The Magic of Subtext
Greetings and salutations Scribblers!
You may have heard the saying the devil’s in the details and, for writing, this holds true. If you’ve ever read something and it seemed flat or just wasn’t hooking your interest, it’s possible the author wasn’t engaging your brain as you read. Instead of providing subtext and details, they were just explicitly telling you what a character is thinking or feeling. Skipping over these details and not creating subtext is a missed opportunity.
Today we’re going to examine how subtext engages the reader and how it makes characters seem as though they could walk off the page.
Let’s dive in. First, we’ve all been there with our writing. My very first manuscript, originally started when I was in college back in the 1900s as my students would say, was full of flat, boring writing. I, of course, was just so pleased with having something on the page that I couldn’t see what a yawn-fest it was. I revised that manuscript a lot, but if I were to go back to it today, I’m sure the majority is still telling. That is one of the reasons it’s shelved. But I learned from it and each manuscript has gotten more into showing than telling.
And when I draft, I still, almost always, tell before I revise it to show. And, important note, sometimes you need to tell! Sometimes that’s the right move to make. It’s a balancing act and the only way to figure out what works for you, your writing, and your audience, is to experiment. You can also grab your favorite book, pick a chapter and use hash marks to note telling vs. showing throughout to get a feel for how your author idol might manage it.
Basically, it’s something all authors do at some phase of their writing and the goal is to learn how to recognize when you should tell and when you should show.
Why does it matter to the reader? Because just being told things is boring. Think about a lecture in college, especially if you were in college in the 1900s like me. You walked in and the professor talked to you for 45 minutes to an hour and the only reason you stayed awake was because you were furiously writing down every word they said because they had notes on an overhead…
Yawn.
Same reason most textbooks are boring. They exist to tell you things. If you’re really interested, you’ll stay engaged, but, for the most part, it’s hard to stay focused because you’re not being asked to think.
And that, dear Scribblers, is why showing is important. It invites your reader to step into the story and make connections between characters and events. Most of us do this subconsciously.
Listen to this first page from Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters and think about all the subtext that’s packed in:
I’m as restless as the ghosts today. The sigh of the trees makes my scalp prickle, my senses strain. There’s something waiting for me in the silences between the notes we play, like a vibration too low for human ears. It’s been out here in the woods for weeks, just out of my reach.
No one else notices. Sarah leans over her banjo, dark hair falling across her forehead, mouth set in concentration. The music that spins from her fingertips is bright as the sunshine that drifters across the pine needles. She looks soft in this light, her eyelashes downy as moth wings.
Alright. I love this book, Erica Waters is such a phenomenal author. Let’s start with the very first paragraph, the subtext is spooky. This fantastic first line “I’m as restless as the ghosts today.” is doing so much work. Aside from the spooky vibe, it’s telling you that our main character, Shady, is feeling anxious. And it’s letting us know ghosts exist in this world. Neither is explicit, but you no doubt picked up the context. Paired with the next line talking about her scalp prickling and her strained senses, you know this is paranormal experience and it’s serious, not just a fleeting feeling, this is something that’s taken up residence in Shady’s nervous system.
The second paragraph is just as beautiful. We’re introduced to Sarah and without ever saying it outloud, you can tell that Shady has feelings for Sarah. The way she describes the set of her mouth, how music spins from her fingertips, how she looks soft and her eyelashes are as downy as moth wings. It’s so well done. Waters doesn’t tell us that Shady is into Sarah, she shows us.
Our brains did all that work as we read–if you’re intrigued then it worked! Of course, a spooky YA might not be your jam, but the technique still holds. Your subconscious sorted through those 40-50 words and gave you all sorts of information based on the word choice and how those sentences were arranged.
Until we make the effort to become aware of these things, our subconscious just keeps doing the heavy lifting. And this is a skill that takes practice. The best way to learn is to do a close read of something you love, or a close watch. I love rewatching movies and really breaking down the small things the actors do. How they hold their hands, their posture, what their fidget is because every element is crafted to show you the story and convey something about that character or the plot.
Think about Knives Out. It was a fantastic movie because you were engaged the entire time trying to put all the pieces together and solve the mystery. That movie doled out breadcrumbs, revealing just enough to answer one question while creating ten more. And each character was oozing subtext between the things they said, what they wore, and what their body language was.
That is your goal with using subtext. You need to trust your reader to pick up on the body language of your character or how their thoughts assess a certain character or situation. Think back to that second paragraph from Ghost Wood Song–Shady never says she has a crush on Sarah, but you can feel the longing, the hope that it’s reciprocated. It’s a breadcrumb left for the reader to pick up.
Additionally, these subtleties help to flesh out your characters and make them more complex. Because you’re relying on subtext, you’re making them nuanced. People don’t tend to go around stating exactly how we feel. You show up for work and someone asks how you are. You’re probably going to answer with something that sounds positive, but the subtext speaks volumes. If you say “living the dream” it’s a cry for help. If you say “fine” things are definitely not fine. You don’t need to say Bob rolled his eyes at his colleague as he answered. “Living the dream.” It was a lie. He hated his job.
You’re going to bump the reader out of the story and Bob is now less interesting because his emotions were so transparent. Think about characters that feel alive, that seem as though they could walk right off the page and into your living room. More often than not, that’s the author’s craft shining through. There’s a plethora of work that goes into character development, but by capitalizing on subtext and nuance, you can quickly hook the reader’s subconscious.
This is why backstory needs to be at a minimum–and this is another thing most writers do, including me. When I draft, I have backstory all over the page because I’m usually figuring out what happened and why it’s important. But as I revise, I put a lot of effort in taking it out and replacing my paragraphs or sometimes pages with just one or two sentences. Or maybe a specific reaction that informs the reader of what happened in the past. Again, it’s a balancing act.
For me, sometimes I get way more invested in a side character than I do a main character for precisely that reason. We’re given fantastic subtext and hints about their past or motivations, but we don’t get the answers and we’re left to speculate.
How do we accomplish this? Especially when we, as the author know everything? One way is to take a good chunk of time away from your manuscript, enough that you maybe forget some things. When you do your reread, you’ll notice places where you’ve overshared or told something that could be better if it was shown in subtext. Another way is to get good beta reader feedback. If your beta reader suggests you pull back, it might be wise to listen to them. Remember, they aren’t in your head, so if they felt there was too much explicit telling and they didn’t get the chance to speculate and think for themselves, you might want to examine your use of subtext.
As always, your mileage may vary! Feel free to share your favorite examples of well done subtext in the comments and have fun rereading your manuscript and doing a focused search for those moments!
Consisting of five sections, this course will include strategies for revising characters, plot, pacing, and worlding building. It also includes resources for copyediting and for gaining insight into your manuscripts theme and purpose
