5 Techniques for Adding Subtext to your Story

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Today we've invited Ollin Morales to clue us in about subtext--thank goodness, because while I know what it is, I've never understood how to add it to a story without confusing the readers and myself. Ollin's blog is a Top Ten Blogs for Writers winner, and, as I'm sure you'll agree once you've read his post, he knows his stuff. 




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About 90% of the time, we human beings don’t say what we mean to say. Instead, we speak in subtext. The beauty of subtext is that it makes human interaction fascinating; and, likewise, it’s what will make your story worth reading. If you, as a writer, can fundamentally understand the importance of subtext, I guarantee that you'll see the benefit in adding it to you story.



What Is Subtext? The best way to explain it is with an example:



Boy meets girl. 

Boy asks girl: "Do you like Coldplay?"

Boy smiles. Girl frowns.

Girl says: "No, they suck."

Boy asks: "Oh—what music do you like then?"

Boy walks towards girl. Girl steps back.

Girl blows a raspberry. 

Girl says: "I hate music."

Boy says: "Oh. So, you wouldn't be interested in going to a free concert?

Boy winks. 

Girl takes a moment to think about it. Then, Girl shakes her head. 

Boy shakes his head.

Boy says: "Okay, good-bye."

Boy leaves. 

Girl takes a huge sigh of relief.



Now, if you take a quick, superficial look at this scene, you might conclude that not much happened in it, right? WRONG. A WHOLE LOT happened. It’s just that it’s hard to catch because it all happened “in between the lines.” 




This is how the scene would read if there were NO SUBTEXT, and everyone in the scene was saying exactly what they meant to say:



Boy meets girl. 

Boy says: " I think you're cute . "

Boy smiles. Girl frowns.

Girl says: " Thanks ."

Boy asks: " Are you single ?"

Boy walks towards girl. Girl steps back.

Girl blows a raspberry. 

Girl says: " Yes. But I'm not interested in you ."

Boy asks: " Can I be your sugar daddy at least?"

Boy winks. Girl takes a moment to think about it. Then, Girl shakes her head. 

Boy shakes his head.

Boy says: " Okay, but you're the one who’s missing out ." 

Boy leaves. 

Girl takes a huge sigh of relief.



Now do you see what really went on in the scene? You probably also recognized an interaction that happens all the time, in real life. Just like in real life, your human characters will never say what they really mean. What they really mean to say will be conveyed through subtext: unspoken words hidden "in between the lines."






DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMIN' OUTTA MY MOUTH?







Now that we've learned what subtext is, here are 5 techniques you can use to add it to your story.



1. Give Your Character An Objective



We all have an objective, whether we realize it or not--“big picture” objectives (buying a house) and “small picture” objectives (going to the bathroom.) In the example above, we can see that the boy's objective was to land a date with the girl, while the girl's objective was to make it clear to the boy that she was not interested in him. Your characters should have something that drives them. The only thing that will drive them is an objective—a goal. Furthermore, having a goal will automatically add subtext to everything they say.



2. Give Your Character An Action



Now that the character has a goal, you have to give them the means by which they can achieve that goal. Try not having your character attempt to achieve his/her goal by deliberately asking for it. Instead, let them use their body language, or their tone of voice, to show what they  want. In the example I shared with you, the girl blows a raspberry at the boy to show the boy that she's not interested in him. Blowing a raspberry (although childish) is an action the girl is taking to achieve her objective (making it clear to the boy that she’s not interested in him). Her action also provides a clue to her subtext.



Giving your character an action will help the reader read between the lines of your story—and it will also reveal what the character really wants without you having to explain what the character really wants.



3. Make Your Characters Talk In Gibberish



It might sound strange, but when you replace all your character’s dialogue with gibberish, the subtext is revealed (or at least hinted at). For instance:



Boy meets girl. 

Boy asks: "Je janga pota blub?"

Boy smiles. Girl frowns.

Girl says: "Glooby."

Boy asks: "Jin go ploopa?"

Boy walks towards girl. Girl steps back.

Girl blows a raspberry.



Even though we have no idea what they’re saying, it’s pretty clear to us that this girl doesn’t like this boy. How do we know that, if all they did was talk in gibberish? SUBTEXT. If you replace your character’s dialogue with gibberish and it's impossible to know what’s going on, then it probably means you have to develop more subtext. On the other hand, if you did a great job of developing the subtext of the story, then your reader should have a general idea of what’s going on in the scene—even when the characters are talking nonsense.



4. Give Your Character A Secret



When you give a character a secret, it instantly makes them more interesting—and boy will there be subtext galore.



5. Give A Character A Secret About Another Character



What is more tantalizing than a character with a secret? A character who knows another character’s secret. When you put those two characters together in a room it makes for a very fascinating scene—chock full of delicious delicious subtext. Yum!



Good luck!



Hopefully, today, you learned something new: that human beings all talk in subtext and that if you want to create intriguing, believable characters, they'll have to talk in subtext, too. By utilizing these five techniques, you’ll not only vastly improve your ability to create subtext, but you’ll probably never look at human interactions the same way again.



Ollin Morales is a fiction writer,  freelance writer, blogger, and ghostwriter. His blog,  Courage 2 Create , chronicles his journey as he writes his first fiction novel. His blog offers writing advice as well as strategies to deal with life’s tough challenges. His blog was named one of The Top Ten Blogs for Writers by WriteToDone two years in a row (2011, 2012).