✍️📚 Writing Talk: Crafting Subplots That Matter
A great subplot should do more than fill pages—it should deepen your characters, reinforce your themes, complicate your main plot, or change the way your protagonist approaches the central conflict.
In this hands-on writing workshop, we’ll explore how to create subplots that feel purposeful and connected to your main story rather than distracting from it. We’ll look at different types of subplots, how to introduce and develop them, how to weave multiple storylines together, and how to know when a subplot is strengthening your novel—or when it needs to be cut.
Whether you're outlining your first novel or revising a draft with too many (or not enough!) storylines, you'll leave with practical tools for creating subplots that add depth, conflict, and emotional weight to your story.
You'll learn how to:
Identify which characters and storylines deserve their own subplot
Connect subplots to your protagonist's goals and character arc
Use subplots to raise stakes and create additional conflict
Weave multiple storylines together without losing momentum
Make subplots reinforce your novel's themes
Recognize when a subplot isn't serving the story
Bring your subplots to satisfying conclusions
📚 Bring your current project, an idea, or simply your favorite notebook—no completed manuscript required!
Free to attend | All ages | All genres | All experience levels welcome