Subplot meaning in english how to#

The exposition leaves us wanting to know and understand more. Jeffrey Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides (1993), p. On the morning the last Lisbon daughter took her turn at suicide – it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese – the two paramedics arrived at the house knowing exactly where the knife drawer was, and the gas oven, and the beam in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope. Read this opening example, from Jeffrey Eugenides’ 1993 debut, The Virgin Suicides: Write plot exposition leaving readers hungry for what comes nextĪlthough your plot exposition is not the main developmental part, you can at least hint at how your plot will develop. Your story may develop from exposition to conclusion – you don’t have to restrict when change and expansion happen. Resolution or Dénouement: The novel or story reaches a conclusion, primary questions are resolvedĪlthough the bulk of the development takes part in the middle part, many stories contain development in every stage of the plot.Development: The development consists of both rising action (increasing complications and/or narrative tension) and falling action (decreasing complications and/or narrative tension, as plot arcs resolve).We meet principle characters, themes, setting and more We can divide the plot of a story into 3 broad parts: But I didn’t see George Wickham’s elopement with Elizabeth’s youngest sister coming.’ Elements of plot

‘Of course Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy’s first impressions of each other change, I expected an eventual romantic attraction. Reading Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813), we might react to the plot thus: The best plots offer us both the predictable and the unexpected. It is what gives us rich and rewarding ‘interrelated sequence’. Plot develops out of the relationship between cause and effect, action and reaction. Plot consists of ‘main events’, whether character-based (trysts, confrontations), society-based (uprisings, coups) or world-based (drought, flood). ‘The main events of a play, novel, film or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence.’ ( OED)ĭefinitions of literary terms such as plot are useful because they remind us to focus on what matters. Let’s delve into each of these steps a bit deeper: 1. Read great authors’ plotting advice for more insight.Summarize and learn from plot examples in literature.Use subplots to develop characters and themes.Develop your plot and characters through even simple actions.Make sure each stage of plot development serves its function.Write plot exposition leaving readers hungry for what comes next.Know the crucial elements: What is plot?.

Subplot meaning in english how to#

Here’s how to improve your plot-writing skills: Eight steps to make a plot move: This secondary story shows her struggles with her son’s failures and her attempts to be happy in life.Plot development means ensuring that your novel contains what makes stories enjoyable to read: Action and event, change, wonder and surprise. Within this plot, there is a subplot that is focused on showing his mother’s life. Reilly, and his quest for his place in a world that he finds repulsive. In John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces, the main plot is centered on the protagonist, Ignatius J.

By adding these scenes, it creates further tension for the audience.

For example, many of the subplot lines follow the young Capulets and Montagues fighting in the streets of Verona. However, the subplot is focused on the feud between the two families and how deadly it has become throughout the years. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the main plot is focused on the ill-fated love between Romeo and Juliet. Audiences are interested in the conflicts that stories offer, so by adding subplots, these tense situations are increased allowing for more interest. They can offer depth to the main plot as well as added tension. Subplots serve important purposes in a work of fiction.