How much development does a subplot need?
I've recently begun studying subplots, and I've realized I don't know how far I should develop them. Does a subplot need everything a main plot does? Does there even need to be a conflict for the subplot (if it's short), or can it simply be a few scenes that link together to show something related to the main plot?
Before I go any further, let me explain that I develop my novels before writing them. This means I break down exactly what I need in the novel, and how to achieve it. One of the things I do is work with the main plot, and develop the main conflict so that it is complex and cannot be easily resolved. I'm wondering how much of that one does for a subplot.
How much development does a subplot need?
Additionally, do I need separate stakes for a subplot (assuming the stakes for the main plot don't apply to it)? What about additional characterization? My question isn't limited to simply developing the plot.
Note: I'm assuming that the answer to this question will depend very much on the size of the subplot in question. If that is the case, please provide answers for several different sizes of subplots (ie, if the subplot is only a few scenes, you generally do A and B; if it spans three books, you want to do C as well).
1 answer
A subplot is a plot. As such, it has the same shape, the same components, the same effect as a regular plot.
The reason you have a subplot is to provide thematic counterpoint of elaboration to the main plot. You need to to be sufficiently worked out to provide the desired elaboration or counterpoint. (Note how in How I Met Your Mother, Barney's philandering and Marshall and Lily's solid relationship provide different counterpoints to Ted's fruitless search for on true love.)
Don't fall into the trap of using a subplot simply as a device to move characters into position for some grand event. Subplots are not about logistics. Ursula LeGuin talks about "Crowding and Leaping" as essential parts of storytelling. Stories don't plod through the mechanics of one event after another. They crowd a bunch of stuff into one place and then make a big leap to the next place that is significant to the development of the story arc. All you need to bridge the gap left by a leap is a few sentences of narrative bridge, not a full subplot.
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