What is a deus ex machina? Should we use a deus ex machina in storytelling? We look at levels of deus ex machina and give you nine reasons why readers don’t like a deus ex machina.
What Is Deus Ex Machina In Storytelling?
Deus Ex Machina translates as God From The Machine. In ancient Greece, gods were included in theatre productions. The actor playing the god would be lowered down to the stage area by a crane. It was the literal ‘divine intervention’ intended to save the character or solve an impossible problem with no foreshadowing, and no in-story foundation. Today, Deus Ex Machina means any un-foreshadowed or unfounded plot device that does the same thing.
Is Deus Ex Machina A Plot Twist?
No. A plot twist is an unexpected explanation of the story itself, an ending reveal that was set up throughout the story. A good example is the film, The Sixth Sense. If you were paying attention, the ending wouldn’t have been a surprise. However, nearly everyone missed it as the film was so well made. The reveal is staggering, but when you watch it again, the clues were there, just not obvious.
A plot twist doesn’t provide a ‘rescue’ at the end, it alters the reader’s whole perception of the story. It adds depth to the plot, makes it more interesting. It’s a result of a character’s actions or is based on the established plot. It’s true to the canon of the book. In other words, the plot is resolved by factors from within the book. Readers love great plot twists.
On the other hand, when a Deus Ex Machina device is inserted into the book, readers are annoyed. It’s a plot device that solves an unsolvable problem through an out-of-the-blue, unlikely, unstable event or new character brought in at the last minute.
9 Reasons Why Readers Don’t Like Deus Ex Machina
- The device is often unbelievable, improbable, unsatisfying and strains believability.
- It is lazy writing and bad plotting. The author had written themselves into a corner and didn’t want to do the replotting and editing required. So, they ‘magicked’ an ending.
- The impossible solution is contrived and doesn’t fit properly – a square peg rammed into a round hole and the cracks are very clear.
- It makes nonsense of the plot – ‘It was all a dream’.
- It relies on pure coincidence.
- Neither the plot nor the character’s actions have produced the solution. Instead, it comes from events or people outside of the book.
- It feels arbitrary and anti-climactic.
- Whatever victory the main character gains is hollow as it was handed to him rather than being earned.
- The problem is resolved, but it makes nonsense of the book’s plot.
4 Different Levels Of Deus Ex Machina
Not every Deus Ex Machina is the same.
1) Adverse
- The event actively contradicts the book’s world and its rules.
- A character does something that is physically impossible.
- A supernatural force, not previously mentioned in the book, suddenly appears and fixes everything.
- A character’s skills miraculously work in a completely different way and without explanation.
- The solution makes no sense based on the book’s
2) No Foreshadowing
- Surely it was obvious?
While the solution is not improbable, the author expects the reader to be able to figure it out. For example, in War Of The Worlds by H. G. Wells, the aliens are defeated by Earth’s bacteria as they had no immunity. There was no foreshadowing of this in the book, but, if you think about it, why would aliens have an immunity to pathogens we live with every day? It’s just too easy.
- It’s a stretch, but it could have happened
In Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, Ralph is about to be killed by the other boys. Running for his life along the beach, he trips and falls. Looking up, he sees a British Naval Officer, a brand new, unexpected character, staring down at him. However, the boys have been trying to smoke Ralph out by setting fire to the vegetation. It’s reasonable to assume that a passing ship would see the smoke and investigate. The Deus Ex Machina part is that the ship that arrives just happens to be British, just happens to see the smoke on the day of the hunt, and just happens to arrive at exactly the right time to save Ralph’s life.
- Suddenly I can…
The character has a skill that he never had before or could be expected to have.
- A stroke of luck
A convenient coincidence occurs that turns the situation in the main character’s favour.
- The clues planted throughout the book nothing more than ‘luck’, and not based on the character’s prior knowledge. The half-filled glasses of water scattered throughout the house in the movie Signs is a good example. Apart from a character’s eccentricity there is no reason for it. Neither the characters nor the viewers know that water is the aliens’ nemesis.
- An established character helps expectedly and for no reason.
- Characters who have only been mentioned turn up to help at the last minute.
- A powerful character, who has no purpose in the book, is easily persuaded to help.
4) High Foreshadowing
- The character that helps is well-established and could have helped before.
- The character has a known super-power or knowledge that comes in handy in the clinch.
- Chekhov’s gun actually goes off.
Can Deus Ex Machina Work?
Tastes change, so it depends on whom you ask. Charles Dickens was fond of it and used it liberally. J.R.R. Tolkien used it but was very nervous about it.
Readers can forgive, and even enjoy, a Deus Ex Machina if…
- It gives the main characters a slight advantage when the battle against them is overwhelming.
- It solves the problem, provides the key, the introduction etc., only after the main characters have gone beyond the limits of their ability, emotions, health, finances, and wits, and are on the verge of destruction. It’s reached the point where the reader is thinking, “Give them a break!”
- It is ‘really cool’, and possible – if unexpected. If it provides a moment of brief comic relief, even better. Like a T-Rex, with no interest in saving the characters snatching up a raptor who was about to have the characters for lunch, as in Jurassic Park.
- It only appears after the character has already beaten the odds. In this case, the Deus Ex Machina merely smooths over the happy ending.
A Deus Ex Machina is the same as a cliché. They might work, but they’re lazy. Rather do the work: plot better, write better, start with the ending and reverse engineer your way to the first chapter, edit like a monster, have good beta readers, always be open to killing your darlings. Make art. Make sense.
The Last Word
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by Elaine Dodge. Author of The Harcourts of Canada series and The Device Hunter, Elaine trained as a graphic designer, then worked in design, advertising, and broadcast television. She now creates content, mostly in written form, including ghost writing business books, for clients across the globe, but would much rather be drafting her books and short stories.
More Posts From Elaine
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