Writing [Tutorial] Plot Devices: Deus Ex Machina, Chekhov's Gun & Foreshadowing

[OokamiKasumi]

----Original Message----
"What are your thoughts on Good 'Deus Ex Machinas'? I find them hard to pull off realistically in a plot." -- Puzzled Writer

Plot Devices:
Deus Ex Machina
or
Chekhov's Gun?​

A Deus Ex Machina is when the Hero doesn't find the solution to the story's problem. The solution is handed to them, or taken care of, by someone or something far more powerful.​

From TV Tropes:​

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A Deus Ex Machina is an outside force that solves a seemingly unsolvable problem in an extremely unlikely (and, usually, anticlimactic) way. If the secret documents are in Russian, one of the spies suddenly reveals that they learned the language. If the writers have just lost funding, a millionaire suddenly arrives, announces an interest in their movie, and offers all the finances they need to make it. If The Hero is dangling at the edge of a cliff with a villain stepping on his fingers, a flying robot suddenly appears to save him.

The term is Latin for god out of the machine, and has its origins in Greek theater. It refers to situations in which a crane (machine) was used to lower actors or statues playing a god or gods (deus) onto the stage to set things right. It has since come to be used as a general term for any event in which a seemingly fatal plot twist is resolved by an event never foreshadowed or set up.​

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Good Deus Ex Machina only happen when they've been set up to happen all along and were simply overlooked--which means they're not really Deus Ex Machina...

--They're actually a Chekhov's Gun.

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"If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there."
— Playwright Anton Chekhov (From S. Shchukin, Memoirs. 1911.)​

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Example:

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The story opens with the sheriff saying that he's gonna cruise by the local huge creepy mansion later that night because the teenager that's watching over it is known for painting rude Graffiti. A house that big and that empty is clearly far too much of a temptation for a kid like that to resist.

meanwhile in the huge empty mansion, the radio and the TV blast out "Crazed Killer on the Loose in our area! Be on the look out...! News at Eleven."

Creeped out, the kid calls a few of his friends over to keep him company.

After a few forbidden cigarettes and a twelve-pack of beer, his friends start encouraging him to paint graffiti on one of the walls in the house.

Eventually, the kid gives in. "Why the hell not?" He goes to get his spray paint.

Right at that moment the monster strikes! It chases the troubled teen though the house and kills off his friends one by one. Blood! Guts! Mayhem! Screaming...!

Finally, the monster corners the kid on the roof with no place else to go.

Out of nowhere, a police helicopter shows up to rescue the kid.​

-- Deus Ex Machina?

The copter door swings open and it's the sheriff. He wasn't just keeping an eye on the kid, he was also watching out for the crazed killer that had been all over the news for days.​

-- NOT a Deus Ex Machina -- a Chekhov's Gun! The cop showing up was set to happen from the beginning. However, this works even better if...

Before the kid can get up on the copter the monster finds a way to drag the helicopter down from the sky.

With the judicious use of a can of spray paint and a lighter, the monster's eyeballs are fried goo. The kid makes his escape straight into the REST of the cops heading up the road.

The cops shoot down the crazed killer and the kid goes on National Television saying how Graffiti saved his life.

The End​

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An example of a Chekhov's Gun that LOOKS like a Deus Ex Machina can be found in the closing scene to the game Final Fantasy VII where the heroes tried everything to save the world, but failed.

Suddenly, the world saved itself using the Life-stream--the power that had been the focus of the story's main problem since the story's opening. This Deus Ex Machina power had been there from the very beginning, yet had been overlooked making it in fact, a Chekhov's Gun.

However, an even better ending came in the sequel game Dirge of Cerberus, where one of the least understood characters in the Final Fantasy VII cast proved to have had a monumental power sleeping inside him all along--that was again, overlooked.

​

If you really want to use a Chekhov's Gun, it helps to think of a story as a Circle. It should End where it Began with the main problem at the beginning of the story being the last problem solved. This means you need to have the Solution to that main problem present at the beginning of the story--preferably in the opening scene, but discounted, or not thought of as anything special.

By the way, most Fairy Tales and Fables tend to have a Circular plot pattern -- ending where they began.

Foreshadowing​

Foreshadowing is when the opening scene of a story​

acts as a kind of nutshell prophecy for the whole story.​

• In a Horror, this is the Rumor about the Bad Thing that happened, way back when.
• In a Mystery or Crime story, it's when the first victim is slain, and/or object (McGuffin) goes missing.
• In a Romance this is where the main character meets their soon-to-be lover for a fleeting but memorable moment.
• In a Sci-fi, this is where the ruling Theory is presented.
• In a Gothic, this is where the main character sees a glimpse of the monster they will be soon become.

This also reveals the Premise, or ruling argument that the story is trying to illustrate; what the story is trying to Prove.

