Crafting Effective Subplots

Most novels explore more than one narrative idea. Many authors use subplots to add depth, increase conflict, and deepen our understanding of the characters. But what makes a good subplot, and how can you use them to enhance the main storyline?

In this post, we'll define what a subplot is, explore the different types, explain how subplots connect to the main plot, and share practical tips for writing subplots that make your novel richer, deeper, and more satisfying.

What is a subplot?

A subplot is a secondary storyline that runs parallel to the main plot, involving characters, conflicts, and events distinct from, but connected to, the central narrative.

The main storyline is your story's central dramatic question. It's the primary conflict that drives the narrative from beginning to end. Subplots are secondary conflicts or storylines that are woven into the same fabric, deepening the central story without replacing it at the narrative's center.

Let's look at an example. In Pride and Prejudice, the main plot is Elizabeth's relationship with Darcy. The central dramatic question is whether two people whose pride and prejudice have put them at odds will find their way to each other. The subplots include Jane and Bingley's romance, Lydia's elopement with Wickham, and Mr. Collins's pursuit of a wife. Each plotline intersects with and enriches the main story. Lydia's elopement directly threatens the resolution of the main plot. Jane and Bingley's romance provides thematic contrast. Mr. Collins's subplot illuminates the social pressures that shape every character's choices. All these secondary plots complement and deepen the main narrative arc.

Types of subplots

The type of subplot that works best for your story will often depend on your genre as well as how your secondary characters interact with your main character's journey. For example, an action-packed thriller may include a romance subplot, but the dramatic question it raises will likely be less about the possible romance (will these two people get together?) and more about how that relationship raises the stakes for the protagonist (will the love interest survive?).

Here are a few common types of subplots found across genres:

Relationship Subplot

This type is centered on a relationship between two characters. A common version of this is a romantic subplot, but it can also include relationships with family, friends, or antagonists. The relationship evolves across the story, creating its own arc of development, complication, and resolution.

Relationship subplots are common in fiction because they naturally generate character development and emotional investment. Even primarily plot-driven stories tend to have at least one significant relationship subplot running alongside the central conflict.

The key here is meaningful intersection with the main plot. The state of the relationship should affect, or be affected by, what's happening in the main story.

Mirror Subplot

Mirror subplots explore a similar conflict or theme through different characters or circumstances, often reaching a different resolution. They often use foil characters that let readers see what happens when the same situation is handled differently, or when different characters face the same essential choice.

Contrasting Subplot

This type contrasts with the primary plot in tone, theme, or outcome. It's often used for comic relief in serious stories, or for moments of darkness in otherwise light narratives.

A story that maintains a single tone throughout, whether relentlessly dark or relentlessly comedic, becomes exhausting. Contrasting subplots provide breathing room and make the dominant tone more effective by contrast.

Complicating Subplot

This type directly interferes with or complicates the primary plot, creating new obstacles, raising the stakes, or forcing the protagonist into harder choices by introducing new pressures from a secondary storyline.

Complicating subplots are the type most tightly integrated with the main plot. They don't run alongside the central conflict so much as push against it, and they're a primary tool for escalating stakes and maintaining dramatic momentum through the middle of a novel, where the main plot alone may not generate enough pressure.

Character Development Subplot

A subplot that exists primarily to develop a character (protagonist or supporting) revealing dimensions of their personality, backstory, or inner life that the main plot doesn't directly engage.

Character development subplots are especially valuable in novels with large casts, where supporting characters risk remaining flat unless given their own storylines and conflicts. They're also valuable for protagonists whose main plot arc doesn't give them room to explore certain aspects of who they are.

How to write effective subplots

Start with purpose

Every subplot should have a clear reason for existing. Before writing one, ask: what does this storyline add that the primary plot alone cannot provide? Does it deepen a character? Explore a thematic dimension? Vary the pacing? If you can't answer that question clearly, the subplot may not be necessary, or may not yet be developed enough to serve a clear function.

Give every subplot its own arc

Give subplot characters their own goals, conflicts, and resolution. A subplot that simply starts and stops without developing through its own arc feels like an abandoned thread rather than a purposeful story. Even a minor subplot should have a shape.

Introduce subplots early

Subplots introduced too late in a story feel like afterthoughts. Plant subplot seeds in Act One, such as introducing the subplot characters, establishing their initial situation, and hinting at the conflict to come. The subplot can remain in the background for much of the story, but its roots should be visible from early on. Readers need time to invest in subplot characters and relationships before those elements can carry narrative weight.

Weave the plots together

Avoid the trap of dropping the main plot entirely to focus on a subplot for extended periods, then abandoning the subplot to return to the primary story. The most effective technique is weaving, or moving between primary plot and subplot in a natural rhythm, with each thread advancing before the narrative shifts to another. Look for opportunities to bring subplot threads into the main story's most critical plot points.

Resolve subplots before the climax

Most subplots should reach their resolution, or at least a clear turning point, before the story's climax. A subplot still demanding attention during the climax divides readers' focus at the moment when the primary story most needs their full investment. The falling action is the natural home for final subplot resolutions that couldn't be completed earlier, but aim to wrap up most secondary threads before the climactic sequence begins.

Ready to add subplots to your novel?

Look at your current work in progress and ask: what secondary storylines are already present? What supporting characters have unexplored depth that a subplot could bring to the surface? What thematic questions does the story raise that a parallel or contrasting subplot could explore from a different angle? You may find that the best subplots are different than what you had planned!