Plot Execution: The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Red Herrings, McGuffins, and plot holes oh my!

So, you’ve got your story. Characters. Setting. It’s great so far but… now what do you do?

Plot execution, as one might imagine, is both the most complex and difficult aspect of writing and that’s because we’re now past the character and world-building and we’re getting into actual writing. If I were to say plot execution is about writing well then that would be utterly useless, so let's go through a couple of oft-complained issues in plot execution. After that, we’ll look at a few helpful processes for writing a plot.

Number 1: Plot devices

A plot device is a structure, character, object, or event that pushes the plot forward, sews up a hole, or explains a seemingly unexplainable event in the story. I should first mention that plot devices are not inherently bad, if used correctly in a way that follows the rules of your setting and doesn’t break the suspension of disbelief (I explained this in my previous article) then your plot device might be the perfect way to move the story forward. An example of a good plot device is in the Avengers Endgame Part II (spoilers ahead) — the way they use time travel is consistent, makes sense in the setting, and functions to fix the problems of the previous movie and resolve the story. Common problems writers run into with plot devices are a) cliched plot devices, b) ones that break the rules or leave plot holes, and c) unclear plot devices.

A cliched plot device might be something like a fakeout or a ‘gotcha!’ moment by the author that completely changes the perceptions or knowledge of the reader. This is also called a Red Herring and can be successfully executed if respected by the author. A common problem with red herrings is when they are used too frequently. This results in “Peter and the Wolf syndrome” where now your readers don’t ever trust you because they think it’ll just be another fakeout. Another problem is if the Red Herring is too out of the blue. If one thing in the story is very established and clearly explained and then it turns out to be a Red Herring this is both annoying and disorientating to readers. An example of a Red Herring done poorly is found in Sherlock (spoilers ahead) when in Season 3 Mary Watson is…