On March 29, 2014, maybeawriter wrote, I noticed that I tend to rush through subplots. For example, in one story, I have my two MCs falling in love. They meet the first day, then they’re already friends with hints of romance by the end of the second. I know shared life-threatening experiences tend to help people bond quickly, but it seems somehow too fast to me. In the same story, I have a (fundamentally good) character who considers himself a super villain, and I think he abandons his life philosophy too quickly. I think both subplots need to be slowed down. Any thoughts on how to pace subplots so they don’t get rushed?<\/i><\/p>\n
And Eliza responded: It isn’t unbelievable to fall in love after two days. Just to act on it. Hints are okay, things like MCs looking at each other for too long, going out of their way to help each other, and giving compliments. Readers pick up on hints. Just hold off on things like kissing for a while. The longer you hold off, the more readers will want them.<\/i><\/p>\n
Let\u2019s talk about subplots first, because I recently gained a new understanding in that area. I used to think that a subplot had to be an entirely separate side story. The Lord of the Rings<\/i> trilogy, for example, is full of this kind of subplot, set off when the fellowship splinters. Various characters leave Frodo and have complete adventures on their own. These subplots come together in the grand resolution of the ring, but they work themselves out in isolation.<\/p>\n
Stolen Magic<\/i> has this kind of subplot, but most of my books have a simpler kind. Let\u2019s take Ella Enchanted <\/i>as an example. The main plot is Ella\u2019s quest to rid herself of the curse of obedience. Her experiences with ogres would be a subplot. So would her run-ins with Hattie. Her father\u2019s romance, if we can call it that, with Dame Olga would be. Even her relationship with Char would be. Ella, as the POV MC, is there for all of them, but they\u2019re still subplots, which braid together to make trouble for Ella and to finally contribute to the story\u2019s resolution.<\/p>\n
I agree with Eliza. I\u2019m on board with quick-developing romantic feelings, because I think they often arise this way. Electricity sizzles between two people, and they like each other, too. They\u2019re both their best selves when they\u2019re together, at least on the first few occasions.<\/p>\n
If our story is a romance and we want it to be longer than five pages, we do need to slow it down. What are the possibilities? Can we bring in subplots?<\/p>\n
Complications can be external or internal or both. Let\u2019s call maybeawriter\u2019s romantic duo Ginnie and Max, and the guy with delusions of super villainy Warren. And let\u2019s imagine that Ginny and Max enjoyed each other so much on their first meeting that they agree to a repeat the next day at the local historical museum, because they\u2019re both history buffs. Here are a few external events that might intervene:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Max\u2019s mother is in a car accident. Things look dicey for her. Max is so involved, waiting in the emergency room with his dad and comforting his little sister, that he forgets the date. Ginny waits an hour for him with rising feelings of disappointment and anger.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ginny discovers when she gets home that her father wants her to go fishing with him the next day. He rarely has time to spend with her and she doesn\u2019t want to disappoint him. She calls Max and gets his voice mail. She leaves a message and also texts him. He doesn\u2019t get back to her because he left his cell phone on the bus on his way home. He waits for her for an hour the next day. He\u2019s worried, rather than angry, because he realizes she may have left him a message, and he thinks something may have happened to her.<\/p>\n
\u2022 One of them is in a car accident on the way to the museum.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Stuart, an old friend of Ginny\u2019s shows up unexpectedly. She reaches Max, and he suggests the friend come along. He does, and his presence throws off the chemistry between Ginny and Max. By the end of the day neither is sure there ever was a spark.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Max is abducted by a ring of diamond smugglers, or he\u2019s carried off by a hungry dragon.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ginny falls, strikes her head, and has amnesia.<\/p>\n
See if you can add three (or more!) more external interrupters to my list.<\/p>\n
For internal forces we have to make decisions about these two. There are lots of possibilities. Here are a few:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Max is thorough. When he gets home he googles Ginny. He finds her Facebook page, where he learns about her hobbies, sees her friends. Thinking he\u2019s just expressing interest, the next time he sees her he quizzes her on what he saw. She feels spied on.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ginny is enthusiastic. When she gets home she texts Max to say what a great time she had and how she told her girlfriend what a great guy he is. Max is reserved and not sure he likes being discussed with Ginny\u2019s friends.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Max tells his friend Jay about liking Ginny. Jay knows Ginny and opines that Max can do better. Ginny isn\u2019t cool enough for him. Max, who cares far too much about the opinions of others, feels ashamed of his feelings for Ginny. His hesitation shows the next time they meet.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ginny doesn\u2019t trust her luck. She can\u2019t believe how nice Max is, and she worries that he\u2019s going to stop liking her, because great things just don\u2019t happen to her. She works herself into such a state that she cancels the date, not wanting to be there when he loses interest.<\/p>\n
There. Your turn to write down three or more internal obstacles.<\/p>\n
Note that these delaying elements can give rise to subplots. For example, we can develop subplots involving the families of Max and Ginny. Likewise, one about a ring of diamond smugglers. Or a hungry dragon! On the internal side, the relationship with Jay can be a subplot. Or Ginny\u2019s easily discouraged state of mind can be.<\/p>\n
As for Warren, the character who misguidedly believes himself to be a super villain, I\u2019d suggest some scenes that confirm his idea of himself and some that confound it. A friend can try to prove to him that he\u2019s a decent person but he refutes the arguments, bolstering his opinion of himself. Another friend, who actually is evil, can act badly, and Warren finds himself angry with her. His friend Ginny can beg him for advice about her relationship with Max, and he tells her he\u2019s too busy to help. After she leaves he feels awful, but he tells himself that he doesn\u2019t have time for such a trivial thing as love. Then he goes to a store for equipment he needs for his YouTube filming, which will prove his badness. On the way, he\u2019s the only witness to the car accident involving Max\u2019s mom. He calls 911 and stays with her until the ambulance comes. Then he hurries off to complete his purchase, ignoring his contradictory actions.<\/p>\n
Ginny can be a subplot in his story. So can the car accident and its aftermath. Also the other friend who tries to reason with him. And let\u2019s not leave out the YouTube performance and what comes of it.<\/p>\n
This post is full of prompts:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Write a story about Ginny and Max. Try several of my suggestions and your own for slowing down the momentum of their romance.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Write a story about the confused non-super villain Warren. Write the scene in which he makes his YouTube video. Write the scene of the car accident and the scene with Ginny.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Write a story or novel that combines Warren’s confusion about himself with the romance between Ginny and Max.<\/p>\n
Have fun, and save what you write!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On March 29, 2014, maybeawriter wrote, I noticed that I tend to rush through subplots. For example, in one story, I have my two MCs falling in love. They meet the first day, then they’re already friends with hints of romance by the end of the second. I know shared life-threatening experiences tend to help […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,31],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":304,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions\/304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}