One of my favorite teeny-bop movies is Chasing Liberty.  Aside from the theme of the story – trying to keep a teenage girl (incidentally the president’s daughter) from misbehaving (if you know what I mean), it’s a cute story about the dilemma of a secret service agent to not fall in love with his assignment. 

Embedded in this tale is another tale – the romance of two secret service agents tracking above mentioned duo.  Their story is what makes this movie such a delight – their banter, their eventual romance, their happy ending.  It’s this extra story in a story that that gives the movie the extra sparkle that takes it from teeny-bop to good-enough-for-grownups. 

 In short, the Subplot makes the movie. 

 This week we’re going to talk about Subplots – -how to use them, how to weave them in, how to make them powerful and add spice to the story. 

 But today, I want to define the difference between a subplot and a story layer. 

 A story layer is an element to the plot that adds depth and enhances the character struggle, and eventually his/her epiphany.  A layer is some fringe element that directly relates to the character growth, and thereby the plot of the story, but, if taken alone would be lacking a story arc and it’s own three act plot.  

For example, if you’ve read my book Happily Ever After, you know that Joe, our hero, has a brother, Gabe, who has Down Syndrome.  Joe is in town to reconnect with his brother – and part of the story is how they accomplish this.  But there is no black moment between them, no character arc for Gabe.  It’s just a layering tool used to reveal Joe’s insecurities, unforgiveness issues, and give Joe a glimpse at what unconditional love looks like.  And all these elements feed back into the main plot – Joe’s inability to commit to a relationship with Mona. 

 A subplot, however, is its own distinct story.  It has a dilemma, obstacles, a black moment, and lessons learned (and hopefully a happily ever after).  A subplot can mirror the main plot, and even intersect with it, but it has it’s own main characters, it’s own arc, and if pulled out of the story, could stand alone as a mini-story. 

 Subplots are often found in longer books, due to the extra word count needed to form a complete story.  Layers are found in shorter books and used to enhance the main plot. 

 Make sense? 

Rachel writes: Great definitions, Suz. Makes great sense. Remember, all stories need layers. How do you get those layers? Digging deep. Writing your protagonist bio, creating an elaborate back story, creating a history, surrounding them with family and friends. 

In Sweet Caroline, I added layers to her by creating a semi-disfunctional family. Her mother ran off, the dad was sad and lonely, the brother bitter. Caroline was the glue that held them together.

In Love Starts With Elle, I created a subplot. Julianne, Elle’s sister has an issue that Elle helps her work through. In those scenes, the “focus” is off of Elle, and on Julianne. However, we get to see Elle’s heart in the midst of it.

Come back tomorrow when we dissect the structure and timing of a Subplot in a main plot. 

But, to get our brains going – find two movies: one with a layer, one with a subplot, and post them in Comments.  We’ll pick one person from the Comments section this week to get their choice of Wiser than Serpents or Finding Stefanie (or Rachel’s Love Starts with Elle!) 

Also – Don’t forget to sign up for the My Book Therapy Pizza Party!