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I’m wondering, how do I come up with good ideas to write a sub-plot that actually fits into the story and won’t make the reader lose the connection with the main plot?

How to Write A Sub Plot

If you look back on every single bestselling book ever printed, the chances are that most, if not all of them, contain sub-plots.

A sub-plot is part of a book that develops separately from the main story, and it can serve as a tool that extends the word count and adds interest and depth into the narrative.

Sub-plots are key to making your novel a success, and, although they aren’t necessary for shorter works, are an essential aspect of story writing in general.

However, sub-plots can be difficult to weave into the main plot, so here are a few tips on how to incorporate sub-plots into your writing.

1. Know Your Kinds of Sub-Plots and Figure Out Which is Best For Your Story

Sub-plots are more common than you think, and not all of them extend for many chapters at a time.

A sub-plot doesn’t have to be one of the side characters completely venturing off from the main group to struggle with their own demons or a side quest that takes up a quarter of the book. Small things can make a big difference, and there are many of these small things that exist in literature that we completely skip over when it comes to searching for sub-plots.

Character Arcs

Character arcs are the most common sub-plot.

They show a change in a dynamic character’s physical, mental, emotional, social, or spiritual outlook, and this evolution is a subtle thing that should definitely be incorporated so that the readers can watch their favorite characters grow and develop as people.

For example, let’s say that this guy named Bob doesn’t like his partner Jerry, but the two of them had to team up to defeat the big bad.

While the main plot involves the two of them brainstorming and executing their plans to take the big bad down, the sub-plot could involve the two getting to know each other and becoming friends, perhaps even something more than that.

This brings me to the second most common sub-plot:

Romance

Romance can bolster the reader’s interest; not only do they want to know if the hero beats the big bad guy, they also want to know if she ends up with her love interest in the end or if the warfare and strife will keep them apart.

How to Write Falling in Love

How to Write a Healthy Relationship

How to Write a Romance

Like character arcs, romance occurs simultaneously with the main plot and sometimes even influences it.

Side-Quests

There are two types of side-quest sub-plots, the hurtles and the detours.

Hurdle Sub-Plots

Hurdle sub-plots are usually complex and can take a few chapters to resolve. Their main purpose is to put a barrier, or hurdle, between the hero and the resolution of the main plot. They boost word count, so be careful when using hurdle sub-plots in excess.

Think of it like a video game.

You have to get into the tower of a fortress to defeat the boss monster.

However, there’s no direct way to get there; the main door is locked and needs to have three power sources to open it, so you have to travel through a monster-infested maze and complete all of these puzzles to get each power source and unlock the main door.

Only, when you open the main door, you realize that the bridge is up and you have to find a way to lower it down and so forth.

Detour Sub-Plot

Detour sub-plots are a complete break away from the main plot. They involve characters steering away from their main goal to do something else, and they, too, boost word count, so be careful not too use these too much.

Taking the video game example again.

You have to get to that previously mentioned fortress and are on your way when you realize there is an old woman who has lost her cattle and doesn’t know what to do. 

Deciding the fortress can wait, you spend harrowing hours rounding up all of the cows and steering them back into their pen for the woman.

Overjoyed, the woman reveals herself to be a witch and gives you a magical potion that will help you win the fight against the big bad later.

**ONLY USE DETOUR SUB-PLOTS IF THE OUTCOME HELPS AID THE PROTAGONISTS IN THE MAIN PLOT**

If they’d just herded all of the cows for no reason and nothing in return, sure it would be nice of them but it would be a complete waste of their and the readers’ time!

2. Make Sure Not to Introduce or Resolve Your Sub-Plots Too Abruptly

This goes for all sub-plots. Just like main plots, they can’t be introduced and resolved with a snap of your fingers; they’re a tool that can easily be misused if placed into inexperienced hands.

Each sub-plot needs their own arc and should be outlined just like how you outlined your main plot.

How to Outline Your Plot

You could use my methods suggested in the linked post, or you could use the classic witch’s hat model if you feel that’s easier for something that’s less important than your main storyline.

3. Don’t Push It

If you don’t think your story needs a sub-plot, don’t add a sub-plot! Unneeded sub-plots can clutter up your narrative and make it unnecessarily winding and long.

You don’t have to take what I’m saying to heart ever!

It’s your story, you write it how you think it should be written, and no one can tell you otherwise!

Hope this Helped!

