: Re: From a writing standpoint, what is the value of Deus Ex Machina? Deus ex machina is considered by TV Tropes to be a sub-trope to asspulling, and thus, often considered a bad writing trope.

@Bryan361

Vote Up Vote Down

Deus ex machina is useful in live performances for situations where improvising actors have strayed too far from the plot and divine intervention is needed to get everything back on script. It is needed because live performances cannot be rolled back to a point before the divergence began. The audience cannot unsee the errant scenes, so a new and powerful character needs to be lowered onto the stage to move the performers forward to a point where they re-intersect the play.

In writing, we do not suffer from that limitation. We can hit the delete key, erase the pencil marks or even burn the ink-bound page. Our heroes' choices are not set in stone until the book is written, edited and published, and even then it is not too late for post-last minute changes.

Just as an experiment, make a backup copy of your current project and then delete the last fifty pages. Now reread your work from the beginning and pick up writing when you reach the deletion point. This time, don't steer your characters down into a situation where only a God can get them out of it.
This is a pre-edit version of the kill-your-darlings advice. We usually wait till after the first draft is finished before we start discarding our hard-won pages; but sometimes an early start to the butchering can get an errant narrative back on track.

Keep Writing!

(0)

Login to post a comment!