I'm writing the third chapter in my novel and I am unsure on the proper way to structure this. I could cut to another chapter but I don't want to do it that way. I prefer if it remains in one chapter. The chapter involves the main character infiltrating an enemy station in outer space. For awhile I follow the main character until he comes across the person he is supposed to spy on. From that point, I want to cut to the man being spied on and start a new subplot with him. How do I structure this? Start a new paragraph directly below the previous one? OR I notice in novels when characters and settings change the author will drop down a few spaces to indicate to the reader that they are in another setting, new characters and beginning a new subplot. Do I do that? Essentially what I want to know is, when your changing the perspective from one character to another to start a new subplot and don't want to cut to a new chapter, how do you structure it?
What you're talking about is a scene break. Those are appropriate when switching POVs or settings, or advancing time within a chapter. In a manuscript they're often denoted with a # centered on a line by itself, between the scenes. When published, often it is just a blank line or two break. Sometimes there is a small symbol, especially with magazines/ezines with short stories.
