Learn To Write Children's Books: What is a Subplot?
Are you someone who is interested in moving forward and do you love the idea of learning to write children's books? If so, you might have asked yourself if there is room for subplots in your story. "What is a subplot?" Subplots are essentially smaller stories that fit with the main story. They are linked to the main story, and in many cases, they cannot stand alone, but they can make a story much richer and more interesting for the people who are reading. Take some time and think about what you are doing and make sure that you understand what subplots really are. When you learn to write subplots find out what you need to know when writing specifically for children.
In the first place, remember that subplots have no place in some children's books. For instance, baby books, picture books and most books for children under the age of nine or ten. They are simply going to be too short and too simple to be worth your while. Also remember that a subplot makes things more complicated and that not all stories need them. Once the audience gets a little older, however, you will find that including subplots can make your narrative much richer and much more interesting.
If you want to learn to write for children, think about what your subplot needs to do for your children's book. Is it telling us more about the main character or about the things that are going on in the main character's world? Do you love the idea of being able to let us know more about the main character's best friend or their dog or their family? The main character may not even be aware of the subplot, but it is something that the audience is keenly aware of, and they have to be interested in the subplot as well.
One common problem that many people face when they learn to write a book is that they let their subplots go a little crazy. They find that they are in a place where they want their subplot to get more and more intricate until it overwhelms the rest of the story. If you find that your subplot is more interesting to you than the rest of the story, it might be time to go into rewrites and to seriously think about the story that you want to tell. Remember that there is no such thing as too many rewrites and too many revisions!
Essentially, you need to make sure that the subplot in your children's book does something. It should tell us something more about what is going on, or it might add to an important theme. What do you want us to know about the main character that you cannot say directly or how does he or she treat the people around them? Take the time and think about how you can move forward with your subplot and make sure you understand what it is adding to the story.
When you learn to write subplots in children's books, always make sure that you read other people's work and see what they have done. The more examples you can amass when you are looking at children's books, the better. These examples can benefit your writing immensely.
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Not all children's books will have or need a subplot! Learn to write what a great children's book should include, visit http://www.learntowriteachildrensbook.com and sign-up to our free newsletter and receive regular writing tips and articles on writing for children. It is well worth checking it out!
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