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Mystery: August 01, 2012 Issue [#5187]

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Mystery


 This week: MacGuffins
  Edited by: Jeff Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter


"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."
-- Carl Sagan


Mystery Trivia of the Week: Yasmine Galenorn, known also by the pseudonym India Ink, has written over two dozen urban fantasy/paranormal fiction books. It's not just merely her fictional genre of choice, though... she's also written eight nonfiction pagan titles, and has identified herself as a non-Wiccan shamanic witch for the past 30+ years.


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Letter from the editor


MACGUFFINS


This newsletter was inspired by Arakun the twisted raccoon Author Icon's wonderful newsletter a couple weeks back about the "Checkhov's Gun" plot device ("Mystery Newsletter (July 18, 2012)Open in new Window.). This week, I thought I'd take some time to talk about the MacGuffin, one of the most popular plot devices, found especially in mysteries and thrillers. The term "MacGuffin" was popularized by director Alfred Hitchcock and is essentially defined as some form of motivator that drives the actions of a character or characters, but whose actual nature isn't important to the story. Some examples of popular MacGuffins:

         *Bullet* The briefcase in Pulp Fiction.
         *Bullet* "Rosebud" in Citizen Kane.
         *Bullet* The Maltese Falcon in The Maltese Falcon
         *Bullet* The Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
         *Bullet* The Holy Grail in both Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
         *Bullet* The One Ring in Lord of the Rings.
         *Bullet* The Death Star Plans / R2-D2 in Star Wars.
         *Bullet* Voldemort's Horcruxes in Harry Potter.

In each of these examples, "what" these items were specifically is secondary to the function they serve in the narrative. It doesn't matter what's in the Pulp Fiction briefcase; all that matters is that we understand it's important to several characters who want it. Similarly, we don't need to know what's in the Ark of the Covenant, or what the Holy Grail specifically is, as long as we understand that these are objects of desire for at least one of the characters in those movies. Even more, consider stories in which we do understand "what" the items are. The One Ring in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Voldemort's Horcruxes in the Harry Potter series are very specific items... but ultimately it wouldn't make any difference if The One Ring was actually The One Fruitcake, or if Rowena Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem and Marvolo Gaunt's Ring were actually Rowena's Radio Flyer and Marvolo's Monopoly Game. What the objects are in actuality are irrelevant details when compared to what those objects represent (i.e. the antagonist's object of power which must be destroyed).

MacGuffins can be as specific as a Horcrux or as generic as a briefcase with glowing contents that are never fully revealed to the audience. What's most important about a MacGuffin is not what it is, but what it compels the characters in your story to do. If you're writing a story where the characters need to be motivated toward some end, consider giving them a MacGuffin to entice them. This plot device can be a great way to motivate your characters and keep your audience interested, without necessarily having to integrate the object into the backstory or the mythos or the very fabric of your story. Sometimes, an object r or a goal can just be a simple motivator for your characters. *Smile*

Until next time,

-- Jeff Author IconMail Icon


Editor's Picks


I encourage you to check out the following mystery items:


 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

The metallic clang of the cell door slamming behind me reverberated through my head and I knew in that moment, that sound would resound in my head for the rest of my life. I looked around the small room I had entered. It didn't take long.



 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

After a hectic, 35 year, busy career of traveling around the world on business, I was finally retired. We built our retirement home among the tall conifer forest in a small mountain resort town in Northern California. I swore never to go near another airport….ever! I looked forward to doing nothing but reading, writing about some of my travel experiences, playing golf, and exploring the mountain back roads on my 2003 Vespa motor scooter. Most of all I would finally be able to spend more time with my wife of 53 years. Leisurely chats about all the this and that of our lives without interrupting phone calls and faxes. She was an identical twin, and I knew the minute I saw her at one of my high school basketball games, I had to ask her out on a date.



 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

Sean O’Hara loaded his automatic, then stuffed it under his belt behind his back. Would he be using it to kill his best friend tonight Wally had called and invited him over for sandwiches, beer, and Monday night football. Just like old times he had said. Sean wondered if Wally was setting him up. It was possible he had fooled everyone, and had been putting up an act all this time. Such a guy was Wally.



 Murder in the Ballroom Open in new Window. [13+]
On the night of her wedding, Sydney is found dead by her best friend in a ballroom.
by xellyanorx Author Icon

My footsteps echoed on the floor as I rushed into the ballroom. Lying in the centre of the room, wearing her grandmother’s wedding dress, was Sydney. My heart began thumping deafeningly against my chest, willing me to run faster. I fell beside her body, praying, hoping for a miracle. But there was none.

