I’m glad you brought up the connection between subplots and theme. It took me a while when writing to realize I needed to link subplots via themes. Without connecting themes your subplots can feel completely disjointed and irrelevant.
YES! I actually wanted to include "The Parking Garage" as an example for this video, but I ran out of time this week. Pretty much every episode nails the "plot line payoff"
As good as Seinfeld is at that, Curb is even better. Granted, I think Curb is better all around if for no other reason than no laugh-track and the difference between what you can do on NBC vs HBO, but the way stories interweave in Curb is masterful.
This is such good advice that transcends the simple label of "Plot Lines". You talk about tone, pace, suspense, build-ups and payoffs, composition and arrangement...this video is *VALUABLE*! My favorite plot line is from Chuck Palahniuk's "Rant" where there's secret society of people who go "Party Crashing" which is like a public demolition derby. They drive through the streets flying the game flag, and hunting for other cars flying the game flag!
THE TWO TOWERS screenplay is an excellent example at jugging so many different plot lines, especially when you consider how much it restructures those events from how they happen in the book.
my favorite ongoing manga, Hunter x Hunter, has, for the last like 50 chapters, not had any of the protagonists have a single appearance while its been focussing on developing a different plotline, and i've been really enjoying it. chapters 350ish-400, with none of the protagonists involved, somehow continuously keep me engaged with interesting story and character writing. i'm really excited for all these plotlines to intertwine in the end.
Nice... I'm always amazed when writers pull off a satisfying "detour" storyline like that. It's hard (at least for me) to branch away from the main storyline/characters, but when it works, it's awesome to get more of what you already love.
Bro, as soon as he asked «what is your favorite subplot from your favorite story» i instantly thought of kurapicas plotline in hxh. You have good taste, and lets pray that togashi gets well again.🙏
Anime/manga are good at that because they are really good at world building and introducing characters in such a way as they answer some questions but create more. Case and point, as much as we love Gon and Kilua, we really don't know enough about the governments of HxH or the Dark Continent.
@@sooneradmirer4382 i've been loving everything about the 14 princes. Hinrigh has become my favourite character so fast, and he's not even a prince, either
It's pretty amazing that this arc is shaping up to be the best in the series after the masterpieces of York New City and Chimera Ant. And the voyage to the Dark Continent is only beginning. I can't imagine what the story will evolve into by the time they get there. Though, concerning your claim about none of the previous protagonists making an appearance, Kurapika, Hisoka, the Phantom Troupe, and Leorio to an extent, are main players in the arc. Kurapika was already the main protagonist in the York New City arc, the Phantom Troupe the main villains, and Hisoka has always been a villain protagonist. Togashi is a master of keeping just enough of what we are comfortable and familiar with, while also hitting us with major curveballs to keep us excited.
Arcane does multiple plot lines very well. I'm surprised you haven't mentioned it at all in your videos. At least I haven't see you do it. Arcane does a lot of other things well. Mystery, character development and complexity, all types of relationships, good, bad and grey characters, world-clashing and (most important of all) ACTUALLY GOOD FEMALE AND MALE CHARACTERS THAT ARE GOOD BECAUSE THEY ARE WRITTEN WELL AND NOT BECAUSE THEY OUTCOMPETE ONE ANOTHER.
There's one major issue with the "connecting the plots" aspect though, typically when there's too many plotlines and not enough characters. You end up with characters linked in an absurd amount of ways that just seems forced to a degree of parody. Quick example, the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series. The main character's ex-girlfriend comes from the same family as his future mentor, and the entire overarching plot is all related to that family as if every villain in the damn country was somehow related to them.
Oh man, it's been so long since I played PW1-3. Are you referring to the Fey family? I don't remember the connections bothering me much when I played them on DS years ago, but you're probably right--might've been a case of "Everybody's related to the hero." You had the Feys, the Von Karmas, the various defendants who knew Phoenix...and didn't Edgeworth and Phoenix go to the same law school as well?
@@WriterBrandonMcNultyWright and Edgeworth went to the same elementary school, but I don't believe, if I remember correctly, that they went to the same law school. After Edgeworth's father was killed, I believe they didn't see eachother ever again until they met in court, face to face at least.
