ASOIAF POV Characters + Ages When They Enter The Series

how to weave subplots into your story without getting tangled in the mess

Subplots: the spicy side quests of your main narrative. They deepen your world, flesh out your characters, and keep things interesting. But if you’ve ever added one and ended up with a story that feels like it’s running in six directions at once… yeah. Let’s fix that.

1. your subplot should serve the main plot

Don’t just throw in a romance arc or a secret sibling reveal because it’s fun (though it is fun). Ask:  

- Does this subplot challenge the main character’s goals?  

- Does it echo or contrast the main theme?  

- Does it change something by the end?

If it’s just a cute side quest with no real impact, it’s fanfic material for your own story. Cool, but maybe not plot-essential.

2. intertwine, don’t parallel

Bad: your subplot exists in a bubble, running beside the plot but never touching it.  

Better: your subplot interacts with the main plot. Maybe it complicates things. Maybe it supports the MC in a moment of crisis. Maybe it explodes everything.

Example: your MC is hunting a killer, and the subplot is their failing marriage. Good subplotting means the stress of the hunt affects the marriage, and the marriage affects the hunt.

3. stagger your arcs

Your main plot might hit its midpoint twist at chapter 10. Have a subplot hit a *smaller* emotional beat around chapter 7 or 13. It keeps pacing dynamic and gives your readers something to chew on between big moments.

4. use subplots to develop side characters

Side characters are more than background noise. Give them wants. Give them stakes. Let their stories *collide* with your MC’s. That’s when the magic happens.

5. know when to shut it down 

Not every subplot needs a 3-act structure and a dramatic finale. Some are small. Some fade out naturally. Some just shift the perspective enough to reframe the main plot. If you’re tying up subplot #6 with a bow in the epilogue, maybe ask yourself if it really needed to be there.

6. outline the spiderweb 

It helps to map out how every subplot connects to the main story. Literally. Draw lines. Make a chaos diagram. It doesn’t have to be neat—just make sure those threads touch.

TL;DR:

Subplots are great. Subplots are juicy. But they’re not decoration—they’re infrastructure. Weave them into the story’s bones or risk writing 3 novels in one.

only one bed

morning after dialogue

"Please, don't make this awkward."

"Did you know that you snore quite a lot?"

"We don't have to talk about it."

"You stole my blanket and fought me for it."

"I need to use the bathroom, could you let me go please?"

"See? That was alright, wasn't it?"

"Never thought you would be a cuddler."

"You're seriously like an octopus."

"How did you sleep? I slept surprisingly well."

"I can't feel my arm anymore, you were laying on it all night."

"You are like a furnace, I felt like I needed to get my clothes off."

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk in your sleep?"

"I couldn't leave, you were lying basically on top of me."

"When did you decide that I was the pillow?"

"Can we delay getting up for a few minutes more, please?"

More: bed sharing scenarios + only one bed dialogue

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Honestly, ever since becoming a fanfic writer myself I’ve become like 500% more understanding and patient about other authors’ update schedules. An author takes 6+ months to post their next chapter? Yeah, totally get that real life can get in the way. An author abandons a fic? Disappointing, but it happens- sometimes inspiration for a story just dies. An author apologizes about taking so long to post a 10k word chapter? Dude, that’s like 18-20 pages on Word single-spaced. It takes me at least a week to write an essay for school a quarter the length of that, and that’s with a deadline. 

It’s probably the most important thing writing fanfic has taught me, tbh. How to fully appreciate the hard work someone else has put into their story. How important the role of the audience is to an author. And that no matter what, you are never entitled to demand more of a story that you are getting for free. 

Have you ever read so much fanfiction and consumed so much fanart that you genuinely forgot what canon is?

So this is just a hypothetical question of mine, buuuuuuuut…

Is it normal for one of your OTPs to consist of a canon character and the OC that you specifically created to explore a different side to said canon character despite the canon material having so far never shown any hint of that side existing and to avenge said canon character after his/her death?

Again, it’s a hypothetical question.

WIP WEDNESDAY

Hey! Hope everyone’s doing alright in this Wednesday! And hopefully not killing each other…Anyway, here’s a snippet for an upcoming longfic of mine:

First five ASOIAF portraits are done!

F!Aegon

Theon Greyjoy

Quentyn Martell

Sansa Stark

Shireen Baratheon

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