I'm putting this in basic writing questions because all forms of writing use plot devices. Here's the Wiki link so no one just re-post it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_device#Examples_of_Plot_Devices_in_Fiction
Okay. I am really wondering about plot devices. I've heard of the McGuffins which are worthless quest objects like "The Maltese Falcon" or "The Holy Grail" that cause action to happen and really have no intrinsic value in the story. In The Da Vinci Code, the McGuffin was the DaVinci Code (isn't that alarming?). So it is some "object" that starts the quest-- but the action and the interaction of the characters is really what the story is about.
A Red herring is a false lead. Some person, or thing devoted to taking up your precious time and getting you to divert from the original quest or story, perhaps to fill space, but also to provide interesting sub-plots.
Deus Ex Machina is a sudden answer dropped down from the mouth of the gods. For some reason, I think that the end of Legally Blond II was a Deus Ex Machina.
Gifts, for example the gifts given by the elf queen in Lord of the Rings can be plot devices. Objects with magical powers, for instance, which "save" a character at the last moment as did the bottle of pink water, which saved Frodo from the evil spider.
So these plot devices are fairly common. But I am having a hard time finding others.
I've decided to educate myself on the use and misuse of plot devices. If anyone wants to get in on the magical world of plot devices, please post what you have found here, to educate and thrill the AW "family."
Okay. I am really wondering about plot devices. I've heard of the McGuffins which are worthless quest objects like "The Maltese Falcon" or "The Holy Grail" that cause action to happen and really have no intrinsic value in the story. In The Da Vinci Code, the McGuffin was the DaVinci Code (isn't that alarming?). So it is some "object" that starts the quest-- but the action and the interaction of the characters is really what the story is about.
A Red herring is a false lead. Some person, or thing devoted to taking up your precious time and getting you to divert from the original quest or story, perhaps to fill space, but also to provide interesting sub-plots.
Deus Ex Machina is a sudden answer dropped down from the mouth of the gods. For some reason, I think that the end of Legally Blond II was a Deus Ex Machina.
Gifts, for example the gifts given by the elf queen in Lord of the Rings can be plot devices. Objects with magical powers, for instance, which "save" a character at the last moment as did the bottle of pink water, which saved Frodo from the evil spider.
So these plot devices are fairly common. But I am having a hard time finding others.
I've decided to educate myself on the use and misuse of plot devices. If anyone wants to get in on the magical world of plot devices, please post what you have found here, to educate and thrill the AW "family."
Last edited:
