How many is too many sub-plots?
Aug 12
2 min read
The right kind of writers group lifts you up, motivates and excites. That’s the kind of writing group I’m in. We get each other and want each other to succeed.
I always leave our meet-ups buzzing, with new writing tips and suggestions and exhilarated from spending time with other writers.
Last month we were discussing editing and as you know from my last post, it’s not high on my ‘things I love’ list. Author Caitlin Cherise suggested Plot Grid and shared the YouTube link to all of us:
How to Outline A book with a PLOT GRID by Write with Claire Fraise.
Spreadsheets are my jam and this is the one I never knew I needed right now. It focuses on plot - the main plot and subplots - plus it's free to download.
It’s been an eye-opener!
The main plot
This is the most important column. Write everything that happens in your main "A" plot here. If you're writing a mystery, write every step in your detective's hunt for the killer. If you're writing a romance, write every step of your romance here.
I’m writing a romance and as I populated this column from my manuscript, I noticed it was patchy. Too little emphasis on the romance and in some chapters nothing at all.
All became clear when I looked at the subplot columns.
The subplots
Subplots make your books more rich and exciting. Every subplot should have an arc with a beginning, middle, and end. Your book should have 1-4 subplots.
Did she say 1-4 subplots?
Not my manuscript! (I was exhausted by the number of extra columns I had to add in).
The painful diagnosis - my main plot is spread too thin because the story is trying to cover way too many subplots.
The good news?
The good news is - it’s all laid out on the spreadsheet. I can see the subplots easily and it's been relatively straightforward deciding which ones to extricate. For those I'm way too attached to, I'm dropping them into the 'future manuscript or short story' folder.
Indeed, my story the Bubble Specialist which placed second in the 2024 RWA Sweet Treats short story competition started off as a discarded subplot from an earlier draft.
I’ve finished populating the Plot Grid and now to the next task - mapping out my next editing steps… stay tuned.