A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance. Subplots often involve supporting characters, those besides the protagonist or antagonist.

In William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II, the main plot concerns Henry's growth from "Hal" the prince to "Henry" the king and the reconquest of French territory. A subplot, however, concerns Falstaff's participation in the battles. Falstaff and Henry meet at several points, and Falstaff is a familiar of Henry's, but his plot and Henry's do not mix. Even though they may be thematically connected, they are not connected in action.

Subplots are distinguished from the main plot by taking up less of the action, having less significant events occur, with less impact on the 'world' of the work, and occurring to less important characters. When, as in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Cancer Ward, about a group of patients at that ward, no one character's story clearly predominates, the plots will not be distinguished into the main plot and subplots. Because of their brevity, short stories and to a large extent, novellas, usually contain no subplot.

John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.

Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary (née Rausch), a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist".^{[citation needed]} Both of Sayles's parents were of half-Irish descent.

Like Martin Scorsese and James Cameron, among others, Sayles began his film career working with Roger Corman. Sayles went on to fund his first film, Return of the Secaucus 7, with $30,000 he had in the bank from writing scripts for Corman.^{[citation needed]} He set the film in a large house so that he did not have to travel to or get permits for different locations, set it over a three-day weekend to limit costume changes, and wrote about people his age so that he could have his friends act in it. In November 1997, the National Film Preservation Board announced that Return of the Secaucus 7 would be one of the 25 films selected that year for preservation in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress.

Aqib Talib (born February 13, 1986) is an American football cornerback who plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Talib was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Berkner High School in Richardson, Texas and lettered in football, basketball, and track. In football, as a senior, he was named the Berkner High School's Defensive Back of the Year while garnering first-team all-district and first-team all-city honors. As a college football prospect during his senior year, he was rated 2 stars by Rivals.com. He was recruited by Kansas, Kansas State, Wyoming, Tulsa, Arizona, and Baylor. He chose to sign a National Letter of Intent to play for Kansas.

After redshirting in his first year at Kansas, Talib contributed substantially to a strong Jayhawk defense. Playing alongside future NFL cornerback Charles Gordon, Talib played in 11 games, starting nine. He recorded two interceptions and led the team by breaking up eight passes. He helped Kansas achieve a 7–5 record, including a 42–13 victory against Houston in the Fort Worth Bowl. For his efforts, Talib was named all-Big 12 Honorable Mention by the conference coaches, the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and a freshman all-American by Rivals.com.