Deus ex machina

[JMH]

Have any of you been guilty/tempted to pulling a Deus ex machina... when you've written yourself into a corner and bemoan the idea of starting over from scratch?  How do you handle it.  I've personally been tempted in the past to "jump the shark"  to get myself out of a writer's block jam but I usually end up rewriting everything so the saving event does come across as a surprise miracle.  ie missing dad pops out of nowhere, hero develops super powers right at the time he needs them.... ect

Edited May 14, 2013 by JMH

[MikeL]

So, a contemporary novel, out of necessity, becomes a work of fantasy?

[JMH]

I didn't mean to offend.  That's not what I was trying to say.  I only gave those two as examples. A different example would be the later mystery novels of Agatha Cristie.  In her last few books she waited for the very end to write out all the clues as to 'who done it.'  What I was asking about was the temptation to end a story in a rush with everything surprising resolved at the last minute.  What I meant by the times I felt tempted to pull one of those last minute solutions I usually end up to go back through the entire story in order to create some justification for how it ended.  All I was asking is if others have struggled with the same and wanted to know how they resolved it.  If you don't see it as an issue I have no problem with that.  

[MikeL]

No offense.  I was just curious whether you were referring to the author as "deus" or some supernatural event in the story.

[JMH]

Ah... it is a a Latin  term for a surprise ending where all the plots are resolved out of the sudden with no hint from earlier chapters that would take place.  It's like finding out who the murderer is at the end of a mystery based on clues that only show up at the very end without any hints or or suggestions on how it would be resolved... ie and ending with no real justification where the resolution has nothing to do with what comes before it.

[comicfan]

God in the machine, making the miracle happen. Yeah I think we have all been tempted at times, but we know as readers we hate those things so sometimes the best we can do is massive rewrites. Not every clue is a true one, not every problem will get an answer. While most of like to tie things up in a neat bow life isn't always like that and you need to remember that when you write. Good luck