• The results of Revenge
• The path of Ambition
• The reality of Love
• The pain of being Different

The Story​

The meat of the story should fulfill that prophecy using twists, turns, and surprises that compel the reader to Keep Reading to discover 'what's really going on?'

Never forget: ​

The Readers DON'T want to be Told what's coming! ​

They want to figure out what's happening THEMSELVES.​

However, if you intend to use (what looks like) chance and coincidence to move your plot you're going to need careful preparation. Using deus ex machina (situations, objects, and helpers that were just suddenly THERE without explanation,) is unacceptable. The author should NEVER pull a rabbit out of their hat simply to rescue their hero.

The trick is to put the plot element into your story EARLY without making the reader aware of its importance. Never telegraph your punches. Every choice made MUST seem logical for that character.

The Conclusion

The last part is what that prophecy brought about--what happened BECAUSE of the events in the story.

• Were the guilty punished?
• Was the lost object or person found?
  • Plus who did it and why?
• Did the lover gain the attention of their beloved?
• Was the scientific theory convincing?
  • Or horrifying enough?
• Did the monster reconcile with their nature?

​

Always complete Each plot-cycle that you Begin. ​

Solve EVERY problem presented, no matter how small. Any unsolved problems become Plot Holes your readers WILL notice and call you on. "Hey, whatever happened with...?"

The easiest way to do this is by keeping your Main cast SMALL.

• Hero
• Ally (buddy or lover)
• Villain

Side characters are those who occupy places in the story: the waitress, parents, coworkers, the beat cops..., but don't actually change anything.

Main characters are the characters whose actions actually affect the plot.

The more Main characters you have, the more problems you add--which means the more story you have to write to solve those problems.



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Want to read my other Writing tutorials?

 

[Armored99]

I feel like this was made do to my comment on your last thread, but I might just be a little narcissistic in thinking so.

my previous comment on that thread wasn’t about foreshadowing solutions but problems.

additionally I disagree with your definition of foreshadowing. It can happen anywhere in the story not just the opening scene. Any moment where there’s an indication of future events is foreshadowing.

With that being said, and looking back at the Murphy’s law thread. Sure every that can go wrong should go wrong. However, it shouldn’t always be unpredictable.

 

[TaciturnHuman]

Thanks for the interesting tutorials

 

[Schwab]

I don't necessarily agree with that last tid bit. Side characters can certainly change things, they are just not as important to the story as a whole compared to the main cast.

However, unless an author intends for a side character to become part of the main cast, then what they change should be relatively minor and they shouldn't get as much screen time compared to a member of the main cast.

Also, a small cast doesn't negate plot holes. Proper planning and follow-through negates plot holes.

 

[Gryphon]

The only real thing I disagree with in this tutorial would be the foreshadowing section. As Armored99 has pointed out, foreshadowing doesn't inherently have to be at the opening scene of the story. In fact, I believe the opening scene of the story should be void of most foreshadowing. Instead it should use its time to set up the main idea of the story, characters, and other things. Foreshadowing here can work, but it needle needs to be handled by a skilled artisan, less the quilt comes out ragged and unkempt.

Also some of the examples you used aren't good. For instance, when the victim is slain or the priceless artifact goes missing in a mystery, that isn't foreshadowing. That's setting up the main conflict. Foreshadowing would be if we saw the intruder/murderer coyly say they were going to do the crime without saying it directly. But then it wouldn't be a mystery, it would be a thriller.

 

[OokamiKasumi]

I feel like this was made do to my comment on your last thread, but I might just be a little narcissistic in thinking so.

You are correct, I did post this due to your one line asking about foreshadowing.

my previous comment on that thread wasn’t about foreshadowing solutions but problems.

Huh. I missed that entirely.

additionally I disagree with your definition of foreshadowing. It can happen anywhere in the story not just the opening scene. Any moment where there’s an indication of future events is foreshadowing.

LOL! I never said it couldn't happen anywhere else.
-- However, the beginning of the story is usually where foreshadowing is most commonly --and recognizably-- used.

With that being said, and looking back at the Murphy’s law thread. Sure every that can go wrong should go wrong. However, it shouldn’t always be unpredictable.

I disagree.
-- If the bad thing that happens is Predictable, it's not Murphy's Law, it's either Chekhov's Gun; set up to happen from it's first appearance, or just plain less than skilled writing.

The reader should Never be able to predict what's going to happen in your story, unless you deliberately write that story to be predictable.

Personally though, if I can guess how a story will end by the fourth chapter, I stop reading that story because I find predictable stories Boring. I want to discover what's going on, not have it spoon-fed to me, but that's just me.

