Weaving Plot and Subplot Together
I am working on my new novel’s plot and subplot. The subplot is a secondary goal, in this case a love story: Boy meets Girl, Boy and Girl hate each other, Boy and Girl love each other.
I’ve written a short synopsis of each plot and am working at this early stage to interweave them, to find common ground for development and ways to enmesh them deeply.
- Setting. Where can the setting overlap and both stories can intersect?
- Dialogue. Where can a phrase or saying carry over from one plot to the next? What topics or themes of conversation, or what ways of speaking can cross the plot lines?
- Plot Events. Where can one plot line interact with the other? Where can events of the main plot impact the sub-plot events and vice versa?
- Escalation. How can I play the plots off each other to raise the stakes in each?
- Characters. Can a couple characters cross the plot lines, becoming crucial in each?
Now, my only question is, do I need a couple more subplots with a similar meshing?