I remember reading an interview with Sarah Ruhl a few years ago where she confided that she never uses subtext. Her characters are flatly honest. My characters, on the other hand, are devious manipulators who are never, ever honest until forced into a corner. As a result, they use subtext all the time. That is how they speak: in subtext.
I tend to think of subtext as a cover-up; a sneaky way of getting what you want without revealing what that is. There are numerous methods of covering up:
– Silence: character doesn’t answer when they should.
– Action incongruent with statements.
– Changing the subject.
– Attacking back.
– Complementing.
– Threatening.
– Confirm something the other character already believes, whether it’s true or not.
– Misdirection: do or say something that sends others in a
different direction.
– Inappropriate reaction to an emotional event.
– Distraction.
– Making a joke of it.
– Continuing the conversation as if nothing happened.