The magic ingredient in fiction is subtext. In part, it is magic because of the dynamic reaction it creates in readers: their sudden ability to become an intelligent participant in interpreting the story. But also, it is magic because, like any good trick, it can be difficult for authors to interpret exactly how to execute it.

Nowhere is subtext more crucial than in characterization. Think of it this way: people are subtext. The expressions, words, and tones we share with the world are a bare scratching of our surfaces. We are all so much more than what others see. We are hidden desires and motives—unspoken humilities and arrogances—impossible dichotomies, hypocrisies, and paradoxes. Half the the time, we don’t even understand our own subconscious subtexts.

If, as a writer, you’re wanting to recreate that kind of deep and nuanced humanity on the page, you must seek to create excellent subtext in your characterizations.

So how do you do this?

It’s always about what you don’t say.

4 Ways to Mine Your Characters’ Subtext

One of the best recent instances of excellent character subtext is award-winning YA author Kim Vandel’s paranormal series Under Fire, in which she brings to life a range of characters, but most notably her male lead—terrorist-turned-undercover-superhero Hassan, who is viewed only through the eyes of first-person narrator Kate.

Vandel’s approach to character subtext works particularly well for four reasons.

1. Limit the Number of POVs

Subtext is much harder to access from within a character’s POV, if only because internal narrative necessarily spells out certain facets of a character’s being. Often, this is a good thing (it’s why we love deep POVs). But limiting the number of narrators allows you more opportunities to explore the non-POV characters’ subtext.

Hassan is an interesting character in large part because he’s mysterious. Get in his head, even once, and most of that mystery—and opportunity for subtext—disappears.

2. Limit the Insights of Your Designated POV Character

Even with a single narrator, a story can ruin its chances for subtext simply by either allowing that narrator to be too insightful herself or by making her privy to too much information too fast.

Vandel pulls off another neat trick by creating a narrating hero who isn’t always observant enough to pick up on important details about the other characters (e.g., that Hassan is falling in love with her), which allows Vandel to let readers interpret certain character behaviors, rather than having the narrator immediately jump in with her own interpretations.

This doesn’t always work, since readers will rarely appreciate an outright oblivious character. But done handily, as Vandel does, in a realistic way, it opens up avenues for deeper subtext that informs both the secondary characters and the narrator herself, while also allowing for bigger and more frequent plot reveals.

3. Create Dimensional Characters

The first rule of character subtext is that there has to be subtext. You can’t just leave a character a big fat blank and expect readers to think: Oooh, so much subtext!

Subtext is all about hinting at what’s already there but not yet visible. This means creating dimensional characters who have dimensions to be discovered.

Vandel does this handily with most of her characters, but especially with Hassan—first, by giving him a complicated and interesting backstory that isn’t immediately explained, and, second, by making him a seemingly dichotomous person, whose surface violence immediately paints one picture, which is only slowly contrasted with other, less obvious characteristics.

4. Trust Your Characters

Perhaps the hardest part of creating excellent subtext in a story is trusting your wonderful characters to carry it for you. Most authors like to lean into the safety net of explaining things to readers. (“And, by the way, in case you missed it, this guy really is nice under all the misunderstood surface obnoxiousness.”)

Don’t fall into this trap. Follow Vandel’s example in not explaining your characters’ behaviors—either through their own narratives or someone else’s. Give them strong and dynamic choices and actions to perform, and then let those actions stand on their own. This is the essence of “show vs. tell.”

When in doubt, go through your manuscript and cross out every instance of explaining. Does the story still make sense? If not, of course, go back and add the necessary clarifications. But you might be surprised with how little you can get away with not explaining—and how much stronger your characters’ subtext becomes as a result.

Wordplayers, tell me your opinion! What do you find most challenging about creating your characters’ subtext? Tell me in the comments!