Chekhov’s Gun: How To Guarantee Your Story “Pays Off” With AI

Hey there!

Forget about plot twists.

As a storyteller, your job is to keep your promise to the reader. Every time you introduce an irrelevant character, object, event, or setting in your story, your audience loses a little bit of trust. And if you want don’t want to let your reader down, you need to give them what they came for: a payoff.

Which means if something doesn't serve the plot, it's dead weight.

Every Part Of Your Story Matters

Luckily, mastering the art of fulfilling a narrative promise is simpler than it seems.

And if you follow this dead-simple storytelling principle you can be sure every part of your story contributes meaningfully to the narrative. The principle? Chekhov's Gun.

The idea comes from Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, who said:

“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.”

In short, everything in your story must serve a purpose.

When you introduce an object or a character, it creates an expectation. The expectation is that the element will return meaningfully later in the story. And as long as you follow the principle of Chekhov's Gun, you can build a suspenseful story without worrying about betraying your reader's trust.

So, today we are going to use AI to make sure you don’t leave any “guns on the wall” and help you explore a range of narrative possibilities to make your story is as gripping and satisfying as possible.

3-Steps To Test Your Story For A False Promise With Chekhov’s Gun

First, let’s take a look at how you can review your story for empty promises.