The Frosting on the Cake

Subplots.

One of the biggest dreads in this writer's life, not because they're bad, but because they're too good. And too much. And not enough.

They are often the victims in the adage "kill your darlings."

The biggest problem with subplots I've found is no matter how many works I read, classes I attend, and writing books I've studied, there is no rule on how to write them, or how many to include. I've not even found guidance! And for an OCD, Type-A girl, that makes it hard.

A Court of Silver Flames was an entire novel of subplots, 757 pages of dealing with trauma, guilt, and a mild sprinkling of some cauldron-aged magic. I trudged through that and never understood the hype. It felt like there was no plot, just dozens and dozens of subplots.

The same with the beloved Gideon the Ninth, but on the completely opposite side. (I should say I haven't read the rest of the series, so perhaps as a first book it was setting up more subplots than I realize.) But the entire thing seemed 100% to revolve around the main plot. Gideon wanted to stop serving Harrowhark as her swordswoman, and that's everything that happened.

Neither were bad books... but I walked away feeling dramatically disappointed.

It's novels like these that have helped me build a framework, not of rules, but of potential tests to help determine if a subplot should stay or go. I find them especially helpful in the editing phase; I hope you do as well.

1) Does it support the main plot and/or character growth?

Ultimately, anything in your novel ought to support the main plot and character growth, ideally serving both.

I read a novel a while back where one of the main characters was a "vampire." Throughout the entire novel, though, there was never any impact for her being a vampire. She ate normally, slept normally, and traveled on the boat in the sun normally. The only thing that made her a vampire was that the author called her that; she was 120, and she had a bit more strength than your average woman. It ruined the novel so hard for me that the author is now on my "black list." There's just too many good books to waste time on her.

2) Does it follow the rule of cool?

I run a D&D campaign for my family and friends. I have been DMing off and on for almost 20 years now. One thing I've learned along the way is you can get away with off-the-wall tangents if it follows the rule of cool.

Teleport your readers to talk to a god and explain something you couldn't explain, (like in Quicksilver) or dive into a sea of the undead to get a mask (the only scene in ACOSF I loved) if it's cool.

3) Does it interfere with the main story? Note: not interact, which is essential to a good subplot, but interfere.

One thing that is pretty glaring is a subplot that interferes with a novel. The problem is, it only glares to the reader, and not the writer. That's why I highly recommend having beta readers, ideally who write, too.

My "alter ego" is currently editing my contemporary Christmas "fake-dating" romance. In it, there's a subplot where my male main character loses his brother in a car accident. In the end, his sister and mother were in a car accident too. I thought it was a brilliant way to face his fears and deal with his grief. It wasn't until my beta reader pointed out that the subplot completely interfered with the main plot that I saw it. Instead of being about fake dating, it veered off to become a grief counselling session. Obviously, I need to rewrite this ending, but I didn't see it until I took a significant step back.

Real, objective analysis of our pieces is challenging, but a beautiful and necessary thing, too.

4) Does it fit within your word count?

Debut novels have very strict word count rules. SFF:120,000. Romance, Mystery, Non-fiction: 90,000. YA: 80,000.

Frankly, there are times I wish novels later in a series would have those rules too. As was the case in ACOSF (somewhere between 192-210k likely), going grossly over the word count lets the author wander aimlessly.

There are definitely exceptions. Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey contains somewhere around 300,000 words, but is a masterful, nuanced fantasy epic.

If you're new, err to the side of less is more.

5) Does it add tension to your piece?

My critique partner / beta reader buddy has a rule: Tension trumps all.

Frankly, it has served me well.

If you're hearing or saying things like: "it's too long," or "this is slow." It might be a sign of too many subplots, too much description, or passive voice.

Most of these tests are almost as subjective as writing itself, which is why I compare subplots to frosting and how I justify disliking super popular books.

Some people love frosting. They want to lather their cake 3-inches thick with the stuff. A Court of Silver Flames did that for me; it was so thickly frosted, I couldn't find the plot at all. Others want a "naked" cake, those where they frost it, then scrape almost all of it off, similarly to Gideon of the Ninth, where everything was cake.

Based on their hype, many people found these to be "amazing books." ACOSF sold 95,000 copies in print alone in the US (according to Publisher's Weekly) and Gideon the Ninth won several awards, and while I was not in the majority, this feels like a good use of my example.

As an author, we get to decide how much "frosting" goes on our cake; betas can help, editors can help. But ultimately, it's your cake.