Subtext
Today, I’m talking about subtext. I’ve just started to plan my new
Christian romance, which I’ve decided to use NaNoWriMo to write. I’ve never participated in National Novel
Writing Month before and I’d like to give it a go this year. But since
I promised to focus on building my blog following with interesting topics, I
didn’t want to let the week past without posting this week’s Pull Up A Chair
entry. Therefore, I’m going to talk quickly about subtext before I rush back to
my planning.
What is Subtext?
Subtext is the deeper meaning to anything a character may say or do when
they’re using subtext. You can even use objects as symbols of subtext for specific
characters.
Subtext is one of many (I spoke about Deep POV over at Celeste Jones last week) techniques authors use in order to draw the reader
into stories, and it’s a clever way to engage the reader on an emotional level.
Subtext is subtle, yet we understand it when we encounter it because it’s
everywhere.
When using subtext, our characters may act one way when really we know
they mean something else. On the other hand, they may say something and mean another
thing entirely.
An example of visual and dialogue subtext would be something like this:
Your character storms into her flat and slams her stuff on the nearest
table. (We kinda suspect she’s mad.) This is visual subtext for “I’m hopping
mad about something”.
What if her flatmate ask how her day was and she replies “Great!” This
is dialogue subtext because we can discern from her sarcastic tone and actions
that her day wasn’t all that great.
Usually if someone is saying one thing and meaning another, there’s a
reason. You can be sure your reader also knows this and she’ll keep reading to
discover what’s up with your character and why she’s so angry.
We can convey subtext through vehicles like sarcasm, something implied,
metaphors, misinterpretations, double entendres, jest, body language, etc.
Sometimes writers don’t trust their readers to “get it” and will turn
around and knock them over the head with what the character really meant. Try
not to do this; you don’t need to explain the dialogue subtext because it will
have the opposite effect of involving the reader in your story. Trust your
reader to be as clever as you are. She won’t thank you for treating her like a
simpleton.
Subtext creates deeper meaning. It allows us to experience
the story rather than simply reading it, so keep an eye out for all the subtext
around you and see if you can’t work a little into your scenes this week!
