I've been seeing a number of stories lately that are lacking in subtext. And honestly, it's no surprise. writing subtext (or, I guess not writing it) is flipping difficult to 1) understand 2) do. I had read about writing subtext like over two years ago, and only now do I feel like I'm starting to understand it and have conscious control over it. So, I'm going to attempt to try to explain how to do it.
What is Subtext?
The best definition of subtext, in my opinion, is this: subtext is what's not said; it is what is implied.
Remember my humor post from a few weeks back? I talked about how Lemony Snicket had a specific technique he employed for some of his humor. He states the obvious. And then strongly implies the un-obvious.
So subtext is what is implied. Look at this example of it that I just made up:
Robert, not bothering to raise his hand, spouted out an inappropriate joke.
"Robert, I don't want to hear that kind of language in my class," Mr. Henderson said, but the ends of his lips twitched up. "That's very offensive." He failed to suppress a full-blown grin.Here, we can tell that the teacher found whatever Robert said funny, but neither he nor the narrator comes out and tells the reader that. Instead it's implied by his body language and behavior--what he doesn't say. What Mr. Henderson actually says to Robert is at odds with how Mr. Henderson acts.