Subplots: How Many You Need and How to Use Them
Subplots are the easiest tool to misuse in a novel: they seem harmless, they seem like just "more material," and they end up multiplying until the reader can no longer remember why they were following three different stories.
What Subplots Are Actually For
A subplot that works does one precise thing: it confronts the protagonist with a different version of their own central conflict, seen from a different angle. If the novel is about the difficulty of trusting someone, an effective subplot shows another character facing the same problem and arriving at a different outcome — a contrast that illuminates the protagonist's choice instead of distracting from it.
Subplots that don't work, by contrast, exist for their own sake: they follow a secondary character the author is fond of, fill up a world that feels empty, or give the plot "something to do" during a lull in the main story. They're the first candidates for the cut during editing, because the reader experiences them as time stolen from the story they're actually there to follow.
How Many You Need (and the Risk of Overdoing It)
There's no fixed number, but most novels whose structure holds together well use two or three subplots, not more. Every subplot added beyond that number doesn't increase the novel's richness proportionally — it increases the risk that the reader loses track of which story they're following at any given moment.
| Number of subplots | Typical effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Risks feeling like isolated filler if it never touches the main plot |
| 2–3 | The sweet spot where most novels hold together best |
| 4+ | Needs a very solid structure to avoid scattering the reader's attention |
A practical way to check if you have too many: try summarizing the novel in three sentences. If a subplot doesn't show up even in a long summary, it probably carries less weight than the pages it occupies would suggest.
How to Weave Them Into the Main Plot
The most common flaw isn't having subplots, it's running them in parallel without ever letting them intersect. A well-woven subplot touches the main plot in at least two places: once at the midpoint, where the two stories influence each other, and once near the ending, where the outcome of one weighs on the outcome of the other.
The simplest way to achieve this is to give the subplot a character the protagonist meets anyway in the main plot — not a character who lives in an isolated chapter and only reappears for their own story. If the two threads share the same scenes, the weave happens on its own; if they live in separate chapters, it has to be built with more care.
When It's Time to Close a Subplot
A subplot should close before the main plot's climax, never after. If the reader is still waiting for a secondary story to resolve while the main plot reaches its highest point, the tension splits instead of building. The right order is: subplots close one at a time as the novel approaches the ending, leaving the main plot's tension as the last one still on the page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a subplot become more interesting than the main plot?
It can happen, and it's a signal not to ignore: sometimes it means the subplot should have been the main plot, or that the main plot needs higher stakes to hold up against the comparison.
Do I need to plan subplots before I write?
Not necessarily in detail, but it helps to know from the start where in the main plot each subplot needs to intersect: without that planned meeting point, the risk that they stay parallel for the whole book is high.