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Don't Press The DEM Button by Richard Phillips
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Don't Press The DEM Button |
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Education
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I see you there, sitting at your desk with pencil in hand. You're in the middle of our novel and there are some characters who just won't listen to you. They're taking over your plot and your ending won't happen. I see you. Wait! Stop! Don't press the DEM Button! Think before you press that large, red, tempting button! Your story will hurt if you press it. But what is the DEM Button? The DEM Button is a characterization of a Greek Theatrical aesthetic. DEM means deus ex machina , or God's machine. It is essentially when a story is moving along and suddenly without rhyme or reason, everything shifts and the story concludes or moves in the direction the author wants it to go. This can also be whiplash. An example of the DEM Button in action is The Oedipus Trilogy by Sophocles. In the first play, Oedipus Rex, the DEM Button is used on the blind prophet, Tiresias, and the protagonist, Oedipus. To understand how the DEM Button is used, it is imperative to have a quick synopsis of the story. Oedipus is a prince and when he was born, the king went to Tiresias and the prophet reported that the prince would kill the king, marry his mom, and make kids. That's not a pleasant fortune. The king decided that he would try to kill off his son by tying up his feet and leaving him by a mountainside to die. The baby Oedipus was found by a shepherd, a former servant of the king, and Oedipus never knew of his lineage. One day when Oedipus was grown, he killed a man on the road where he was walking. He was running away from home because he found out from Tiresias that he was going to kill his father. Unknown to Oedipus, he started fulfilling his destiny. He married his mother and sired children, but something terrible started happening; there was a great famine. Oedipus tried to use all the powers available to him to end the famine. One of the resources available to him was Tiresias who was adamant about not retelling the prophecy. After some threats to the old prophet, he decides that he will retell the prophecy. The other characters piece together the tragedy and Oedipus is in denial with his mother recalls having her son's feet tied and the adult Oedipus has misshapen feet. He does not take this to be proof and exits the stage. He returns onstage with his eyes gouged out and a commitment to self-exile. As a viewer, it takes a few moments to comprehend Tiresias' and Oedipus' decision. Tiresias is old and near to death so why would he be afraid of some young man's death threat? Oedipus was in denial the while time and there was no hint of acceptance to what anyone told him, so why would he suddenly believe in what everyone else told him? Especially enough to gouge out his own eyes? Similar questions will run through the minds of your readers if you hit the DEM Button. The DEM Button will make your reader try to rationalize the decision of your character. The reader will be so busy trying to figure out the why that the reader will lose his or her suspension of disbelief. When this happens, your reader may question all the decisions your character makes and once that happens your reader will not enjoy your story. So do yourself a favor, don't touch the DEM Button. Allow the story to grow and allow the people in your stories to breathe. This will make for more realistic and believable tales. Remember to keep positive and keep on writing. thesis writing
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