 

[greyblob]

back in full force. welcome back

 

[OokamiKasumi]

I don't necessarily agree with that last tidbit. Side characters can certainly change things, they are just not as important to the story as a whole compared to the main cast.

However, unless an author intends for a side character to become part of the main cast, then what they change should be relatively minor and they shouldn't get as much screen time compared to a member of the main cast.

Hmm... I suspect that your definition of Side Character and my definition are not the same.

My definition of Side Character:
-- Decoration or Window dressing characters that are part of the Setting.

As far as I'm concerned, any character that forwards the plot isn't a side character.

For example, a Villain of the Week in a manga or long-running TV series, isn't a side character. Even though they are not important to the overall plot, they introduce a plot -- they have a story of their own with a Beginning, a Middle, and an End:

1. They have a problem they are trying to solve.
2. They are discovered by one of the main characters
3. They are stopped from completing their plans & punished.

This is a whole story by itself even though this character only appears in one episode and maybe never again. If their story is not completed you have a Plot Hole.

Side characters don't have stories, they're just there as decorations, window dressing.

The waitress that accidentally spills coffee on one of the main characters in the diner they frequent is a side character. They don't have a story.

However, the guild master that hires the characters to solve a troubling dungeon is Not a side character because they Do have a story. They have a Problem they want solved. That problem is a Story --a Plot-- that needs to be addressed and Ended.

In Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Tsunayoshi's mom is a side character. She's there in almost every episode, but has no story of her own. Tsunayoshi's dad however, does have a story even though he's almost never there -- he's a Villain of the Week in one of the Arcs. While Tsunayoshi's mom is part of the dad's story she's again a side character. She's a window dressing character to connect the dad to Tsunayoshi.​

The instant a side character has a Problem that needs to be solved, they stop being a side character, even if the problem lasts only for one episode and they go back to being a side character in the next episode.

Also, a small cast doesn't negate plot holes. Proper planning and follow-through negates plot holes.

No argument there, however a smaller cast is easier to keep track of which makes plot holes less likely to happen -- especially if the writer is a Beginner.

 

[LostLibrarian]

If the bad thing that happens is Predictable, it's not Murphy's Law

But Murphy's Law isn't about stuff being unpredictable. Murphy's Law simply states that things that can go wrong will go wrong. So in it's core it's rather predictable. In fact, the reason it is predictable is why it is used in modern programming and algorithm design.

My big problem with this tutorial - same with some of the foreshadowing stuff I disagree with even after your additional comments - is that you use some terms rather vaguely without defining your usage of it. Probably also a bit based on your likes and dislikes in writing.

Murphy's Law and Chekhov's Gun aren't mutually exclusive. An information can be multiple things. In fact, a lot of really good writing works so well because things are multiple things. If somewhere in the middle of my story the main Character talks with a mechanic about some important technology and learns, how it is running on its last leg, it'll become foreshadowing, Chekhov's Gun and works like that with Murphy's Law in mind.

We see the same with side character bit, where depending on the source, your definition of side character would be the "background character" with the "side character" between them and the main cast. It might be best to concentrate more on one bigger part each tutorial and instead add a concise definition to it so that everyone knows why you use your terms the way you do or where the differences and problems come from...

 

[Gryphon]

My definition of Side Character:
-- Decoration or Window dressing characters that are part of the Setting.

Thats the definition of minor characters. Minor characters are characters whose place is to be filler in stories, or to say a single line and thats it. Side characters can indeed forward the plot, though its not needed. Think about it. If side characters can't forward the plot then there would be a lot of main characters in certain stories. Attack on Titan for example has three protagonists. Those protagonists being Eren, Armin, and Mikasa. But they're not the only ones forwarding the plot. In fact, the side characters forward it more than the main characters. Erwin is a side character yet his presence within the plot is astronomical.

 

[OokamiKasumi]

It might be best to concentrate more on one bigger part each tutorial and instead a concise definition to it so that everyone knows why you use your terms the way you do or where the differences and problems come from...

Oh gods... You want me to make the tutorials Bigger?!

Thats the definition of minor characters. Minor characters are characters whose place is to be filler in stories, or to say a single line and thats it. Side characters can indeed forward the plot, though its not needed. Think about it. If side characters can't forward the plot then there would be a lot of main characters in certain stories. Attack on Titan for example has three protagonists. Those protagonists being Eren, Armin, and Mikasa. But they're not the only ones forwarding the plot. In fact, the side characters forward it more than the main characters. Erwin is a side character yet his presence within the plot is astronomical.

There's a reason why my longest stories End around the 100k mark.
-- I could never write something as huge as Attack on Titan or Game of Thrones. I'd get so very lost so very quickly among all those characters -- even with all the plotting & character diagrams I use.

 

[LostLibrarian]

Oh gods... You want me to make the tutorials Bigger?!

