Deus ex Machina, Yay or Nay?

[DeformedSunflower]

Let me give you a scenario:
A detective is faced with a case of murder, in which the only clue he has is a witness of the murder. Yet by a twist of fate, that only witness passed away before he was able to investigate any further. Dejected, he thought he had hit a wall in his investigation and almost gave up, when it turned out that, sike! The witness was actually still alive. And so the investigation proceeds smoothly, the murderer was caught, and the case was closed.

Do you think a scenario like this would be considered a cheap way of avoiding problems, or do you think it makes a nice twist to the story?
And on a side note, do you think Deus ex Machina is, in any way, advisable to writers?

[joe_galindez]

Coincidences can happen. Just don't overdo them.

[SleepingPoppy]

It probably depends on why they thought the witness was died, and how they turned out to be alive. It's believable/clever good, if its not, it seems cheap! Conversely, maybe the detective has to use their detective skills to figure this out, rather than "Ta-da! Witness is alive!" And perhaps it depends on the kind of story it is. If its supposed to be a mystery, your audience might be disappointed there isn't really anything being figured out.

I think sometimes people don't understand what a Deus ex Machina is. They're a solution that comes completely out of no where. Thats usually bad writing. But that doesn't mean all cases of Deus ex Machina are bad. Maybe think of this way: Does it make sense? Does it fit the story/world? Am I only doing it because I wrote myself into a corner?

At the end of the day, do what feels right to you and your story!

[DiegoPalacios]

maybe the detective has to use their detective skills to figure this out, rather than "Ta-da! Witness is alive!"

This, may work wonders if you can justify why and how the witness faked his death.

here are some ideas:
Maybe the murderer treatened his family and he wanted to do the right thing while keeping his family away from danger, so the witness left hints for the detective or the police to figure it out. The tricky part was he can`t make it too obvious or the murderer will figure it out.

Or maybe he faked his death after being atacked by the murderer and his only option to reveal the murder was leaving subtle hints to avoid being atacked again.

In case of the detective stories, in my opinion i think the deus ex machina feels cheap, because in detective novels/comics/shows is expected for the detective to solve the case and earn his victory with his brain and deduction skills

[Samials]

In my writing, I personally tend to only use negative coincidences. Positive coincidences make it feel like the writer took an easy way out, while negative coincidences elevate the drama.

[IdiotWithPencil]

depends on the situation and why he fake died, also the way he hide it and the clues left so the reader (when rereading) can try to piece it together with the detective

[Rhombik]

They say in a good story you don't see the ending coming but once you've read it, it feels inevitable. I think you can have these kinds of plots but they have to make sense in the plot and be written into it.

So, basically, if this plot happened, I'd like to be able to read the book again and see the signs of what's to come.

[Rochrok]

It depends, if it's the detective who is active in finding the lead which leads him/her to believe the witness is still alive and then actively search for the clues to find the witness complete with some danger and suspense thrown in there in it could be interesting. But if the witness just pops up, testify, and it's cased closed... that could be cheap and boring. I try my best to avoid the Deus ex Machina because I think what makes a story exciting is backing a character against a wall and see how they find their way out. But if they are saved by the plot then what's the point in getting invested in them and their journey?

[Trickster511]

Yeah, I agree with some people here. But really all it boggles down to is having an interesting story and playing to your genre. Also personally, I don't mind Deus ex Machinas, unless they're really, REALLY bad lol

[shazzbaa]

I think if you introduce a problem, introduce tension because of the problem, and then the problem solves itself, that is almost never going to feel good.

I think that's the thing -- folks here suggesting that there is a reason the witness faked their death, or that the detective could put together that "hang on, something's fishy here," is a really good way to handle this because that is the detective finding the solution to the problem, uncovering that the problem is different from what we thought it was. It changes something.

But if the detective hits a dead end because of no witness, so that we can get the drama of "oh no!! what will the detective do now, with no leads?" and then the witness just turns up and solves that problem, then you could basically cut that entire chunk of story and it wouldn't change anything.

