Swap-bot Time: March 28, 2024 11:39 am
www.swap-bot.com

Chekhov's Gun

Launch gallery slideshow

Chekhov's Gun
Group:The Writer's Well
Swap Coordinator:Poftoffel (contact)
Swap categories:
Number of people in swap:5
Location:International
Type:Type 3: Package or craft
Last day to signup/drop:September 30, 2017
Date items must be sent by:October 16, 2017
Number of swap partners:1
Description:

All credit goes to Melissa Donovan at www.writingforward.com

"Chekhov’s Gun is a literary device in which an element is mentioned in a story and its purpose or significance becomes clear later. For example, early in a story, the narrative mentions that the hero carries a knife. Later, he uses that knife to defend himself in a fight. If the knife hadn’t been mentioned earlier, it might feel like an object of convenience. On the other hand, if the knife is mentioned but he never uses it, the reader might feel cheated after anticipating a good knife fight.

The real purpose of Chekhov’s Gun is to remind writers that they have an obligation to fulfill all promises made to readers. If the narrative mentions that the hero carries a knife, the reader expects that he will, at some point, use it. If he doesn’t, the writer has failed to fulfill a promise. In other words: don’t pepper your story with unnecessary, insignificant, or meaningless elements. Make everything count!

The term “Chekhov’s Gun” comes from a letter from Anton Chekhov to Aleksandr Semenovich Lazarev (also known as A.S. Gruzinsky) in which he said, “One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it.” "

Write a story of at least 500 words in which you use foreshadowing though an object. Remember, Chekhov's gun can be anything! You can make it as dull or exciting as you want.
Don't mention it too obviously, just let the story flow. So for this swap, at least 500 words of fiction.

Discussion

renmagpie 09/13/2017 #

@Poftoffel - I hope you don't mind me sharing this, but I found this excellent, short essay that further describes Chekhov's Gun as it applies not just to the obvious details (e.g., a gun or a knife) but also to the subtle details in other stories that emply Chekov's Gun.

Poftoffel 09/16/2017 #

Thank you @bombardiette So interesting!

CANNEKCUL 09/18/2017 #

Seriously, this will be my first attempt at writing anything. I sense that you all may be quite experienced. I apologize to my partner in advance but I really want to do this. Have to start somewhere. 🙂

Poftoffel 09/20/2017 #

@CANNEKCUL you are very welcome! This group is for writers of ALL levels and I love it that you're going to give this is a try! If you ever need help you can drop me a message :-)

CANNEKCUL 09/20/2017 #

Thank you.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Click here to log in.

I received the item
I sent the item

Received from:
For multiple members, separate names with spaces

Description: