While the main plot concern of a cozy is to solve the mystery and unmask the murderer, subplots are necessary. They add depth, character development, and color. Subplots reveal character and relationships. They can increase tension or slow down pacing. Since cozies are usually written in series, subplots often continue from one book to another. Close friendships, enmities and romance are all examples of subplots.
Subplots can also develop into future main plots. In my Haunted Library mystery series, Carrie's best friend Angela gets engaged. Her wedding will take place in book five of the series, where someone will be murdered.
Another subplot revolves around Carrie's nemesis, Dorothy Hawkins, the nasty reference librarian. Dorothy resents Carrie because she believes erroneously that she should have become the head of programs and events, not Carrie. In Buried In The Stacks, Dorothy is murdered and solving the murder becomes part of the major plot.
Carrie's relationship with her father is a subplot in Read and Gone. Jim Singleton leaps back into her life after an absence of many years and asks Carrie to help him retrieve money from one of his partners in crime. Horrified, Carrie refuses. She thinks that's the end of the matter until her father becomes a suspect in the man's murder. Knowing her father is no killer, she sets out to prove his innocence. Their relationship goes through various changes as Carrie investigates the murder.
Subplots often involve activities and events that take place in the town where the sleuth lives and works. In Buried in the Stacks, the library becomes a refuge for many homeless people who need a warm place to stay during the day. Wanting to do something positive about the problem, Carrie gets involved in the creation of Haven House, a day center for the homeless.
The number of possible subplots is endless and as varied as a writer's imagination will allow.
Right on target, Marilyn. Readers who dismiss cozies don't realize that they contain all the elements of a traditional mystery. It's the things they don't contain like violence, sex, or bad language that make them distinctive. I'm surprised to read that you killed off Dorothy. She was always good for conflict. She must have really started getting to you.
ReplyDeleteGood piece! I suspect many readers use cozies as an escape, but I want to know how intrepid amateur sleuths deal with the craziness of our current lives.
ReplyDeleteI love reading cozies. As Grace said, they contain all of the elements of a traditional mystery, so what's not to like. Subplots are a great way to provide continuity and advance the character arc from book to book in a series. I'm always interested in the resolution of these carry through features.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I have enjoyed reading your series is how the subplots work to help develop the characters. It seems they grow in each book because of the actions the subplots force them to take.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful post! I needed to read this BEFORE I wrote my first in my series. LOL--that's where I struggled the most. My first in series was linear in the plot, but I improved in book two and the book was so much better for it! You nailed all the reasons why they need to be there!
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed. The subplots add substance and interest.
ReplyDeleteSpot on, Marilyn! I read some books mostly for the subplots (as an example, anything grandma Mazur is doing in the Stephanie Plum books). I love that you carry subplots from one book to another. It feels like real life.
ReplyDeleteWe need to show that our characters aren’t solely involved in one murder after another. Subplots add dimension and realism. Good post, Marilyn.
ReplyDeleteLife is full of subplots, and our fiction is more believable when our characters' lives are full of subplots, too.
ReplyDeleteAmong my many "reminder" posts near my work desk is this list of what my main characters need:
action problem
personal problem
secondary personal problem
moral problem
relationship problem