Writing craft, product updates, and thoughts on the creative process.
Your protagonist is cornered. The antagonist has a knife. And then... a light explodes overhead, glass flies, and she gets away clean. Satisfying? Not even close. Your reader just felt cheated. Deus Ex Machina is one of the oldest plot devices in history, and one of the easiest traps to fall into. Here's how to spot it, fix it, and know the one time it actually works.