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty yyyyyyyyyup and that's not even the quarter of it. It's definitely a massive case of everyone's related, to the hero and otherwise hahah. I mean it's a game, it's designed for kids, so I can accept it just fine, cringe a bit and sprinkle enough Deus Ex Machina over plot resolutions and it all works out nicely if you squint enough. But in general it's just an awful way to connect plotlines. I'd rather have more characters and each one has a specific reason to be in the story, rather than the reason for their presence being the same for everyone just so the characters are connected closer.
It's tough to narrow down but I think if I had to state my favorite plot from my favorite story, it'd be Frodo, Sam and Gollum's plot from LotR. Every time I watch those movies or read the books I'm hit all over again at how much I love the characters and how Tolkein set up the payoff at the end with Gollum attacking Frodo and getting the ring from him, and how the entire thing wraps into the resolution of the other plots neatly.
I don’t have a favorite plot line, but watching this video made me recognize how good Hiromu Arakawa is at tying together all of her plot lines in Fullmetal Alchemist. There are many, many plot lines. Seriously, there’s like a bazillion, but they all, yes, all of them, end up tying into each other without getting overwhelming, at least from my perspective. Each plot line gets its conclusion in a satisfying way. It’s an amazing story to read and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves good circular storytelling. Thanks for another helpful video! These are really insightful and genuinely useful!
I definitely am working on getting better at writing plot lines. I’m still at my character creation stage, but I love storytelling and I’m determined to master it.
@@VibingMeike Thank you! My goal this year is to write my first short story. I’m writing detective fiction stories. I love film noir detective stories, Raymond Chandler is one of my all time favorite storytellers and I hope to write as a great as he did. P.S. I highly recommend you read his short story “Red Wind”. The PDF is on Google for free, it’s definitely one of my favorite stories of his career.👍📚
I loved this video. A plot that really sticks out to me is Jaime Lannister's subplot in A Song of Ice and Fire. I remember your video about how to cripple your characters to facilitate character development, and Jaime was the main example. He goes from what seemed to be a gifted, yet sociopathic and homicidal knight with shit for honor, to being maimed and losing the only thing he was seemingly good at: his fighting ability. He now has spent almost two books learning to develop himself as an intelligent, honorable, and compassionate person, while leaving behind all the vanity, toxicity, and codependency of his previous family life and life at the King's court. I really hope we get an ending, because I know it will end tragically, but he will probably die a hero's death. I never thought I would root so hard for a character who defenestrated a child during the first chapter he appeared.
The sense of "terrible purpose" for Paul Atreides in Dune together with story of friendship and loyalty between Sam and Frodo in LoR remain my favourite plot lines.
My favorite is in "The Good Place". Everyone's story contributes to the ultimate end of the central arc and also has their own individual new or final arcs. just great writing.
People have been telling me to watch TGP for years (mainly because I'm a Jaguars fan and there are apparently a ton of Blake Bortles). May have to give it a shot one of these days--thanks!
TGP brings up another topic idea for this channel: how to write a good ensemble story so that every character shines more or less equally. Friends is another good example.
I really liked the Saw Gerrera subplot from Star Wars: Rebels. It really highlighted Ezra's internal conflict with what he is truly fighting for. Plus, I just really like Saw Gerrera as a character.
The best example of multiple plot-lines I can think is Inception. It begins by pretty much focusing on one central plot until they go into the dreams together. Then as they go down further into their dreams it gradually adds more and more plot-lines to the point that almost every character has their own, switching seamlessly between them, all while not losing focus of the central plot.
One of my favourite stories is A Clockwork Orange, which has a very simple, linear plot. In fact, it has almost a fable or a tale structure. I tend to write stories with limited plot lines too, but I know I must work on it a bit more for some of my novel projects.
One of the best examples is Fawlty Towers. John Cleese and Connie Booth spent 6 weeks per episode writing all the plot lines and tying them together all for a 30 minute show. The scripts were twice as long as the usual scripts for a 30-minute comedy, and then everything was tightened up in editing.
