Otherwise, don’t put it there.
Anton Chekhov on plants and payoffs. (The Commonplace Book Project)
The Commonplace Project is a daily post based on Ray Bradbury’s advice to aspiring writers: read a poem, a short story, and an essay every day for 1000 days. These posts start with a quote and go wherever the rabbit hole leads. Follow The 1000 Day MFA so you don’t miss a thing.
“If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.”
— Anton Chekhov, also known as Chekhov’s Gun.
There was another quote that I wanted to use today, in celebration of Anton Chekhov’s birthday.
Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.
I’ve seen that line, just like that, attributed to him so many times. And it’s such beautiful advice. Such a lovely way of saying: Show don’t tell.
But he didn’t say it. At least not that way.
Here’s what he did write, to his brother.
“In descriptions of Nature one must seize on small details, grouping them so that when the reader closes his eyes he gets a picture. For instance, you’ll have a moonlit night if you write that on the mill dam a piece of glass from a broken bottle…
