Glossary

The hero's journey is a classic narrative pattern in which a hero leaves their ordinary world, goes through a trial and returns changed. This structure runs beneath countless stories, from mythology to fantasy novels, films and games.

A red herring is a storytelling technique that deliberately draws the reader's attention to a false clue, suspect or explanation. It's common in mystery and thrillers; done well, it hides the real solution and, by the end, leaves readers feeling skillfully misled rather than cheated.

A MacGuffin is the object or goal characters chase, fight over or try to protect, but which matters to the story less for what it is than for the movement it creates. It can be a stolen jewel, a secret document or a lost sword; for the reader, the point isn't what the object is but where it drives the characters.

Chekhov's gun is the storytelling principle that every significant detail you deliberately show should pay off later. It's named after the Russian writer Anton Chekhov: if a rifle hangs on the wall in the first act, it should go off in a later one.

Deus ex machina is when a seemingly hopeless problem in a story is solved by a sudden outside intervention that was never set up. It's Latin for 'god from the machine', named after the god figures lowered onto the stage by crane in ancient Greek theater.

A Mary Sue is a character who is too perfect: no realistic flaws or struggles, easy success at everything, and admiration from everyone in the story. Male characters are sometimes called Gary Stu. The term spread from a 1970s parody of Star Trek fan fiction.