Matthew Artis

Plot Devices
Plot Twist
A plot twist is a radical change in the expected direction or outcome
of the plot of a novel, film, television series, comic, video game, or
other work of narrative. It is a common practice in narration used to
keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a
revelation.

MacGuffin
In fiction, a MacGuffin is a plot device in the form of some goal,
desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist pursues,
often with little or no narrative explanation. The specific nature of a
MacGuffin is typically unimportant to the overall plot. The most
common type of MacGuffin is a person, place, or thing. Other more
abstract types include victory, glory, survival, power, love, or some
unexplained driving force.

Deus ex machina
The term was coined from the conventions of Greek tragedy, where
a machine is used to bring actors playing gods onto the stage. The
machine could be either a crane used to lower actors from above or
below.

Red Herring
Red herring is a kind of fallacy that is an irrelevant topic introduced
in an argument to divert the attention of listeners or readers from
the original issue. In literature, this fallacy is often used in detective
or suspense novels to mislead readers or characters or to induce
them to make false conclusions.

In Media Res
In medias res means "into the middle of things." It usually describes
a narrative that begins, not at the beginning of a story, but
somewhere in the middle usually at some crucial point in the
action.