The Plot device reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Plot device

A plot device is a person or an object introduced to a story to affect or advance the plot of the story. In the hands of a skilled writer, the reader or viewer won't 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, they may even leave plot holes.

Some plot devices include:

• deathtrap
• deus ex machina
• MacGuffin
• quest
• villain
• reversal
• plot dump

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