Fiction 101: plots and subplots

Fiction 101: plots and subplots

      Fiction isn’t just a bunch of scenes thrown together, there is a pattern to what is going on and that arrangement is called the plot. Trying to write a short story or novel without a plot is like trying to drive a car without gasoline.
      The plot carries the action of your story and complications drive the plot. If the protagonist achieves his goal right away, then there is no story. There has to be obstacles in his way, and these obstacles are complications.
      Look at my short story The guardian of the grave www.tomarbino.com/guardian.doc John plans to walk into the cemetery to get away from the cops. If that’s all that happens, then there is no story. He encounters shadows, a skull, a raven, eyeballs, and finally Dr. Vulture. All of these things are obstacles that stand in the way of him getting what he wants.
      Complications don’t need to be complex or tricky, they can be rather simple. The car won’t start, an unexpected phone call, a chance encounter with an old flame, the lights go out, etc. Anything that stands in the protagonist’s way of getting what he wants will work.
      While the plot carries the action, the subplot carries the theme of the story. In my story The guardian of the grave www.tomarbino.com/guardian.doc  the subplot is about the loyalties that this group of friends has, and where the breaking point is once these loyalties are tested. Stephen King’s novel The shining is a good example of a plot and subplot. Though the plot is about some ghosts in an old hotel, the subplot is about the destruction of a family. Love, or any emotion, is good subject matter for a subplot. You don’t have to worry too much about a subplot, but you do want to incorporate one into your story.
      Properly plotting your story before you sit down to write will lead to publication. Give the reader what they don’t expect and take them on a wild adventure.
      More Fiction 101 articles can be found at: www.tomarbino.com/AA7.html