I don't know if you remember, but long ago I told you it was unfair that you had so few followers. I just noticed you've passed 100k. Glad to see it, though it's less than you deserve.
As someone who just largely finished a book ( I have 66k words, so I still need like 14k more) with multiple plot lines all coming together in the end, I'm going to watch this to see how my story compares lol.
This feels like it's an issue that's solved with the appropriate Plot Structure. Not saying that one Structure reigns over any other, but picking the one that you feel most aligns with this particular story is key!
My favorite set of story archs and plot lines comes in "Chariots of Fire". The story follows two British runners who follow their dream of winning an Olympic gold medal. Both stories sometimes cross, sometimes simply touch, and then separate from each other again. In the end, everything is brought together in a single silent shot when Harold Abrahams watches Eric Liddell running in the 400 m final which is less a race than a tour d'honeur. While he watches, there seems to be so much going on in Abrahams' mind. He realizes that although he himself has already won a gold medal, Liddell has found something more that he - Abrahams - can never reach: contentment. It is a wonderful example for how often there is a difference between what the protagonist wants and what he really needs. Throughout the story, the stubborn and selfish Abrahams thinks he has to win a gold medal to "justify his whole existence". But when he finally reaches that goal, it is a bittersweet victory - he has gained everybody's respect, but at the same time he still feels alone and unfulfilled. He has found victory, but not contentment. Then he sees Liddell who flies to victory as if God carried him on the Wings of Eagles. Liddell, other than Abrahams, is at peace with himself, has found perfect harmony and is beloved by everybody. What Liddell wants is what he needs.
Excessive plot lines are especially bad on screen. Not because they're hard to keep track of, but because they slow each other down. If you have ten plots in one movie, they average six minutes per hour.
Batman Begins. The entire story is wonderful. What I love is that Batman's character Bruce is the central part of the story. Too often Batman gets shelves to focus on the villains. Here, Bruce is the story and it's the only Batman movie where this is done.
The Menu: I love the scene where the Chef is talking and it switches between an emulsion being presented and then the timer. These simple inclusions kept increasing the tension.
This was a great video. It helped me understand plotlines more. I liked how you described the overarching plot, the central plot, and the subplot. You also came up with some very useful tips.
Harry Potter is known to have several plot points for each books. Biggest example is when Harry’s mother Lilly sacrificed herself to save her son from Voldemort with the Love Protection. Then in the Goblet of Fire, Voldemort tried to bypass the protection by using Harry’s blood into his new body. Then in the Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore explained that Voldemort’s body keeps her sacrifice alive and while that enchantment survives, so do you. Love is one of the most powerful and important themes in these stories because it’s stronger than dark arts and it’s the only thing Voldemort can’t understand and won’t except it’s true power.
The last book that I wrote I had three plotlines going on at once that covered different lengths of time and still had to end up at the same place, then... it continued on as separate plotlines that at least happened in the same time length, but the way I think I described writing the first half was like trying to solve a rubik's cube as I was building it. Oi. Glad I finished it, I'm very proudn.
Kill Bill was pretty good at keeping you engaged with one simple plot. And then each fight introduces a subplot that gets resolved as each fight is concluded. Pretty efficient storytelling
I think of the main plot as the main characters story while the subplots are the side characters stories… I’m a very character focused writer, so this system makes it easier for me to organize what I’m writing:) and I actually love the romance plot in the Incredible Hulk! So much better than anything with MJ in spider man😂
I’m a fan of rom-com and action. My favorite films are Boomerang and Every Which Way But Lose. Both have multiple plot lines. That keeps the audiences engaged.
One of the greatest things I get from these vids is realization of why some of the greatest scenes, stories, and series are so good. I’ve always known what I like, but now I understand why I like it.
No wayyy. I was binge watching all your videos for the past week! And the story I'm currently writing has multiple plot lines but I've done that before.
One of my favorite examples multiple plot lines coming together is in “American Gangster”. I love following Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe’s characters and then when they come together at the boxing match it’s so glorious!!!!! 🙌🔥🙌🔥🙌🔥
this video was super helpful! I was struggling with how to manage my subplots for my novel and I thought there was too much going on, despite believing they were all connected to the central plot. now I’m a lot more confident with my organization! thanks Brandon!
