Writing a good story starts with a strong premise, scenario or character ensemble, but it doesn’t stop there. Subplots add extra depth, tension, and meaning. In this guide, you’ll learn what subplots are, why they matter, and how to plan them in Plottr.
What is Subplot?
A subplot is a secondary storyline that develops alongside your main plot. It often involves side characters, or adds depth. For example, a romantic arc may add further stakes (or lesser conflicts) in a thriller or action story.
Subplots can match your main theme, show the opposite, or bring in new ideas and feelings. No matter what, they always connect to your main plot.
Why are Subplots Useful in Story Craft? 5 Benefits
Subplots help to achieve several good things:
Subplots Aid Character Development
Secondary plots help show new sides of your characters. They can also add outside pressure that affects their choices.
Example: In Season 3 of the murder mystery The White Lotus, Gaitok is a hotel guard who likes Mook, a coworker. But when he questions the harsh parts of his job, Mook sees him as weak.
Mook — and more broadly society — push Gaitok to act tough according to gender norms. This expectation leads him to make tragic choices that affect the main story. His love for Mook drives him to climb the social ladder, but it comes at a price to him and others.
Subplots Add Pacing Variety
A subplot can give readers a breather (or build micro suspense while they wait to reach larger conflicts).
Example: In The Lord of the Rings, Gollum’s wish to get the One Ring adds extra tension. These smaller problems keep the story moving and help build suspense before bigger events.
Subplots Reinforce Themes
Subplots that mirror or contrast with your story’s main themes make them resonate more deeply.
Example: In Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the main character murders a pawnbroker. He justifies this as being a service to others since the pawnbroker preys on the financially desperate.
In a subplot, Sonia Raskolnikov, a young woman who Rodion meets, turns to working as an escort to support her impoverished family.
Rodion suffers due to sacrificing others to serve his ideals. Meanwhile, Sonia sacrifices herself. Both characters wish to serve others, yet the choices they make create anguish and guilt.
Subplots Build Emotional Layers
Subplots make stories hit harder, whether they explore family tensions, unspoken love, or other scenarios.
Example: In Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Jo March’s writing career is a subplot that adds emotion and depth. While the main story is about family and growing up, Jo’s personal dreams show her hopes, fears, and struggles, making us care even more about what happens to her.
Subplots Introduce Conflict and Complication
Tension is gold for storytelling. Subplots may introduce obstacles, rivalries, or desires that add further difficulty.
Example: In the fourth book in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, a power struggle subplot develops between Cersei Lannister and Margaery Tyrell. It’s a clash of wits, manipulation, and maternal ambition. This rivalry subplot escalates political tensions and leads to major fallout.
Given all the useful things subplots do, how can you create and visualize them in Plottr?
How to Create and Visually Map Subplots in Plottr
Plottr makes subplot planning visual and easy to manage.
Create a New Plotline Labeled with Your Subplot’s Purpose
Create a new plotline for your subplot in the timeline view. Give it a clear, descriptive name (e.g., “Elena and Jack’s Romance”).
To Create a New Plotline:
- Hover over the + to the left of the plotlines in Timeline view
- Click the + to start a blank plotline for your subplot
- Alternatively, click ‘Use Template’ to start from one of 30+ plot templates
Color-Code Plotlines to Visually Indicate Their Role
Color-code your plotlines to visually separate subplots from the main plot or indicate their role.
For example, you could use a hot color like red for romantic or conflict-based subplots, or a specific shade of blue for a subplot connected to a specific theme.
Tag Scene Cards with the Subplots they Relate to
Tagging in Plottr is a useful and powerful tool. If you create a category called “Subplots” in the Tag view, and create a tag for each subplot, then you can tag scenes in your main plot where that subplot surfaces.
This makes it easy to filter your plotlines and see wherever your subplots have the spotlight.
Use Templates to Compare Subplot Arcs with Proven Plot Structures
With Plottr, it’s so easy to compare subplot ideas to proven story structures.
For example, you could take a romantic subplot and lay it out parallel with Gwen Hayes’ Romancing the Beat structure.
Subplot Examples from Classic Books
Here are subplot examples that demonstrate how to use this narrative device well:
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Tom’s affair adds tension and reveals class hypocrisy.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: The town recluse, Boo Radley, has a storyline that supports the main themes of prejudice and empathy, as the children make up stories about him.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: Jo’s writing career subplot highlights ambition and independence, and how uphill it is to champion both as a woman living in her era.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: The mystery of the woman in the attic builds suspense and connects to bigger themes, such as the dark side of marriage-as-ownership. Erasure, repression.
Where to Find Subplot Ideas
Where can you find subplot ideas that will add intrigue and texture to stories?
- Compare and contrast themes. If one character chooses selfishness, perhaps have another act selflessly to highlight the tension between values
- Explore secondary character goals. What does a side character want that might help — or hurt — the main character’s journey?
- Mirror the protagonist’s arc. Create a subplot where another character faces a similar challenge but makes a different choice
- Add a romantic entanglement. Romance can soften a heavy plot or add emotional risk, especially if it tests loyalties
- Use family or generational conflict. Introduce tension with parents, siblings, or legacy issues that shape decisions or fuel rebellion. The TV series Succession did this expertly
- Introduce a hidden secret. A character hiding something important creates suspense and potential betrayal
What’s your go-to place to find subplot ideas? Comment your thoughts below!
What Authors Say about Subplots
What do authors say about subplots?
Jeffrey Deaver: “In suspense novels, even subplots about relationships have to have conflict.” Source: Q&A with Jeffrey Deaver.
John Truby: “Subplot is not one of the twenty-two steps because it’s not usually present and because it is really a plot of its own with its own structure. But it’s a great technique. It improves the character, theme, and texture of your story. On the other hand, it slows the desire line — the narrative drive. So you have to decide what is most important to you.” Source: The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
Sherryl Clark: “The challenge is to work out what is a real subplot — one that will deepen plot, characters and probably backstory — and one that is simply a meandering or dead-end path. One way to work it out is to understand how subplots work with your main plot. They tend to complement, complicate or contrast.” Source: Medium.
Start Layering in Extra Intrigue
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