Tracking Subplots

Subplots in a story are like threads in a tapestry. Tying them all up at the end is essential to maintaining the integrity of the whole piece. It's surprisingly easy when The End dangles temptingly within sight to forget about secondary characters and ideas that readers may (hopefully) find highly interesting. If they're truly not interesting enough to wrap up satisfactorily at the end, then either they need strengthening or cutting completely out of the story.

Time has speeded up, and too often modern writers rush through the resolution without properly tying up all the subplots. In years gone by writers seemed to understand that though subplots are secondary to the main plot, they are by no means inferior in importance. If a subplot can be forgotten or stripped out of the story with little or no significant consequence to the sequence of events or character growth in the main plot, then it's not a true subplot. It's random scenes masquerading as a subplot, and needs to be excised from the story.

Modern writers would do well to study older films. Why does Casablanca and Gone with the Wind feel so satisfying and complete, when they buck the conventional formula of boy-gets-girl? The writers took time to develop, track, and mature every subplot to a resolution that tied into the main plot.

In Casablanca, the writers spent precious story time in the beginning developing Rick's relationship with Louis. This subplot colors in Rick's character, as Louis tries to pin down Rick's true inner convictions. It delineates Rick's character growth, as Louis comments on and conflicts with Rick's changing behavior. Finally it confirms the story's theme when Louis rejects self-centered collaboration with the Nazis and unites with the redeemed freedom fighter, Rick.

Subplots can serve several functions in a story. They can flesh out the story's theme when the main plot is too busy with the "action" of the story. They can characterize the main character. They can measure the main character's growth. They can provide context for the main character. They can add dimension to a linear plot.

The length of the story often decides how many functions one subplot will perform. Casablanca is extraordinarily tightly written, and at one-hour-forty-two minutes, a movie of moderate length. The Rick-Louis subplot and others serve several functions. Gone with the Wind, an extremely long epic, also has several subplots, some of which are devoted primarily to one function. The subplot featuring Scarlett and her father carries the theme, as Scarlett struggles to keep the land that she only comes to truly appreciate at the end. As any good subplot does, it tangles with the main plot by creating conflict. To keep the land, Scarlett marries a man she doesn't love, which sets her back from the main plot's goal to win Ashley.

In long stories like Gone with the Wind, some subplots may develop and resolve in a single Act. However, for the sake of structural balance most subplots should make a minimum of one appearance--either "onstage" in action or "offstage" in narrative--in each Act. (A story has three Acts: Beginning, Middle, and End.) Each time a subplot makes an appearance, it should further impact the main character's life in a way relevant to the main plot.

To track subplots in a story, a writer can look to the point-of-view characters. Whose point of view (POV), other than the main character, is a reader allowed to dip into? That secondary viewpoint character has goals, motivations, and conflicts of his/her own. Once a reader taps into that stream, it awakens his interest in where it's heading. The POV initiates a subplot that needs development and resolution as it relates to the main plot. All the subplot's set-ups, turning points, developments, and resolutions may not occur "on stage" or in the same character's POV, but nevertheless they need to happen to give readers a sense of closure.

Another way a writer can track subplots is to examine individual scenes. Scenes belonging to the main plot directly hinder or assist the main character in pursuit of his goal. If a scene's impact on the main character's goal is indirect, then it may signal a subplot. Example: The main plot is about a cop trying to catch a serial killer. His obsession with the case drives a wedge between him and his wife at home. He has a big fight with his wife, and she moves out. His wife's leaving him does not directly affect his catching the killer, but it does have an indirect impact on the main plot because of the internal conflict it creates in the main character. The stress at home makes it harder for him to focus on the case. Should he pursue the killer or save his marriage?

Subplots round out a story with depth, context, and meaning. To make the tapestry complete, each one must be tied together with the main plot at the resolution. Otherwise, readers may feel they are leaving the story without seeing the complete picture. No matter how intimate or epic the fictional tapestry, a writer still weaves it one thread at a time.