My favorite story is Codex Alera by Jim Butcher, and it's super hard to point to a single favorite plotline, but the first one that comes to mind is Tavi's from the middle to later part of the first book. Getting kidnapped, having to interact with the politics of the Marat and prove himself to them was thrilling to read, all while perfectly building toward a resolution that ties it back into the central plot of that book, and unbeknownst at the time, setting up the overarching plotline for the entire series.
hey brandon, i think it’d be cool if you showed people the list of videos you’re working on and let them vote on the next one!!!! not that you don’t already satisfy us with these great vids, but i think it’d be a great idea for channel growth
By far one of the best and most helpful channels for writing. I'm still working on chapter one of my story so your videos on exposition are helping me the most rn.
Favourite plot line from my favourite series is yosef from destiny's crucible trying to not get discovered that he's actually from another planet, not some obscure island in the ocean. His wife is smart as a whip and keeps figuring stuff out.
The irony of 24 Season 1's plot(s) is that the series was initially only greenlit for 13 episodes - that's why there's a distinct primary plot that wraps up after episode 13, at which point a new primary plot begins as the villains execute a "contingency plan" 😁
Thank god I found this video. In the story I’m writing, while there is one main character, the other characters have there own stories to, and the essence is the main character got caught up in this entire situation that’s way over her head. So ya, a bunch of stuff is happening at once, since it’s really not just one story. However I knew that was a recipe for disaster. Thx so muuuuuuch ❤ (if anyone’s curious there is a main story for every really important character, and there are around 12 really important characters it’s octopath traveler up in this bitch)
@@AutisticBrain nah, I haven’t written it yet. Rn I’m writing a shorter story to hone my skills before I start on such a huge project, but thank you for showing interest! It means a lot.
Man, I love watching your videos! They're so helpful, and no matter what the video is about, I always manage to take something from it. Thanks for helping the writing community!
I got two favorites. First one is a chinese cultivation novel called Reverend Insanity. My favorite is the first book(first 200 chapters). Second one is Hunter x Hunter 2011 japanese animation. Favorite is Chimera Ant arc, it's epic. I don't actually read western novels much. The reason I follow your channel is that I myself wrote a 80k novel, a fantasy action centered on a forbidden love story. I wanted to fuse a block buster western style story like Pirates of the caribbean, game of thrones, harry potter with niche asian genre elements like superpowers and a tinge of cultivation, a fresh breath of new air. And I produced a fantastic story with all the six elements you mentioned applied in it, and even more elements I have on top, coming from my +10 years of reading experience of hundreds or maybe thousands of light or webnovels. But starting editing, I realized my english as a second language erected a prose problem like a giant wall of that game of thrones' that I couldn't overcome by myself no matter how hard I try. Talking and undestanding a language is one thing, and writing a novel that could be traditionally published is whole different beast that requires a completely hegemony over the language. I paused editing now, and the novel sits just like that for over a year by now. I always aim to be self sufficient, self reliant, solving my problems with will and determination, but what can I do when the problem is inherently over my capabilities?
I'm not very organized when I write, I just sort of let it flow for the first draft, it isn't until I reread it that i identify plotlines. Now that I think about my current story I might have 4 plotlines going, maybe. I'll find out once I'm done.😅😅
Great video as always. I just watched one of your older videos, and the audio quality is SIGNIFICANTLY better than before. Nice improvement. Also, I'd love to see you break down those plotline patterns in another video, with examples. I bet you could make a whole video out of that.
