Name: Plot and Subplot: The Hidden Architecture of Story
Start: 2026-10-10T10:00:00-0700
End: 2026-10-10T11:00:00-0700

Plot and Subplot: The Hidden Architecture of Story

Saturday October 10, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Gatekeeper's Museum Library

Many manuscripts suffer from a surprising problem: they have a plot, but no effective subplots. Yet the most memorable novels use secondary storylines not as decoration, but as engines that deepen character, heighten conflict, and generate crucial turning points.

In this craft talk, novelist Jessica Levine explores how plot and subplot interact to create narrative momentum. Drawing on examples from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, she shows how seemingly secondary stories—such as Lydia Bennet's elopement or Myrtle Wilson's affair—ultimately reshape the destinies of the protagonists and drive the main narrative toward its crisis and resolution.

Writers and readers alike will gain a deeper understanding of narrative structure and leave with practical tools for recognizing, developing, and strengthening the subplot dynamics that give fiction both emotional resonance and structural power.

Speakers

Jessica Levine

Jessica Levine is the award-winning author of The Cousins Series, including Three Cousins (2025), The Geometry of Love, and Nothing Forgotten. The series was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and both The Geometry of Love and Nothing Forgotten were named Booklist... Read More →

Saturday October 10, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Gatekeeper's Museum Library 130 W Lake Blvd, Tahoe City

Craft Talk

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Tahoe Literary Festival

Jessica Levine

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Tahoe Literary Festival

Jessica Levine

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