How to be subtle?

[TheBryceKrispy]

How do you be subtle when exploring themes/messages? And also in general when writing.

[TheGentleArtist]

One good way is to give some hints about the themes/message so viewers/readers can understand it along the way. A good "show don't tell" also helps with being subtle as it can help avoid putting it in their face

[miramiee]

Tend not to write for a theme but for your characters. If you're focused on character motivations, aspirations, and interactions with their environment, the themes should unfold on their own. I find that trying to write towards a theme makes the characters and world stiff.

[k5rakitan]

Sometimes it's good to be subtle, but sometimes you need to flat-out tell readers. Each person has a different perspective on the world, and some people may take things the wrong way.

For example, the first time I published my story, people incorrectly perceived that Joan's boyfriend Marc was being "controlling" when in fact I wanted to portray that he was being supportive. He simply knows her well enough to speak for her when she is tongue-tied. Therefore, I inserted this one sentence, and people stopped complaining about Marc being controlling: "Joan nodded, thankful for Marc's keen memory over their discussions on the topic as well as his support."

Kaiba's Prostitute | Tapas

[AmazementComics]

1. Imply what the readers already suspect.
You'll find that a huge reason people continue to look towards a story is because the plot thickens and things escalate quickly. Now I'm not saying go overboard with every single plot point, because people want to have a sense of astonishment while reading comics/novels. Doing that will only heighten the experience people have with your comic/novel in a good way.

2. Steer clear from answering spoilery comments.
In this case, you could simply like someone's comment because they're starting to put the puzzle pieces together or tell them something so questionable, that they'll feel inclined to want to know more about the future of the plot.

3. Plant the seeds for said subtle themes right from the beginning.
This one is optional I feel. Instead of shoe-horning several ambitious arcs all in one episode, you can build invested interest by sugar-coating a theme whether small, large, or somewhere in between from your first few episodes/chapters. This gives you some flexibility when deciding if you want to go along with it or not. In this case, what I like to make an example of is romance. Seeing that there are quite a lot of romance comics and novels on Tapas, make a discreet gesture of two people blushing when they're around each other or getting upset if some else talks to them. Love triangles make things spicy as well .