I'm writing an action fantasy webcomic. The overarching plot is the main characters' found family growing in number and in strength, while also finding out that they're being monitored by a god, and that a woman has a beef with all divinities, and wants to murder them all. Season 1's central plots are preventing a loong (chinese dragon) from wrecking havock, and the three main characters learning to open up to and trust one another. In terms of plot lines, I have one about one character's disdain of weapons, which ties to his enigmatic past, one about another character's self doubt and fear of failure, one about the slow understanding (and usage) of my world's magic system, and one about a mysterious skeletal figure that tries to stop the heroes from progressing on their quest. I like to think I juggled them fairly well ! None ever feel like they stay or stray for too long, and they all get resolved in the end-- well, unless they're teasing for the sequel ! I self-taught myself plot structure by reading graphs and descriptions, and now, every plot point, pinch point, and midpoint is there. I feel like I made more progress these past 6 months than since I first started this project 11 years ago. And it's also thanks to you ! Your videos give me the best advice and inspiration. Thank you for everything !!
I think a great example of pacing via mini cliffhangers and multiple plot lines tying together is the William Shatner Tek War series which make a pretty seamless blending of Sci Fi and film noir
As i was watching this i was using your definitions of plot lines as a question. I was asking myself what do i have in relation to these. Luckily the answer is that i have a solid overarching plot that spreads multiple books, i have a main plot for the individual book and several side plots that overlap and effect the overarching and main plot. Your videos are incredibly helpful so thank-you very much.
This video is great man, thanks! I read bad parts and entry wounds, and they were really, really engaging. I had some problems with bad parts but still very much enjoyed it and entry wounds was just fantastic. When is your next book coming????
Super late reply, but thank you so much for checking out Entry Wounds and Bad Parts! Thrilled to hear you enjoyed them. I released a new book called The Half Murders a few months ago: amzn.to/4amlFKG Also, if you don't mind, please consider leaving brief Amazon reviews--those help a ton
Brandon, could you make a video about secondary characters? How do we avoid them taking the spotlight of the MC? If it's good for a dedicated arc or chapter only for a secondary character? And other tips and tricks to write the more flashed out secondary characters
Hey, long time (silent) viewer here. Your videos have greatly helped improve my writing skills and inspired me to try new things. One question, could you cover negative dialogue between characters? Often times I find myself writing disagreements between my characters but it either comes off as unconvincing and forced or overly negative without highlighting the core issue enough. I don't want them to constantly get along and agree on everything, but it feels clumsy whenever they don't. Thanks!
I did a video on this a few years ago (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5SHd82nbW8M.html) but that one might be dated. I'll see about doing an updated version sometime in the future
@MrShirial I am in the same boat. I'm up to 89k words and struggling between adding more and removing some words to try and make it readable. I'm going to watch that video after this one, now haha
my favourite plot line was a sibling sub-plot between the main character and her brother in the manhwa, "Death is the only ending for a villainess". In this plot line she manages to fix her relationship with her older brother by being honest with him bout the conditions she grew up in and how she was just an illiterate child who didnt even know the worth of a necklace that he framed her of stealing in their childhood. They were on the mend because she was being honest and he was willing to take responsibility for what he did back then
Thanks for making this video! Like I said in my request my story is focused on two plot lines of the same character, and I can't really name a movie I've seen with that.
Thank you for the video! I am definitely guilty of overloading a story with plotlines, as far as my publisher is regarded 😅 I tend to jump on every idea and keep them. So I had a murder mystery with the main plot (the actual mystery) buried under tons of subplots from family to buddy to romance to another mystery and a self-identity crisis of one of the villains. I now have to boil it down to the mystery and two or three of the other plots, all of which now involve my protagonist to tie them together. My favorite plot line so far has to come from Thunderbolt Fantasy and it's the somewhat romantic arc of the nihilistic monk Ro Shinkai and his "princess", a demonic sword. The plot stretches over two seasons, always connecting to the main plot. So good. Follow up question: How would you label/ handle different arcs of a plot, e.g. suspects in a crime story?
One of the most effective execution of multiple plot lines in the recent year is Better Call Saul, or in particular, that scene when Lalo Salamanca entered the same room as Howard Hamlin.
Right now my favourite plot line is the romantic subplot of the book I'm reading. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. Best romance I've read in a while.
