Why You Should Never Underestimate Your B-Story — It's Not What You Think
A-story is the sugar, B-story is the medicine
I originally published this story on Medium.com in 2021.
A-story is the sugar, B-story is the medicine
When I first began writing screenplays, I was confused about subplots. I didn't realize the parallel storylines had to be connected to the main plot. Duh!
But I wasn't alone! I had seen many TV series where seemingly unrelated storylines ran separately for many weeks. So when my screenwriting group and I began writing our first show, we all thought parallel stories were only meant to give the main story a break.
Then, we worked with a veteran filmmaker who was very strict about having every tiny element connect with the main character and their main goal. You couldn't cut to some unrelated scene in his show. You had to follow the spine at all costs, branch out to subplots, and move between them seamlessly every time. But even then, no one talked about the meaning of "the B-story." Why did we always have a "love story" (or another intimate story) along with the main storyline?
Blake Snyder wrote about the B-story concept in Save the Cat!. He explained its function by mentioning (literally in the first paragraph of the chapter) that "it carries the theme." However, the concept still escaped me until I began researching and analyzing story structures for myself. B-stories go deeper than we think!
What does it mean to "carry the theme"?
The theme of a story is the writer's message to the audience. As I've written before, all stories include a message, whether it is intentional or not. But when a writer spells out the message in the main story, it sounds didactic and preachy. As the audience, when we are engrossed in the world of the characters and wondering what's going to happen to them next, we can't care less about someone's (even the writer's) opinion about it. We want to make up our own minds about what the story is about.
We cringe when the writer doesn’t shut up. Yet, we still want assurance that we understand it correctly! We don't want to be left hanging. (Who said it was going to be easy to write?)
We don't want to hear the message directly in the main story, but we don't mind hearing it indirectly in another context. That's where the B-story comes in.
It makes us feel good when our understanding is confirmed in the B-story. The B-story is often an intimate storyline that can carry more dialogue than an action story.
The characters in the B-story don't have to talk directly about the events of the A-story either (although sometimes they do). They experience and discuss their own situation, which mirrors the main story in an unexpected way. The theme of the overall story surfaces here in the B-story, and that's when everything clicks in the main character's and our minds.
A story is about "want," and B story is about "need"
Another vital distinction between A and B stories is that they are about "wants" and "needs," respectively.
Wants are external goals. Every story needs an external goal. This goal might change throughout the story, but it always has to be obvious what our protagonist wants to do. The pursuit of this goal forms the A-story, or the spine.
B-story, on the other hand, is about what the main character needs. This need may sometimes conflict with what the character wants, but not always. In The Usual Suspects (1995), agent David Kujan's want is to make Verbal Kint talk and prove that the suspect in his mind is the culprit. But his need is to get over his arrogance.
In Jaws (1975), the main character Brody's want is to protect the people of the town and his family. His need is to take responsibility and fix the core problem. At the beginning of the film, Brody wants to save everyone by closing the beaches. But after the midpoint, he changes his strategy: take responsibility, deal with the problem, kill the shark. This article is about the wants and needs in Jaws.
In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Miles wants to destroy the collider / (later) take revenge, but his need is to grow up and learn to trust himself. His A-story involves teaming up with other Spider-People to destroy the collider. But his B-story is his relationship with his father, who eventually tells him to trust himself.
B-story mirrors the main plot in a metaphorical way
B-story involves different situations and a different character. Thus, at first, it seems like it has nothing to do with the main plot.
The B-story character is an "influence character" who questions the protagonist's belief system and forces them to face their personal problem. The protagonist learns certain lessons from the B-story. Then, at a very unexpected moment, the message they have received from B helps them solve the A-story's situation. That's why, in his blog, Steven Pressfield says, "In the crisis, B rides to the rescue of A."
Our “B” story is a metaphor for our “A” story. It parallels it and is inextricably linked to it. Before we can break through in our “A” story, we need to handle, or at least understand, our “B” story. “B” can point us to our true calling — “A” — and, when we face “B” with unsparing honesty and guts, it can get our “A” story rolling powerfully down the track.
A TV series is a container of many storylines
Erik Bork, the author of The Idea, says that TV series are different than feature films. They are not always about a single main character but an ensemble.
…They aren’t primarily one long story. They are a vessel for an unlimited number of smaller stories, for a variety of different characters, all of whom are connected, and in a situation that will generate new problems and conflicts for them endlessly. In a typical episode, they will tend to resolve one smaller level problem that has emerged that week, taking them back to their normal status quo, but next week they will have a new one.
At shows like This is Us, each character is the main character of their own story. Thus, it isn't meaningful to label each storyline with letters A, B, C, D. In fact, in an ensemble story, each character has their own wants and needs, therefore A and B stories. Every time, we need to ask ourselves two questions: What does this character want? What do they need?
My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
When I wrote this story about My Best Friend's Wedding, I read about how the filmmakers had to create and shoot a B-story to save the film after finishing it! (Spoilers ahead!)
In the original screenplay and the first version of the movie, Julianne's (Julia Roberts) gay friend George (Rupert Everett) wasn't an important character. He wasn't in the finale, and Jules met another man and started a new romance in the end. At the test screening, though, the audience hated it! According to the director PJ Hogan, they wanted Jules dead!
To save the film, the filmmakers expanded George's part and promoted him to an "influence character" who questioned Jules’ belief system. Their friendship became the B-story.
Each time Jules did a questionable thing, they made her call George, and he called her out. He talked sense into Jules, gave her the bitter medicine, and acted like her conscience. They also re-shot the whole wedding scene removing the new romance and flying George in for the unforgettable finale.
Jules wanted Michael but needed George. She wanted love but needed friendship. We always think this movie is about love, but in fact, its theme is friendship. The title isn’t an accident.
The filmmakers didn't change the story. They didn't change the character to make her likable. They only added a B-story that carries the theme (friendship) and enables understanding, connecting with, and forgiving the main character. And the result was one of the most successful romantic comedies of all time.
Does your story have a B-story? Next time you create subplots, think of how related they are to your main plot. Also, see if one of your subplots emphasizes the need and the inner world of your main character. That subplot might be your B-story. It might be an excellent chance to think about your message and how to deliver it to your audience in a sweet way without having them gag!