Secondary Stories

If by secondary stories you mean subplots, then I would absolutely include that in the synopsis. The synopsis is where such information goes--don't hold back there; lay it out, albeit briefly. If the subplot is crucial to the overall story, then a one or two sentence description of it might be appropriet in the query as well. Good luck.

Tri

I'm glad you asked this - about subplots. I have the same question and the same situation and I also haven't included the connecting idea in my synopsis. I guess I'm not as stupid as I look.

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I agree with Tri. If the subplot is important enough to be in the novel, mention it in the synopsis. Even if it's only two sentences. Subplots should always tie into the main storyline in some fashion (even if it only does so at the very end), so including it shouldn't be too hard.

You should have two-point-five subplots.


I don't know. How many other stories do you have to tell? How many of them are part of your novel and how many of them are really just short stories which have appeared as excess baggage from the line of thought you've been pursuing? Figure out the difference, write the ones that your story needs...the rest, write some short stories or expand 'em into a sequel,if you like.

karo.ambrose said:

How much of secondary stories (that relate to the main plot but aren't crucial to its development) should a modern writer have? I am asking this because my MS (still being refined) has about 1/3 of its content in the secondary story. I'm hoping to get it to 1/4 in the polished draft, but I was wondering what you guys thought about how much secondary stories took away or contributed to the main plotline.

Click to expand...

Karo,

Take this with a grain of salt, but I think subplots (which is what I think you're talking about) seem to be part and parcel of what agents/publishers are looking for nowadays. That doesn't mean subplots should just be thrown into the mix for the heck of it, naturally.

I once read, many years ago, a how-to book that said newbies should stay away from incorporating subplots, that only masters like Dickens could get away with incorporating them. That's something which has been stuck in my head from the day I read it, but I've rethought that idea.

Why? Check out Rachel Vater's take on it, what she calls layering:

Hooks and Layers

I decided to use what she describes there in my current WIP...and I think it's much better for it! My last WIP (which stopped at Chapter 8 or thereabouts because I couldn't decide with which direction to go) wasn't bad, but I don't think it was quite as involving as (I hope) this current story is.

It's taken some extra thinking on my part, but I think it's worth it.

I haven't gotten to querying as yet (my story is still in rough draft form), but my take is that if it's important to the overall story, then you should definitely mention the subplot, tying it into the main plot (I mean, if the subplot is just tacked on for the heck of it, why bother having it in the first place?). However, only you can decide how big a chunk should be included.

Hope that helps. And good luck!

~Nancy