast of characters, but events in the main characters’ journeys can also produce integral secondary conflicts. Good subplots aren’t just subordinate storylines they’re secondary conflicts that arise from characters’ actions & reactions as they engage with the story’s central conflict. The most effective subplots are those that exist because they must, because to nix the plotline would be to craft a narrative that feels insincere, half-baked, or unresolved. Like any good story element, subplots should serve a strong narrative purpose.
While subplots can make stories longer and more complex, these results should be by-products of effective secondary plotlines rather than one’s reason for writing them. While this definition isn’t incorrect, it also isn’t complete-and this oversimplification can lead writers to use subplots in misguided ways, such as needlessly lengthening or complicating their stories in pursuit of “better” storytelling. Often, subplots are defined as “secondary plotlines in a story”. Subplots are a story element that many writers misunderstand.
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