Sunday, November 14, 2010

Running out of ideas?  Then it's time to create a sub-plot.

Sub-plotting involves following a supporting character as he/she pursues his/her own lesser, but important, goal. 

An example off the top of my head is Twilight.  (If I were a Harry Potter fan, I would have used an example from that series).  While Bella runs around with wolves and vampires, her father, Charlie, attempts to deal with the fact that he now has a daughter living in his home again.  He's not sure how to be a father.   He doesn't know what to say or how to act, but he loves Bella and wants a relationship with her.  Which is why, when Bella lies and tells her dad she hates living in Forks and is going back to Arizona (to protect him from James the vampire), we hurt for Charlie and experience his pain.

In my story, my main character (protagonist) is Kate.  The storyline revolves around her quest to determine who she is and the meaning of her life when it is revealed that everything she knows about her past is untrue.  One of the supporting characters is her mother (who is also one of the antagonists).  Caroline (mother) has purposefully created a facade of existence to protect Kate from the past.  In her quest to protect Kate, she reinforced her own insecurities and built a facade to protect herself as well.  The sub-plot of the story revolves around Caroline's struggle to deal with the consequences of her decisions.

So, here are some questions for you to ponder...

1.  Who is your supporting character?  (Maybe you have more than one?)
2.  What does that supporting character want?  What are his/her concerns or fears?
3.  What is causing conflict or antagonizing the supporting character?
4.  Does the supporting character achieve his/her own goals?

The Academy Novel Writing Club meets tomorrow after school in my classroom until 5p.

Mrs. P