Also, I am thinking you may not have enough of a secondary storyline. Meaning, if the protag being a rake is the driving force of the story, what other things are happening? What are his motivations for being the way his is? What does he hope to gain by it? But, more importantly, what other intrigue can you work in to help move along the story AND perhaps fill in some of the "boring" parts?
She has a different kind of mind to your mind - inspired by her initial creation to evolve a whole new world, keyboard-wise, type up Dorothy, and not her Agatha from book one. [80 000 words]
If by "finished" you mean you have completed the arch of your plot and have begun (or completed) editing, I would ask why you feel a secondary sotryline would be benificial? I happen to believe strongly in a secondary (or third, or fourth) storyline wound into the primary makes for excellent reading (Game of Thrones, Fall of Giants, Outlander, even Harry Potter). I would say, if you are serious about beifing up your plot at this "finished" point, you may actually be at an advantage over those feeling their way along, writing multiple storylines at once. Not how I would prefer to go about it, but whatever works for you. I would begin by looking at my characters, and brainstorming some situations that would bring out new reactions (and thus, create new motivations) for them. Then look at how the additional situations change the charaters. Look for ways to tie in the changes with situations you have already created, but don't be afraid to embrace any rewriting of your current material that might be prompted by the new developments. If I had any money, I would bet you would find not only your plot enriched, but also the complexity of your characters. Who knows where this would lead you. Maybe begin with a storyboard... plot out your current plot arch, and see where and how you could plug in a parallel storyline that would, and richly ironic points, cross paths with the primary one.
I always develop subplots separately, in isolation from the main plot. But, having said that, I think: 1--All subplots should be tied in some way to the main plot. 2--No subplot should EVER not be tied to the main plot. Doing them for filler will likely cause the reader to revolt, once they realize it, albeit later. I work on them separately so I can focus on making it coherent etc, but I also compare it against the main plot during this process to see where it can be 'woven' in among the larger plot points. And, this goes without saying but before I even start developing the subplot I have ALREADY fused it with the main plot, because the GENESIS of it always springs from some idea in the main plot, to begin with. But later on, after you've fused them all together, you still gotta read back over it for pacing and flow, etc. As for the boring stuff, just leave that out altogether. Unless you can tweak it somehow.
A scene always needs to justify its pricetag and the time that's required to read it. There should never be a "boring scene." Every seen needs to justify the entire book's existence. You need to add tension of some kind.
every part of a book needs to build upon itself. if there's anything in your book completely inconsequential then get rid of it.
There are no boring parts! Or the challenge is to make the boring parts exciting. Working on the exciting bits is easy.
I've come back on this thread and read through it again, and I confess I'm still not sure what your concern is. Am I picking you up correctly that you've just started writing? Have you actually reached a part of your MS you think is boring, or are you just worried you might? Or are you thinking ahead and assuming that character portrayal and bridge scenes are boring while 'action' scenes are not? What do you think makes an 'exciting' scene? Variety is never boring. Slowing the story down, now and again, gives the writer a chance to catch up on a few details and set out some concerns. It gives the reader a bit of a rest while they think about what has just happened and worry about what will happen next (or look forward to what they think might happen next.) A rest isn't the same as being bored. To tell the truth, I can't think of anything more boring than galloping through a story that's all shoot, run, explode, scream, fight, yell, etc. That gets boring preeeety darn quick.