Another thing you didn't touch on is how plotlines can intersect each other (or not) through the story. Some stories have the plotlines almost totally disconnected, with characters in far-flung places and only occasionally interacting with each other (Game of Thrones did this to an extent, Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is another great example). In other stories, subplots are intimately connected to the main plot, often involving the same characters but facing different challenges (such as your Groundhog Day example, also a lot of romance novels do this). And, of course, it's a spectrum, with many stories falling somewhere in the middle.
Just watched the Netflix anime mininseries based on the manga Pluto. While is based on an Astroboy story is anvery different interpretation. A.detective, how is a robot that looks like a human, is working on several cases that turn out to be related. The murders of dome of the 7 most powerful robots and a group of scientists that where send to find out the truth of a project to create a powerful robot in a country that build an army of robot to conquer the word. Each robot and scientist has his own story, and even some of the villains.
Great video thanks. I'm just curious about stories that have an overarching plot, but also multiple central plots rather then just one central plot with subplots. I'm thinking of something like 'The Lord of the Rings' where instead of one central plot with a few subplots, there are multiple central plots, which all include their own subplots. Another example would be Chris Nolans 'Dunkirk.' When I'm thinking of writing stories, this style always seems like the most exciting and engaging approach. I feel like this video addressed only those with an overarching plot and one central plot with its subplots, rather then what I just described. Wondering if you could do a breakdown of plot lines in movies specifically like Lotr or Dunkirk. Love your stuff, thanks.
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty A Clash of Kings/A Storm of Swords, 13 Assassins, Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest, The Man in the Iron Mask (novel). I’m also looking for stories that have good intricate politics with multiple parties vying for goals.
I'd like to see a break down of story with more than 3 or 5 characters as protagonists. Or literally everyone is the protagonist and only becomes an antagonist when viewing from the other character's eyes. Not sure if I'm describing it correctly but the one I'm thinking of is "Durarara!!!".
The movie Rashomon immediately comes to mind. Definitely check that out if you haven't already. I'll mull this idea over and see if I can come up with a good video for it. Thanks!
Really great guidance on multiple plot lines. I just did this for a video I'm releasing soon discussing Pope Francis' Fiducia Supplicans document - it has 3 subplots. This is a perfect checklist to check and refine it. Thanks!
I'm just going to hop in here because this is fairly recent and ask a question about you. I just found your channel (YT, geez...) and looked through your vids to see if you addressed the perennial question of whether to outline a story or not and whether you do or not. Personally, I'm wary of hard outlines. The map is not the landscape, as they say, and I'm leery of locking myself into a fixed idea of a story since once I'm down in the weeds, I might find myself rethinking a plot point and find myself having to throw out chunks of work. I'm also a visual writer. I can see scenes like film clips, so even though I have a rough idea of what the story is and where I'm going, if I have a scene in Imax that just pops into my head with all guns blazing, I'll write the scene then try to figure out how it connects to other scenes, which usually forces me to come up with something I wouldn't have otherwise. This lets me improvise but within loosely defined boundaries so I don't go entirely off the rails (although some times that's useful too). I know this all sounds a little wierd, but I've learned to live with the fact my writing mind functions seperately from my conscious mind, and if it sends me an idea, it must have popped up for a reason, and it's best not to piss off the writing gods by ignoring their gift... So, whaddya do?
Yes. In fact subplots usually contribute heavily to character arcs. Like a romantic subplot will usually challenge a hero to overcome their flaw. Think about Groundhog Day and how Bill Murray’s character learns to become a better person and escape the time loop as a result of the romantic subplot
Something that has always struck me are the weak story lines in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", for all the affection that I have for this show. Not only is there no interconnection between the different threads, they sometimes even do not share the same time frame. For example, in the ep. 3.4 Terry devolops an addiction for cacao nibs and gains considerable weight, which should take weaks or even months. In the parallel threads, Jake and Holt catch the Oolong Slayer in a story thread that seems to span a couple of days at the best. Sometimes one thread takes place at night while the other one is set during normal office hours, and so on. Now you could argue that this is only a comedy show, but I call it sloppy writing. Even when doing comedy - or especially then - you have to take your work seriously. "Seinfeld", for example, was known for it's cleverly interwoven story lines. You could have three or four different plots that would eventually all come together in hillarious ways.
