Subplots and How They Connect

Identify secondary storylines and explain how they support the main plot or theme.

Longer stories often contain subplots: secondary storylines that run alongside the main plot. A subplot might involve a minor character, a friendship, or a side problem. Good subplots are not random; they connect to the main story by mirroring its theme, complicating the main conflict, or developing the main character. In an original novel, the main plot follows Hana training for a regional chess tournament. A subplot follows her grandmother learning to use a computer at the library.

At first the subplot seems unrelated. But both storylines are about patience and the courage to be a beginner, and in the end Hana's grandmother watches the tournament online for the first time. The subplot echoes the theme and pays off emotionally. When you summarize a story, mention a subplot only if it matters. When you analyze one, explain how it relates to the main plot: Does it mirror, contrast, complicate, or resolve something?

• 1A subplot is a secondary storyline
• 2Strong subplots mirror, contrast, or complicate the main plot
• 3Explain the connection, not just what happens in it