I thought this was pretty clever advice from Dwight Swain. The gimmick. To fully understand this post, you’re going to want to read last Wednesday’s post about writing the perfect ending.
What is a gimmick?
It’s a tool you can use to make your character’s choice believable. How will you make your reader believe that your character would really choose principle over personal gain? Enter gimmick.
The gimmick can be anything. A smell. An object. A food. A saying. Music. Anything. As long as it evokes a strong emotional reaction from your character and the emotion is linked to the principle at stake.
For example:
Billy’s father raised him to protect the innocent. Growing up, Billy’s father modeled this principle day in and day out. When Billy turned twelve, his father got cancer and died. Before he died, he gave Billy a medallion he earned while serving in the military. This medallion is the gimmick. Whenever Billy sees it, it reminds him of his father (emotional) and what his father stood for (principle: protect the innocent).
To make the gimmick work, you need to introduce it in the beginning of your story and come back to it at least a couple times throughout the novel. Too little, and the reader won’t understand why the gimmick matters at the end. Too much, and your reader will start rolling his eyes.
During the critical moment, when your character faces the choice between the easy way (personal gain) and the difficult way (principle) and he’s leaning toward the easy way, you bring in the gimmick. Character reacts emotionally and chooses principle. And the reader believes every minute of it.
Example continued:
Billy is in the middle of a bloody civil war in Uganda. Throughout the whole novel, Billy’s goal has been to escape to safety. The climax comes. Billy has the perfect opportunity to escape. It’s sitting right in front of him, ready to grab. But if he leaves, he’ll leave an orphaned boy unprotected. Billy’s so close to his goal. All he has to do is get on the helicopter. Shots ring out. Chaos is everywhere. The helicopter pilot is yelling, “Get on! Or we’re going to die.” Orphan boy is far away, but visible, caught in the midst of the chaos. Billy throws his bag into the helicopter, ready to get inside, but the strap catches on the chain around his neck, and the medallion his father gave him rips off and falls to the ground. He sees it. And he’s reminded of everything his father stood for. He reacts emotionally. He chooses to risk his life to save the orphan boy.
Questions to Ponder: Have you used a gimmick before? Have you read a story where the author uses the gimmick? Do you like this idea?
