NaNoWriMo Tip #10: 3 Subplots To Strengthen Your Novel
These are my personal tips for
NaNoWriMo. You know the drill. Take only what works.
Now you should have
the main story arc traced out for your novel, but you may find that it’s thin
in places. Perhaps it needs flushing out with a subplot.
There are three
subplots that can’t go wrong. They work as plots too… In fact, they work so
well as plots, that they define whole genres. Take Romance – a whole genre.
Now, if you are writing a Romance novel, then Romance is your Main Plot, and
you can’t use it as the subplot. Wait—I take that back. Of course you could—you
could introduce a second couple, who also have a love story. Sometimes the
second couple, the subplot, will be used as a foil for the main couple, and
therefore won’t have a HEA (Happily Ever After.) Or they could have their own
HEA. It’s up to you.
Hitchcock
coined the term “McGuffin.” It refers to the tangible object or visible goal
that everyone is after or trying to achieve. Steal the secret plans. Discover
the cure. Win the race. Blow up the Death Star. Use the One Ring to Rule them
all and in the darkness bind them. You get the idea.
The
key is that the McGuffin has to be a tangible, visible object or achievement.
It’s not an inner goal, or a psychological achievement. It’s concrete. What the
McGuffin means to the hero may change throughout the course of the story. He
may begin by wanting it and end by destroying it, or vice versa. But either
way, you’ll know if he has it or does it.
If
your main plot has only psychological goals – and I include “falling in love”
or “finding the murderer” in this – then consider adding a McGuffin plot.
Mystery
It’s hard to think of any novel that wouldn’t benefit from some suspense. If you are writing a thriller or a murder mystery, you already know this: it’s your main plot. But even if you are writing a fantasy (McGuffin) plot or a contemporary love story (Romance) plot, throwing in suspense or even a murder mystery, can add a layer of intrigue and page-turning fun.
If
your genre is not mystery, you have to make sure that you don’t let the murder
mystery plot overshadow your main story. It also can’t be too different in tone
from your main story. If the main plot involves a gentle romance between a cat
loving woman and a handsome veterinarian who is secretly a billionaire, you
could include a minor mystery about who killed his rich uncle (maybe he himself
is under suspicion), but it wouldn’t be wise to include gory scenes of the
murder.
Romance
Have you ever noticed that when Hollywood adapts a novel, they often add a romantic subplot to a book that had none? Sometimes this stretches credulity, as when they throw a female character in with an all male crew on a pirate ship. In fact, this predates Hollywood. Gilbert and Sullivan made fun of this in their operetta, H.M.S. Pinafore, when they had “the Admiral of the Sea, the Ruler of the Queen’s Navy,” turn up with dozens of women in tow, who explained, “And we are his cousins, whom he reckons by the dozens, his cousins and his sisters and his aunts!”
Ridiculous
as this sometime is, there’s a good reason for it. Any story that lacks a
romance (unless it’s for children), can be improved by adding one. Almost any
story. Ok, fine, I’m sure you can think of exceptions, but really, trust me on
this, most stories benefit.
This
doesn’t mean the romance subplot has to take over the book. Unless Romance is
your genre, it shouldn’t be the main focus. But one of the best ways to signal
to a reader that the hero has grown and changed during the story—and that
should be the whole point of the main plot—is to show how he (or she) is now
finally worthy of wooing and winning the love interest.
A word of caution.
Sometimes, you might fly in a manic frenzy and throw all three of these
powerful plot techniques into the same book. Can you get away with that?
Sure…as long as you
keep in mind which is your main attraction. Be true to your genre and your
vision for the book.
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