Chekhov's Gun

Chechov's Gun is a principal in literature and writing that states that if an element is introduced to a story then it must be used or else the audience, or reader, will feel cheated or become disapointed in the story, feeling that they were lied to, because they built up some expectations around the element.

This rule gets its name from some letters Anton Chekhov wrote to Aleksandr Semenovich Lazarev critiquing a play of his. In one letter he told a Aleksandr to remove everything from the scenery that is not relevant to the story. In the letter, Chekhov told Aleksandr that the gun he has hanginging over the door makes a false promise to the audience. The audience, Chekhov said, will assume there is a reason for its being there and it will be used to develop the story in some way.

Chekhov finished by saying that "You should not introduce an element to a story unless it is going to help resolve or move the plot forward. If you start a play with a Gun on a table, then it must be fired before the end of the first act."

Applications Of Chekhov's Gun In Writing

The Couple

If a Man and a Woman spend considerable time together in a story then they must have sex or get together as a couple.

Some examples:

• In "Can't Hardly Wait" Kenny and Denise have to Screw because they were trapped in a bathroom all night.

• In The Empire Strikes Back, Han and Leah get together because they are alone together for 75% of the movie and the only person that can throw a Cockblock is a robot that can be conveniently shut off.

• in Evangelion, Shinji is the first boy that Asuka is introduced to that is her age which is why she pines for his Loser ass. This can be also seen in Dragon Ball where Chi-Chi is introduced as the only girl around Goku's age and why he marries her.

• In Robotech, Rick is introduced to Min Mei and Lisa in the first 10 minutes. This also follows another rule, "If they fight, then they'll fuck." Because Rick and Lisa spend so much of the early episodes fighting and hating each other, the audience will want there to be something between them."

• In Doctor Who, the first girl that the Doctor meets, in a new story arc, will become his companion but the Doctor won't Sexor them because he doesn't like girls. The first girl the Ninth Doctor met was Rose. When Rose leaves, Donna Noble teleports into his TARDIS OF THE TENTH Doctor. When Martha becomes his companion, the episode begins with the Dr walking up to her and giving her his tie.