Utilize plot device to move story forward

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Utilize plot device to move story forward

If uncertain how to advance your story, you may want to employ a plot device. Also known as a plot mechanism, plot devices are any element that moves a story forward. For example, if the main character must locate a magical orb that will give him the power to stop an malevolent force from taking over the kingdom, the plot focuses on that search. The search is a plot device.

Authors always must be careful when using a plot device, however. Most have been overdone and even oversatirized. Except to children who are encountering the plot device for the first time, the story won��t appear original. In addition, never use a contrived plot device. Doing so will appear arbitrary to the reader because it undercuts their suspension of disbelief, for the story won��t appear as if it actually could occur in real life (or even in a fantasy-based world).

Some common kinds of plot devices include:
�� Macguffin �� The story focuses on the protagonist seeking an object (��the macguffin��); what exactly is the object is irrelevant, and at best is vaguely referred to, such as ��the papers�� in a spy thriller or ��the necklace�� in a crime tale.
�� Plot coupon �� Closely related to (and sometimes) a macguffin, the story focuses on an object that the protagonist must obtain so he has the means to resolve the story��s problem, such as a key that opens a magical box in a fantasy novel.
�� Shoulder angel/shoulder devil �� In this device, an angel sits on one shoulder and a devil on the other to argue the good and bad sides of a character��s inner conflict. Avoid using this device unless you want your writing to appear hackneyed.
�� Red herring �� Clues are provided to divert the reader��s attention from the real cause of a problem or from the guilty party. This is commonly used mystery, crime and horror tales.
�� Deus ex machina �� This occurs when an improbable event occurs that helps resolve an apparently hopeless situation. The ancient Greeks often used this by having a god descend from the heavens to put an end to the matter. Avoid using this device as well.
�� Plot voucher �� When an object is given to a character that he later uses to achieve his goal, a plot voucher is being employed. A good example are the gizmos that Q supplies to James Bond.

While many of the above are clich��, sometimes they also are necessary to the genre. A detective story, for example, would be sorely lacking if a red herring were not used.

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