Chekhov's Gun

Chekhov’s Gun is the narrative principle that every element in a story must be necessary and relevant. Whether a gun, rifle, or cleaver, it becomes a promise to the audience that it will contribute to the story. The principle of Chekov’s Gun reminds writers to make their prose strong by avoiding unnecessary words.

In my story, “The Betrothal,” published in Black Sheep: Unique Tales of Terror and Wonder (February 2025), Miriam has been hired to find Zoe, a young woman who disappears on the eve of her betrothal. Miriam interviews Zoe’s close confidant, Aunt Hestia, who owns a butcher shop:

As the door screeched open, her aunt ushered me into a dark-paneled shop with a wooden counter, its scarred surface blackened with blood stains. Scooting behind the counter, she pushed aside a bloody cleaver and asked, “What can I get you?”

In accord with Chekov, that cleaver will appear again along with enough goblets of flesh and spatters of blood to look like a butcher shop.

Though Chekhov’s Gun has become a popular principle for writers, some reject it. Chekhov himself flouted his own rule in his play The Cherry Orchard (1904), which contains firearms that are never fired. Moreover, by reversing the principle, a writer can create a red herring. Whereas Chekhov’s Gun refers to a seemingly inconsequential element that becomes important later, a red herring is an element that seems important but turns out to be insignificant. Red herrings are therefore useful to distract mystery story readers.

To find out more about “The Betrothal” just click here. To find out more about red herrings, look for next week’s blog.