Detective: okay, my only real lead is this witness
Witness: - is dead -
Detective: Oh no.......... what will I do now....!
Witness: psych, I'm alive!
Detective: witness, thank goodness I found you. I have some questions --

could just be cut to

Detective: okay, my only real lead is this witness
Detective: witness, thank goodness I found you. I have some questions --

and it's not confusing, because nothing really happened in the interim. Generally, you don't like major pieces of your story to feel pointless. On the other hand:

Detective: okay, my only real lead is this witness
Witness: - is dead -
Detective: Oh no.......... what will I do now....!
Witness: psst, detective, I'm alive -- I had to fake my death, and since I'm in hiding, there's a limit to how much I can help you.
Detective: what! fake your death? Why?

can't be cut out so easily -- the witness's faked death reveals something new about the case and has consequences to the way the witness acts. Because it actually changes something in the story, it feels like a satisfying bit of plot.

I think that's the biggest thing... a coincidental solution feels bad when it makes readers feel like "well why did we just do all that, then?"

[jpnakashima]

If it's a long series, if this is just one of the cases like in the middle of it, I think it works as you told us. It would make for a humorous little departure, as I see.

Otherwise, what people mentioned here is a really good way to give purpose to the idea. I don't even think is that Deus Ex Machina.

Also, on the subject, I think a Deus Ex Machina is a tool, and as with any tool, it's not either good or bad. Is all about how it's used. Grant Morrison has a great way with Deus Ex Machina is his comics, for example. I don't know if you read any, but many of them end up with one (Animal Man and Final Crisis comes to mind) but they're all satisfactory, since the themes, the build up and all situations around it really complement the Deus Ex Machina well. It's the most basic of answers, but it's a true one: ''it depends how you do it''.

[scythe]

If this were a class project and I were forced to make this story work, I'd have it so that the detective, despite dejected, pressed on and through grit and deduction, solves the murder. But wait! The witness is alive after all! And the story he's saying doesn't match with what the detective has already proven to be the case. What's going on? All of a sudden this case is more complicated and more dangerous, because the witness faked his own death to avoid being murdered himself, but felt compelled to come forward when he learned that an innocent man was being charged. Now he's in danger again, and so is the detective, as they try to put the pieces of this crazy puzzle together, in a race against time to find the jade monkey.

Okay, maybe I got a little swept away there, but I think my point is, always be ratcheting up the problems for your protagonist, never give them easy wins. Your readers will thank you for it.

[Chrono]

This situation could avoid Deus Ex Machina completely. In fact, there's a huge plot hole that makes your current description hugely flawed.

First of all, what makes the detective believe that the witness is dead? Is it announced? Was it a result of an investigation? Both of these would need to be outside sources, so they can be designed to deceive the detective into falsely believing the witness is dead.

Now it comes down to this: why (since the witness is alive) did the witness want to go along with his faked death? Did he not have time to establish that he indeed was still alive? Was he hiding from a murderer? There's enough answers to that question, and this should've been addressed in the planning of your story.

---

As for Deus Ex Machina as a whole, it's typically an avoid doing. The issue with Deus Ex Machina is that there is always a better way of presenting a story that won't leave your audience with their eyebrows raised. Deus Ex Machina can work, but it turns into a hindrance once artists use it as a crutch to further develop their story properly. There's a clear distinction between using plot twists as a weapon and using unexplainable developments as a shortcut. If there was an clear intention to using Deus Ex Machina (or practically any writing technique), whether it is a deliberate plot point or genre, then it is perfectly acceptable.

[Croik]

I think @scythe has the right idea. Your protagonist should be the one driving the action. If the witness being alive and returning solves everything, without any help of the protagonist, you've cut out a huge chunk of their agency. But if the return of the witness causes a new problem and allows the protag to then make new decisions and drive further action, that's not Deus ex Machina, that's a nice plot twist.

[VikiKuli]

Yay in moments of comedy is my viewpoint. Something absurd, kind of like when Rey can suddenly use the force in Force Awakens to escape. It makes sense plot wise and is still the protagonist propelling the action but the level of power and moment are comical enough for the audience to get a laugh but recognize it as a plausible/enjoyable plot twist/shift. Many of the other comments here are probably much more helpful in answering though ^^ Good day!