I would want for them to be more precise

Honestly, one of the reasons I like Story Grid so much is that - despite things I agree or disagree with - they start with the goal of creating a common language for writers first so that every term is clear. If your definition is different from a newer writer, they might get more confused by it because it doesn't match.

Though that also comes from me who disagrees with you 95% on semantics and definitions and rarely the core idea itself.

 

[OokamiKasumi]

I would want for them to be more precise

Honestly, one of the reasons I like Story Grid so much is that - despite things I agree or disagree with - they start with the goal of creating a common language for writers first so that every term is clear. If your definition is different from a newer writer, they might get more confused by it because it doesn't match.

Though that also comes from me who disagrees with you in 95% on semantics and definitions and rarely the core idea itself.

Personally, I just wanna write instruction on how to do stuff.
-- If I stopped to define why I do everything I do precisely, I'd never get to the instructions -- and the tutorial would never end.

 

[Schwab]

Personally, I just wanna write instruction on how to do stuff.
-- If I stopped to define why I do everything I do precisely, I'd never get to the instructions -- and the tutorial would never end.

If you can't properly define the terms you are using in your instructions, the instructions are meaningless. You don't need to have paragraphs on definitions, and you shouldn't unless the topic is about a certain term.

 

[OokamiKasumi]

If you can't properly define the terms you are using in your instructions, the instructions are meaningless. You don't need to have paragraphs on definitions, and you shouldn't unless the topic is about a certain term.

But that's so much Work...

 

[Gryphon]

But that's so much Work...

Then why create a tutorial to begin with? Tutorials are to inform the masses about something in particular, and its something people new to a specific subject would look to for guidance. If the person making the tutorial doesn't bother to do their research, then there will be misinformation spread and people will suffer because of that. As someone who has wrote informational pieces before, it kind of gets on my nerves when people shrug off research, thinking that the stuff they know is the right thing, when in fact they're just as misinformed as everyone else.

You also have a problem with not explaining certain terms. Not just what your definition of side characters are, but also something like Ruling Theory. As someone who doesn't read much Sci-Fi, I had no idea what that was, and since you provided no definition, I had to look it up myself. The tutorial should be what people find when they look up something. It shouldn't force them to look something up.

 

[OokamiKasumi]

Then why create a tutorial to begin with? Tutorials are to inform the masses about something in particular, and its something people new to a specific subject would look to for guidance. If the person making the tutorial doesn't bother to do their research, then there will be misinformation spread and people will suffer because of that. As someone who has wrote informational pieces before, it kind of gets on my nerves when people shrug off research, thinking that the stuff they know is the right thing, when in fact they're just as misinformed as everyone else.

You also have a problem with not explaining certain terms. Not just what your definition of side characters are, but also something like Ruling Theory. As someone who doesn't read much Sci-Fi, I had no idea what that was, and since you provided no definition, I had to look it up myself. The tutorial should be what people find when they look up something. It shouldn't force them to look something up.

Why create tutorials to begin with?
-- To answer questions from other writers.

The thing is, my tutorials are all prewritten. I merely adjust them for the sites I post them on, and I have a lot of tutorials out there already. The bulk of the 'definitions' I use are already posted in other tutorials. In fact, most of my tutorials are additional information that rely on information I already covered in other tutorials.

Case in point, if you haven't read my tutorial: Guide to Proper Paragraphing, why and how I divide paragraphs, plus why I don't encourage the use of the word "Said" or "As" just sounds like personal bias when in fact, I have very valid --and stated-- reasons.

There is so much information on that tutorial alone, repeating that info in every tutorial would make them all far too massive to even look at. Also, I hate repeating myself.

To put things in perspective, I haven't even scratched the surface of just how much writing information I have already posted on my blog, and other sites such as Deviant Arts. There's even more info in my personal files I haven't posted anywhere.

When I post an essay, a tutorial, I try to only answer the direct question because I have so much information. In addition, that info branches out in so many directions I have a hard time knowing where to stop. Even the How-To book I published didn't cover everything I actually have.

What I've posted so far on this site is merely what has been asked about -- except for that tutorial on Paragraphing. That tutorial holds the core of how I write and why I write that way. It's the floor that all my other tutorials stand on.

If I was teaching writing, the essays would be in a completely different order, and certain essays that I have not posted would have been added in between. This would cover things more in depth, and each essay would build on previously covered information.

In short, I skipped around to post only what was asked.

Unfortunately, I do have limits on my knowledge. I know next to nothing on how to construct 1000 chapter epic fiction and keep it from boring the hell out of my readers halfway through. I only know how to write 100k novels.

More importantly, I am Not a creative writer.

I learned to write for publishers, and what they want in their fiction has hard limits on character types, word count, and acceptable content. None of that applies on this site, so a good number of my essays will never be posted here.