Magical Elements as Story Problem Solvers

A short story I put in the workshop in 2019 has been on my mind recently, The Fall of Osto Gren. I don't generally rewrite old work, but it was received pretty well at the time. I think it could have potential now that I'm actually submitting.

In the original story, Osto Gren, a whimsical Victorian artist, falls from the clouds after neglecting to watch his step. He then finds himself in a smoggy city, encounters a host of unpleasant characters, enters a skyscraper elevator and comes out onto the roof where his friends dangle a rope from the sky for him.

I like the character and the opener may be some of my best writing. I can see, however, that the deus ex makes the story fall utterly flat, as well as the sporadic nature of the events which take place. I'd like to ask how you as readers feel about magical endings. Do these hold any weight for you or do you require a more grounded and concrete set of actions to take place in the climax? Here's what I have in mind:

After Osto falls to earth, struggling to come to terms with his new surroundings, he finds himself in an art gallery. A new idea I have is that I'd like for him to enter through a skyscape piece after a rather farcical encounter with the museum curators/police. Does this kind of thing hold interest? I just worry it might be another kind of deus ex. His actions might seem superfluous if all he needs to do is enter the painting. Perhaps he contacts his friends through this piece, making the original skyscraper and rope concept more grounded and motivated.

Thank you very much.

 

The work's internal logic is a lot more important than real-world logic, in my opinion. If the piece thus far has been full of whimsy, then the less grounded climax might actually be more compelling. As for specifically magical endings, I might roughly group them into 'plot driven' and 'character or theme driven'. In a plot-driven story, for a magical ending to work, it typically requires magic that is well understood by the reader so it becomes just another tool, like a sword (Or at least the specific piece of magic used to resolve the climax, other magic can still be unknown) You often see this in comics and anime. In more character/theme-driven endings, you see a lot more flexibility when it comes to using magic to solve problems. Examples are movies like Frozen and Spirited Away; there might be external plot elements that happen, but they mostly serve to push along the character growth and development of the theme in an interesting manner. While it's not clear to me exactly what you're going for in your specific piece, I feel like either version could work based on execution and intent.

 

Thanks for the response. I agree, the work's internal logic is what really counts. In my stories I don't tend to write complex magic systems and whatnot, often having the supernatural or fantastic elements link with the characters' traits, the ethos of their worlds and societies. I think my idea could work since a painting would act as a kind of interface between the sky realm and earth. Throughout the story Osto, and by extension the reader, will be wondering how one could possibly get back into the sky. The answer would be the painting, at least if I'm going the portal route. I think it's better, however, if there are more grounded elements, more connections with the "magic" to be made, so I think I'll have Osto's friends appear through the painting. They'd then prepare the rope for him. This connection with art would be crucial as it'd quite clearly indicate the imaginative and artistic nature of the "welkin race" as contrasted with the mundane earth dwellers. That's an element of my story I forgot to mention in my original post. The rope would then not be such a deus ex machina as Osto has in some way used the art piece to contact his friends and they've acted upon his wishes. In the first iteration the rope simply appeared once Osto reached the roof. Not good; I wasn't thinking. In the second iteration I might have Osto repeatedly fail to catch hold of it.