Ever notice how the most uncomfortable conversations aren’t about what’s being said, but what isn’t?
That’s subtext. It’s the quiet dagger under polite words, the elephant in the room doing cartwheels while your characters pretend it’s not there. And when done right, it’s one of the fastest ways to make your audience lean in, squirm, and keep turning pages.
What Subtext Really Is (And Why You Need It)
Subtext is the unspoken layer of your story. It’s when your characters say one thing but mean another. It’s the awkward silence, the side glance, the fidget that betrays a secret.
If your plot feels flat, if your dialogue is too on-the-nose, or if you feel like your story is spinning in circles without momentum—subtext is the missing gear.
Charles Baxter called it “the most important features of life you can’t talk about in polite society.” He’s right. Nobody blurts out “I feel unloved and invisible” at the dinner table. They complain about cold soup instead.
The audience feels that disconnect. And that’s where the tension lives.
When you use subtext well, you’ll stop over-explaining. You’ll trust your audience. And you’ll feel that satisfying click when your scene finally hums with life.
Techniques for Creating Tension Through What’s Not Said
Focus on the Dodges
Characters reveal the most when they avoid the real issue. They’ll bicker about dinner plans when what’s really at stake is neglect or betrayal. The surface is safe. The underneath is a minefield.
Contradictions Create Sparks
Have your character say “I’m fine” while shredding a napkin to bits. Humans notice when words and actions don’t line up, and it makes them uneasy. Your audience feels that unease in their bones.
Silence Isn’t Empty
The most charged moment in a scene might be when no one says a word. A look away. A half-finished sentence. A phone left ringing too long. Your audience rushes to fill the silence with meaning—and often, with dread.
Power Plays in Dialogue
Conversations are never neutral. Someone always has more control. A boss to an employee. A mother to a teenager. The imbalance itself creates a low-level hum of tension even before a word is spoken.
Symbol and Setting as Subtext
Want to say your couple’s marriage is cracking? Don’t have them announce it. Show them building a treehouse that collapses. Or set their biggest fight against a picture-perfect sunset, and let the clash ring louder in contrast.
Micro-Expressions
That character gripping the church bulletin until it tears? That’s tension your audience doesn’t forget.
Examples That Nail It
Breaking Bad
Walter and Skyler’s kitchen table conversations are never about meth. They’re about trust, fear, and betrayal. A simple “How was your day?” carries more threat than a gunfight.
Lady Bird
When Lady Bird’s mom nitpicks her messy room, she’s really saying “I’m scared for your future.” Greta Gerwig said it outright: people use words to avoid saying what they mean.
The Godfather
Michael telling Kay “That’s my family, not me” in the beginning? That’s subtext working overtime. He’s lying to her, to himself, and to the audience. We feel the inevitability of who he’ll become.
How to Apply This Yourself
Start with what your characters want but refuse to say. Layer in contradictions. Repeat phrases with shifting meaning. And for the love of good writing, stop explaining the joke. Let the silence, the look, the torn napkin do the heavy lifting
Less Said, More Felt
Subtext is the pressure cooker under your story’s surface. It’s what makes an audience lean in, hold their breath, and whisper, “Oh no…” even when the scene looks ordinary.
So next time your dialogue feels flat, resist the urge to explain. Say less. Trust your audience to feel the rest.
Want more on dialogue? Check out How to Write Dialogue for a deeper dive into making conversations crackle.
