As a writer, you always have a special place in your heart for your protagonist and antagonist. What most may not know is that your secondary characters are what make your protagonist and antagonist shine brighter in the lime light. Their story which intertwines with that of the main characters helps give readers a second person’s perspective to the situations that makeup the character of the main characters.

But what is a subplot?

A subplot is simply a side story that runs parallel to the main plot. This creates and gives an in-depth information to the main plot the story strands that connects the main plot.

Now that you know what a subplot is, here are some ideas to create a subplot for your story.

1.The Love Interest

There has always been that one person, animal, or place a protagonist loves and writers can either use this love interest to help the protagonist grow or use it to threaten the protagonist to take radical action. This creates the perfect point for a plot twist in the story if crafted well. A perfect example is the subplot of the dog in John Wick.

2. Character Background

The use of flashbacks is one of the few ways to create a character background. This type of subplot gives the reader an in-depth into why a character acts the way he does to further explain some decisions of your protagonist. A protagonist who sleeps with the lights on and gets furious at someone who switches off his lights can have a flashback of himself being locked in a dark closet by a parent, making him fear the dark.

3. Growth

This type of subplot helps the protagonist grow emotionally, intellectually or spiritually in character in the story. This type of subplot mostly has a moral of ‘you don’t get what you want but rather what you need’. An example is the growth we see happen in Iron Man, where Tony Stark after he gets kidnapped by rebels and learns that his business partner is behind this betrayal, becomes a better C.E.O to correct his past mistakes.

These are just a few ideas of subplots to include in your story to keep your readers asking for more and falling in love with your characters. Keep in mind that too many subplots could also make a story less interesting and boring at a point. I hope this helps make your story worth reading.