Not too long ago, I was watching my favorite TV show, 'Bones', and while I frequently think about the episodes after I'm done, this particular episode got me as a writer. The episode was no. 3 from the 5th season, entitled 'The Plain in the Prodigy'. After the credits rolled and I was getting ready for bed, my mind kept mulling the plot and subplot over in my mind, and I noticed something.
Not only the plot, but the subplot, had the same themes going on.
Most of the time when I watch 'Bones' or my other favorite show, 'House', I don't notice similarities between the main plot and the subplot in a given episode. 'The Plain in the Prodigy' was unique in this aspect.
***WARNING: SPOILERS!!!***
While some may not see the correlation, the writer in me noticed that both of these characters--Michelle and the murder victim--were going through traditional 'coming of age' rituals and trials for both their communities.
The connection between the two may be light, but it's still there, and it's got me thinking about how often we intentionally intertwine our subplots to be related to the main plot of our novels. Most of the time, I don't see them being intertwined, especially in series books. But, isn't it cool when they do? Doesn't it make a bigger impact when the characters are dealing with essentially the same issue, but from different angles, kind of like in that episode of 'Bones'?
While I haven't intentionally done this in any of my novels, I'm going to be giving it some thought, and I'm going to try to see if there's a way I can beef up my subplots so my characters are being challenged on the same topic from different angles. I hope you'll do the same.
Until next time,
Photo of 'Bones: The Plain in the Prodigy' from Fox.com/Bones
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4 comments:
Oh yeah, I love that when you see all sides of an issue through the eyes of different characters. And I love Bones too :)
Thanks for chiming in, Tabitha! I was just really surprised by this story, and the fact that they approached the same issue(s) (essentially) from different sides in the same story. Now that I've seen this one, I'm starting to see it in other episodes of 'Bones' and 'House', my other favorite show. :)
I didn't know you had a blog, but I just saw your tweet on Twitter. Great post. I used to watch Seventh Heaven and often the subplot connections were too overt, with everyone going through a similar thing. That annoyed me. I like subtlety in just about everything. Overt foreshadowing and telling what's going to happen is another thing that bugs me. I don't like to be told what's going to happen before it does. A little hint maybe is okay, but just flat out telling, "little did I know, this was the last time I'd see my true love, John, because weeks later, while I was away at college, he got eaten by a lion." or WORSE "I never would've guessed the kidnapper was waiting right outside." Yeah. Me neither. Thanks for spoiling it for everybody else. Hate that.
Thanks for checking in! I hope you like the blog. :)
On the overt foreshadowing, I've noticed that Kathy Reichs does this to a degree, but not to the point where it ruins things. It's more arousing curiosity.
As I said, I don't normally notice subplot/main plot intertwining so much, it took me a few hours to have it hit me on this one. :)
Hope you'll come back to visit and comment!
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