Plot device

A plot device is a person or an object introduced to a story to affect or advance the plot. In the hands of a skilled writer, the reader or viewer will not notice that the device is a construction of the author—it will seem to follow naturally from the setting or characters in the story. A poorly-written story, on the other hand, may have such awkward or contrived plot devices that the reader has serious trouble maintaining suspension of disbelief; indeed, the devices may even leave plot holes.

Some plot devices include:

• cliffhanger
• deathtrap
• deus ex machina
• MacGuffin
• quest
• villain
• reversal
• plot dump
• stock character

See also

• Literary technique