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A plot coupon, and the somewhat less-well-known plot voucher, are the names Nick Lowe gave to specimens of plot devices in his essay "The Well-Tempered Plot Device," which was published in Ansible in 1986. A plot coupon is an object whose possession or use is necessary in order to resolve the conflict upon which the plot hangs, when this necessity clearly springs from the arbitrary decision of the author to make it so necessary. (The name is derived from a joke: When the characters have collected enough plot coupons, they can trade them in for the denouement.) For example, if the main plot of a novel concerns an ancient artifact that was broken into several pieces, and which must now be collected, reassembled, and activated in order to defeat an alien threat, the separate pieces of the artifact are surely plot coupons. Similarly, the Horcruxes in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series can be seen as plot coupons. Image File history File links Information. ... Shortcut: WP:WIN Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia and, as a means to that end, also an online community. ... Shortcut: WP:CU Marking articles for cleanup This page is undergoing a transition to an easier-to-maintain format. ... This Manual of Style has the simple purpose of making things easy to read by following a consistent format — it is a style guide. ... A plot device is a person or an object introduced to a story to affect or advance the plot. ... An ansible is a hypothetical machine, capable of superluminal communication, and used as a plot device in science fiction literature. ... Denouement, in literature, is the end part of a story after the climax. ... Look up plot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Magic (Harry Potter). ... Joanne Jo Rowling OBE (born 31 July 1965[1]) is an English fiction writer who writes under the pen name J. K. Rowling. ... This article is about the Harry Potter series of novels. ...

Structurally, plot coupons can be viewed as the component parts of a divided and dispersed MacGuffin, the designated valuable object which motivates the characters and moves the story along. Plot coupons are fairly common in fantasy, mostly because they work well within an epic quest structure; but they occur in all the other varieties of fiction as well. Ilf and Petrov's The Twelve Chairs, the successive rounds of murder and detection in Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, and the multiple problems and solutions of the Chushingura story cycle all qualify for the label. As with every other workhorse plot device, a plot-coupon-based narrative can be dreary or compelling, depending on the skill of the author, although the term is seldom used to indicate writing that is approved of. A MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin or Maguffin) is a plot device that motivates the characters and/or advances the story, but has little other relevance to the story. ... Smaug in his lair: an illustration for the fantasy The Hobbit Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ... The epic is a broadly defined genre of narrative poetry, characterized by great length, multiple settings, large numbers of characters, or long span of time involved. ... This article is about the word, for other meanings see Quest (disambiguation) A quest is a journey towards a goal with great meaning and is used in mythology and literature as a plot device. ... The Twelve Chairs The Twelve Chairs (Russian: ) (1928) is a famous satirical novel by the Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov. ... For the video game, see Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None. ... Incense burns at the burial graves of the 47 Ronin at Sengakuji. ...

Also like every other workhorse plot device, plot coupons lend themselves to easy use by naive or unskilled writers. For example, one might imagine that defeating an alien threat would require one to organize a resistance, figure out the enemy's weaknesses, and draw up some kind of strategic plan. If instead the answer to this threat becomes "find these five components to construct the superweapon which will eliminate all the aliens in one fell swoop," the story can be more linear, the obstacles more arbitrary, the proportion of cause to effect less proportionate, the particular circumstances of the story less realistic, and the required research far less onerous. A superweapon is an extremely powerful weapon by the standards of its time and its scale. ...

Plot vouchers

"A Plot Voucher," says Lowe, "is one of those useful items that is presented to the hero at the start of his adventure with a purpose totally unspecified, that turns out at an arbitrary point later in the story to be exactly what's needed to get him out of a sticky and otherwise unresolvable situation." Clumsily used plot vouchers are a variety of deus ex machina, and have the potential to destroy the reader's suspension of disbelief by allowing the characters to overcome difficulties in an unlikely manner. One of the most common uses of a plot voucher is an item of some importance given to the protagonist by someone they respect, often with the instruction to keep the item near them at all times. // The phrase deus ex machina (literally god out of a machine) describes an unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot (e. ... Suspension of disbelief is an aesthetic theory intended to characterize peoples relationships to art. ...

