Now that we know what a subplot is, let’s take a look at different types of subplots and see how they work.
Welcome to a new article series! This time, we’ll be talking about about the structural and narrative importance of SUBPLOTS. But before we dive in, let’s figure out what a subplot actually is.
According to Dictionary.com, a subplot is: “A secondary or subordinate plot, as in a play, novel, or other literary work; underplot.”
Therefore, a subplot is the part of the story that is happening — to your characters, in the world, both beat-by-beat and overarching — in tandem with the main plot.
But how do they work?
I had the pleasure of curating a list of my favourite books (and one film) about books and writing for Shepherd. Read the article here.
I was interviewed by the kind and extremely articulate Oliver Brakenbury of the “So… I’m Writing A Novel” podcast, and you can listen to the whole episode here!
Episode Description
(From Spotify)
Oliver has a long, highly informative chat with author, actor, and voice actor J.M. Frey about her experiences as a writer, including what happens when your book grows to around the 200K word mark, self-publishing, the challenges of author exhaustion (incl. frank discussion of how the economics of publishing deals have evolved), when she received her first piece of fan art based on her work, and more! Jess is terribly knowledgeable, and we strongly recommend you check out her site not only for all the great advice it contains, but also to study how Jess presents herself online.
