Writing Focus: Eucatastrophe
J.R.R. Tolkien is responsible for many terms in the literary world. Through the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he showed the world a new and exciting way of writing. Although eucatastrophe was around long before Tolkien’s time, the man himself was the one that coined the term and gave a word for something that literature had been doing for a long time.
What Is Eucatastrophe?
Eucatastrophe is often regarded as a form of deus ex machina. It is a term used to describe a turn of events in which the protagonist is saved from almost certain doom. This can be anything from a character right through to a seemingly unconnected event.
The main difference between other similar literary devices and eucatastrophe is that the latter is almost always a happy ending. For instance, taking Tolkien’s work as an example, when everything seems to be doomed and the reader is lulled into a state of thinking that Frodo will never manage to destroy the One Ring, Gollum’s appearance leads to that very event unfolding, and things going back to normal in the lives of the people of Middle-Earth.
Tips
It is important to carefully plan out any eucatastrophe at the end of a story in order to avoid confusion. The easiest way to make an act of eucatastrophe believable is to sit down and plan each separate part of the event. Why is the event so important that it changes the course of action of the protagonist? What characters are involved?
Some people like to slowly build up the event throughout and others like to throw it in as a shock twist — either of these is okay! A shock twist may work better for a thriller novel, whereas a slow-build event may work better for softer genres.
Prompts
Looking to introduce eucatastrophe into your own writing? Check out these prompts!
- Your character is in a fight to the death and is losing. Just when all hope seems to be lost, a person from the main character’s life appears with an item that completely changes their fate.
- Your character is incredibly unlucky, and everything seems to be going wrong for them leading up to a big event. As they attend the main event, their luck changes.
Eucatastrophe may be useless if you want to have a bittersweet ending, but if you’re looking for a way to change something sad into a happy ending, then it can be incredibly helpful!
Special thanks to losing control. and cleopatra. for editing!
