The links don't work! But I'm really enjoying this series, and I'm sharing each of them with my writing students; it's just the kind of provocation that they need.
When I think about Chekhov's gun, I don't think about the need to make everything that appears on the page have a point or a meaning. Instead, I feel challenged to live up to the expectations I've created. The gun can be a kind of promise that you can break, and that breaking isn't always principled or interesting - it can be cowardly, or hapless, or a way of refusing to allow real stakes in art and outside of art.
The links don't work! But I'm really enjoying this series, and I'm sharing each of them with my writing students; it's just the kind of provocation that they need.
ah thanks for letting me know, i fixed the links
Thank you for this series, the examples and the exercises. The education and reminders I’ve been looking for.
This is great, thanks!
I love your mind! It's so refreshing.
When I think about Chekhov's gun, I don't think about the need to make everything that appears on the page have a point or a meaning. Instead, I feel challenged to live up to the expectations I've created. The gun can be a kind of promise that you can break, and that breaking isn't always principled or interesting - it can be cowardly, or hapless, or a way of refusing to allow real stakes in art and outside of art.
Yes! The set-up/pay-off obsession is exhausting sometimes…