Examples of plot vouchers

Strikingly commonly, the protagonist is shot, but the bullet is deflected by the item they were given, even if the item itself could not feasibly stop a bullet (such as military dog tags, or some amulets). An example of this is found in the Disney version of The Three Musketeers, when Aramis is saved from an apparently-fatal bullet-wound when the slug hit the metal cross he wore around his neck. In Stephen King's Bachman-novel "Rage," Charlie Decker survives a gunshot when the bullet strikes a padlock in his pocket. Another variant of the theme is seen in The Fellowship of the Ring; Frodo is apparently stabbed to death by a cave-troll, but later, it is revealed that the mithril shirt Bilbo gave him has held, and saved his life. For other uses, see The Three Musketeers (disambiguation). ... René dHerblay Aramis is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père. ... For the film sequel to Carrie, see The Rage: Carrie 2 Rage (originally titled Getting It On) is the first novel by Stephen King published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. ... The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. ...

In the Twilight Zone episode "What You Need" (adapted from the short story by Lewis Padgett), the idea is central to the plot, with a man who is somehow able to see the future handing out items that will serve people's needs just in time—but with a twist at the end. The same idea is used in the Philip K. Dick story "Paycheck," as well as the movie based upon it, where the protagonist is given a bag containing nineteen items, each of which will be used at some point to escape from pursuers or get past an obstacle. The justification for what would otherwise seem like an arbitrary setup is that the protagonist had access to a machine that let him see the future and consequently knew what he would need. Note, this page is about the television series and its two revivals. ... “What You Need” is an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone. ... Lewis Padgett was the joint pseudonym of the science-fiction authors and spouses Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore. ... Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American writer, mostly known for his works of science fiction. ... Paycheck is a 2003 film adaptation of the short story Paycheck by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. ...

In The Game, several items given to Michael Douglas's character serve as plot vouchers not only in the movie's plot, but in the plot of the deception in which the character is immersed. Finding the proper use for these items is one objective of the character as he plays the titular game. The Game is a 1997 psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher and produced by Polygram, telling the story of an investment banker who is gifted with prepaid access to a game that integrates in strange ways with his life. ...

In The Wizard of Oz, the shoes Dorothy acquires upon her arrival in Oz are an excellent example of a plot voucher, as she finds out at the end of the film that they can be used to send her back home to Kansas. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, see The Wizard of Oz (adaptations). ...

Video games, especially adventure games, text adventures and computer role-playing games (which involve some amount of story) frequently use plot vouchers, as it makes for a convenient way to reconcile the linear nature of a story with the choice-based nature of a game. A plot voucher is one way to allow the author to dictate what must happen in order to proceed, while maintaining the illusion of choice. For example, early in the first Final Fantasy game the player is given a Lute; it shows no purpose throughout the entire game until the last dungeon, where when played it will open the last boss's chamber. Also, in Silent Hill 3, Heather is given an amulet at the start of the game, which actually turns out to be a major plot item. Adventure is a genre of video games typified by exploration, puzzle-solving, interaction with game characters, and a focus on narrative rather than reflex-based challenges. ... Zork I is one of the first interactive fiction games, as well as being one of the first commercially sold. ... Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply role-playing games (RPGs), are a type of video or computer game that traditionally use gameplay elements found in paper-and-pencil role-playing games. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long. ... Heather (also known as Cheryl Mason, and Alessa Gillespie) is the protagonist in Silent Hill 3. ...

The plot voucher was parodied in an episode of the television program Family Guy, in which a character is given a banana and told that when it comes time to use it, he'll know; later on, he needs help in fighting an attacker, and so throws the banana at him, but it has no effect whatsoever. It was also parodied in the film Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, when the character Harry is shot in the chest. Harry claims that a copy of a book he'd picked up earlier in the movie blocked the bullet, then realizes that the bullet has actually passed all the way through the book after all. At this point, he collapses. Family Guy is an Emmy award winning American animated television series about a nuclear family in the fictional town of Quahog (IPA or ), Rhode Island. ... Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is a 2005 comedy/crime film. ...

Plot Vouchers are a staple of James Bond movies, where 007 usually receives a random collection of high-tech gadgets from Q near the beginning of the film - and inevitably, by the end of the movie, he'll have needed them all, no matter how narrow their application and unlikely the situation. Similarly, whatever special features his car may have, will certainly turn out to be not only useful, but completely vital, and destructive on the vehicle. Flemings image of James Bond; commissioned to aid the Daily Express comic strip artists. ... A gadget is a device that has a useful specific purpose and function. ...

External link

• "The Well-Tempered Plot Device" by Nick Lowe