Secrets of Writing: Text and Subtext

In a nutshell, Text is what you see, Subtext is the hidden meaning behind it. Or, if you prefer a more intellectual explanation, text is the tactile, surface experience of the story. Subtext is the inner life of the story. The subconscious. 

If you want to be a good writer, you need to get a handle on subtext. Because no good writer writes “on the nose.” Writing on the nose means what the character says is exactly what the character means. Everything is textual.

In real life, people do not say exactly what they mean most of the time. In fact, some people are incapable of it. Bad fiction is full of dialog where the characters say precisely what’s on their mind and precisely what they really think.

But subtext isn’t limited to dialog. It can be part of a situation. Situations can have hidden meaning. So can objects in a room. So can the choice of clothes someone wears. If a woman dresses sexy the subtext could be she’s looking to get attention, and/or laid. If a man dresses in a suit, it means he’s about business of some kind.

An example of situational subtext can be found in the movie DISCLOSURE, when Demi Moore’s character invites Michael Douglas up to her office after hours. It’s a business meeting where she tries to seduce him. But even more is going on there than meets the eye. She’s also trying to set him up.

In BATMAN RETURNS, Bruce Wayne shows Dick Grayson his motorcycle collection. The subtext of this scene is he’s trying to seduce Grayson into staying at the mansion. The dialog in this scene is full of subtext. 

We’ll deal with subtextual dialog in depth later, but just remember for now that you can create more meaning in a story by using subtext. And with dialog, it makes it more realistic if you dance around the direct meaning of the words.

Audiences need to be drawn in to a story on a participation level. Subtext gives them the means to do that. They start to fill in the blanks with their mind and this makes them more engaged. You need the means to do this because comics limits you with its visuals. In prose, the reader’s mind creates images based on the words of the writer. It’s a very personal thing for each reader. In comics, they see what the artist has represented as the actual appearance of things. This limits their imagination. They don’t have to become too engaged in the work. So in order to make them more engaged, we need psychological tricks to draw them in more. Subtext is one of those methods.

Text, that which is obvious, serves as the surface reality beyond which our minds need to penetrate. Subtext is the prize we get for making the effort.

REMEMBER: Subtext creates meaning for the Audience.

Common writers we can see in all magazines, their works may be interesting, but we forget them next day. Real masters use different methods (including subtext), which make us think… that’s tha main difference

Posted by Iren  on  02/08  at  02:09 AM
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