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but why

this is the funniest tweet i’ve seen in months bye

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Hot hot hot hot chocolate

HEY WE GOT IT

#hmm

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when you and your friend don’t reveal your roles and then accidentally meet each other in a small room

#among us #black #yellow #my art #short comic

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I barely remember drawing this?? I think it was supposed to be a “cosplayer Izuku” addition to the Best Jeanist cosplay

#my hero academia #bnha #bnha art #midoriya izuku #aizawa shouta #eraserhead #sketch #my art

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I’ll work on it more later, probably :thinking:

#among us #black #yellow #my art #is this me and my friend? yes #i'll probably do some short comic strips with our in-game dumbassery

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me: uh yeah duh of course dabi is touya

bnha: dabi is touya

me:

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Shigaraki wakes up: “Did we end hero society?”

Dabi, dancing around Endeavor: “FUCK YOU, DAD!”

Shigaraki, willingly goes back into unconsciousness.

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when i came out as trans

[ or, toxic masculinity from the perspective of a trans guy ]

when i came out as trans my warm and loving family supported me

but they treated me differently

when i came out as trans my dad asked if he should start slapping me on the back and socking me in the arm instead of hugging me.

when i came out as trans my mom wanted to know if i would still got with her on fun trips to the mall to buy clothes and home decor items.

when i came out as trans my grandfather looked positively startled and overjoyed when i kissed his cheek and told him to drive safe.

when i came out as trans my grandmother asked if it was okay if she hugged me in public or if it would embarrass me.

when i came out as trans my dad told me that he had a lot to teach me— he said this because i told him i thought make up was fun.

when i came out as trans my aunt apologized for kissing me on the forehead.

when i came out as trans my uncle gave me a handshake rather than a hug.

when i came out as trans my cousins hesitated to hug me at the door.

when i came out as trans my family hesitated to show me the casual affection and platonic love they had previously felt free to give.

end toxic masculinity.

show your sons as much affection as you would show your daughters.

let your sons indulge in beauty when they want to and always support them.

do not think for one second that the societal expectation of masculinity is more important than the individual feelings and needs of someone you love.

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#digital art #my art

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WIP :o) 

#digital art #my art #sketch #wip

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I found this in my finished drawings folder and I don’t remember why I made this

#but why #bnha #mha #my hero academia #dabi

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I cramk adikkt am dye

yes

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I'm–

I need to read the novels right now

honestly i love the bnha light novels because they’re genuinely very good. the whole chapter about shouto visiting his mom made me cry. so did the exchange between all might and aizawa in the third one. and shinsou’s whole monologue about how he doesn’t think he should be liked. there’s a lot of really good parts

but you also get some (canon) batshit-ness too. especially with aizawa. for some fucking reason, the light novels just focus on how absolutely crazy aizawa and his life actually are

in the first novel aizawa quite literally faked his own death and dramatically let all the students think he fucking died just so they’d show off to their parents

all of mic’s dialogue is fucking ridiculous. in the first book he spends halff a chapter talking about bathroom stuff and i promise you it is as weird as it sounds

in the fourth book there’s an illustration of shinsou standing in a doorway just fucking watching class A, not even trying to hide, looking like he has no idea what they’re doing when they’re just talking

there’s an entire chapter centered around the fantasy AU where aizawa turns into a literal giant demon

there’s an entire chapter in the 4th book where the kids get really scared of a ghost, but then they nearly kill both mic and aizawa and it turns out the ghost was just mic. who they didn’t recognize. because he had his hair down.

in the above story aizawa casually tells the kids that someone died on campus where their dorms are. after telling them to not be scared

the whole exchange between aizawa and shinsou where aizawa stops mid-sentence, asks shinsou if little girls like cat clothes, and then runs off while shinsou just stands there

in the first book there’s a scene where aizawa gets unreasonably angry over all might’s “sausage fingers” (literally says that). i’m talking like weirdly fucking mad over the size of his fingers and the inability to dial a phone

the fact that the fifth book says that aizawa never believed in santa because he was “too logical”

the entire teacher chapter in one of the books details how aizawa ONLY gets black out drunk and wholeheartedly believes that he’s never gotten drunk before because he does not remember. his friends apparently just let him believe this

he also put mic in a chokehold because he threatened to talk about their childhood

he also apparently talks to objects while drunk

#bnha

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These poor people lmao

I actually feel kinda bad for laughing at fictional people’s panic

#bnha 288

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just some five minute sketches of my Izukus

gonna colour some manga caps later, maybe make a phone wallpaper or two

#OFF #my hero academia #bnha #midoriya izuku #my art #digital art #sketch