Her eyes were open, staring without seeing at the elaborate carvings on the ceiling.

“No. No, no, no. Come on, Sydney. Get up.”

I pulled at my former enemy’s limp arm, internally screaming for any form of response. Candles flickered around us and shadows jumped out from every corner. My heart was racing and my entire body shook each second that I spent there, “Please, Sydney. Please. Don’t leave me.” There was no sign of life from those pale, delicate fingers or the usually glistening eyes on her beautiful face. A voice in my head told me, what a waste. Dead before she could even begin living. And it’s all your fault.



 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

Catching a glimpse as she rode her bicycle down the street, Katy noticed the garage door close slowly where the house on the corner had been vacant. Behind the tall rusty coloured metal doors she could hear a rustling sound coming from behind the bushes.
No-one had lived there for a long time it seemed, as the house was so quiet and lifeless. There were no lights reflecting through the windows, and the lawns on the nature-strip were forgotten and kept growing.
The sound she heard coming from the bushes sounded like quick tiny foot-steps running on dry autumn leaves and the movement of a tin dish softly being dragged along the ground. As Katy moved closer she pressed her ear against the doors.



 Blackout City Open in new Window. [E]
Stories of living in a sparsely populated outskirt of a city without streetlights.
by Three_Strands Author Icon

On 73rd street, Neon worms wriggle alive to streak lime and orange on the pavement lining the block between Tavelli and Denton.

On its corner is a Brazilian salon, with a single sleepy stylist sweeping up curls from checkered tiles, and an old footwear store, with shine and soles pressing up against its storefront. Mounted on the scratched glass, a poster advertises for a play by Theaster Hill on the Greek tragedies, its closing night already three weeks past, next to stickers that read "We Appreciate Your Business," and beneath, "We Call the Police."



 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

It was finally happening,the day Fred had been waiting for was finally here.His son in law called him at three in the morning with the wonderful news, "I'm going to shoot myself now Fred,do you want to be here when I do it?" Fred almost dropped the phone.He glanced over at his sleeping wife and went into the bathroom to answer the question. "Yes,yes I do Edward,thank you.I'll be right over,"Then hearing the sound of sobbing he added, "Please wait for me ." It was Christmas Eve exactly one year from the horrible night someone killed Fred's daughter and three grandchildren.



 Paralyzed Sleep Open in new Window. [13+]
This poem is dedicated to all the people who get this. Any questions please ask.
by HippieGyrl Author Icon

In between two worlds.
Dream collides with reality.
I see myself sleeping and
Everything around me, I
Must be awake but my
Eyes are closed. My
Body, frozen like ice,
Confusion in my mind.



 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

And then, as treasured things often do, it vanished.

Christmas Eve is the ultimate celebration for my family. Everyone, scattered across the states, arrives at my home alight with joy. Christmas Eve mass begins at 7 P.M., followed by dinner in a swanky restaurant.

On this eve, it’s more than deck the holly; it’s also deck the body. I zipped into a blue satin strapless dress from Victoria’s Secret. My bared neck showcased my pearls—the pearls my husband handed me right about the time I was ready to hand him divorce papers. I took the pearls. Lucky for him, I’m a nice Catholic girl.



 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

Sherlock Bones is an intelligent, crime-hungry retriever, along with his companion, Mr. Dachsund. In this first novel, Bones and Dachsund must figure out who stole the absolutely famous golden kong of peanut-butter. Was it Sir Gruffel, the german sheperd from Germany? Or Pugsli, the french-pug of Paris? Read to find out!



 
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Ask & Answer



Feedback from my last newsletter about serialized storytelling:


DB Cooper Author Icon writes, "As always your newsletter is AWSOME! Serialized crime shows are popular but hardly ever capture the moment like say TV movies."

Thank you so much for the kind words! *Smile*



Mara ♣ McBain Author Icon writes, "Great look at serialized storytelling! It is my favorite because I can grow attached to the characters and watch them change and grow!"

I agree; I love evolving with a character or a world as it develops. One-off stories can be satisfying, but I just love getting immersed in an entire world and watching it unfold.



BIG BAD WOLF is Merry Author Icon writes, "Sometimes you've got family to figure out."

My family regularly mystifies me. *Wink*



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