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| Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) Photo Credit: Author Unknown [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
‘Chekhov’s Gun’ is a writing principle often used in novels and scriptwriting. The principle basically says:
If you have a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, then it must be fired in a later act.
If it's not going to be fired, then it shouldn't be there.Checkhov's idea is that every element in your story should have a purpose. Irrelevant elements should be removed as they give false promises to the reader.
This doesn't mean every element needs to play a significant role in the plot. You will have elements that help to describe the setting, character, mood, backstory, etc. But there should be a reason you are sharing this information with the reader.
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a famous Russian writer. This principle comes from various letters he wrote.
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