Text and Subtext: Complexity in Writing | Olivia J

"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader," -Robert Frost 

Recently, I watched a video called "How To Write A Scene: Casablanca", and while the video has a focus on script writing, the points and tactics outlined can easily be applied to any dialogue. 

However, what I took away from this video was the meaning of text, and it's relationship to subtext. 

Some definitions to get us started:

Text is, obviously, the written words on the page - the literal meaning of what is happening in a scene. 

Subtext, however, is the underlying meaning - a character's intent when they say something. Their intent. Ex: if Character A asks: "when's dinner?" this probably means that they're hungry. 

As one might expect, these two things are very closely related, and they can overlap. Sometimes people do say what they feel, and sometimes people don't have any ulterior motives. 

Essentially, a synonym for how subtext is used is manipulation - which sounds bad, but manipulation isn't inherently a bad thing. We all do it - we all gauge situations and see what scenario will best benefit us, and then act in the subsequent way to achieve said goal.  What manipulation means in the context of text and subtext is: how is this character's dialogue used to accomplish their goal in the story or in the scene? 

Subtext is essential to employ in writing, because in reality, people don't say how they feel. When dealing with human interactions, we dance around the subject, beat around the bush, go in through the backdoor, and stretch the truth. By writing subtext and layers into your dialogue, you can not only convey aspects of character, but also add in more complex conflict between the speaking characters. 

The purpose of subtext in dialogue is to reveal what a character is thinking and feeling to the audience and other characters without coming out and stating it directly. However, you have to read between the lines with subtext. The other character in the conversation - as well as the reader - must take every single line of dialogue and ask the question: Why are they asking this question? What does this character anticipate the answer is going to be, and why? 

Another example would be if - without any other context for the sake of this example - a girl asks a guy if he has a girlfriend. We can assume from this interaction that the girl is romantically interested in the guy; otherwise, why would she ask this out of the blue? 

It works the same way with characters in all forms of media. Every line of dialogue in a scene should be purposeful, and, if it's a good scene, should be fueled with conflict that lies just below the surface of what is actually being discussed. 

Unfortunately, modern YA writers have lost this magic touch - of being able to write people with subtlety. I'm still learning how to do this, which is why I'm writing a blog post on it so I can better understand how to employ it. 

It all starts with reading books and watching movies that use text and subtext. Some authors and books I recommend are: my favorite, J.D. Salinger, Fahrenheit 451, and A Lite Too Bright. Basically any modern classic before Harry Potter. 

Drop down in the comments your favorite book/movie/tv show that you think uses text and subtext masterfully! I always need some new recommendations!

~The WordShaker