MacGuffins are plot devices that are meaningless in and of themselves. They only contribute to the plot by virtue of being there. They may be the object of the hero’s entire quest, and the whole world may be fighting over them, but really, the exact contents of the microfilm are seldom important. Heck, the photograph might even be destroyed before anyone sees it.
But selecting that Maltese falcon can be tough. I thought I needed one in my last WIP, but I could only find a sci-fi MacGuffin generator.
So I built one. And it’s fun, if I do say so myself.
What’s your MacGuffin? Go try out the MacGuffin generator today!
(Links, shares and retweets greatly appreciated—please direct them to the generator itself, located at http://jordanmccollum.com/links/macguffin-generator/ . There are also badges available on the page.)
Additions? Suggestions? Comments? Questions?
Photo credit: Aztec calendar—Nick Leonard
LOL! So far, none of them make sense, but they are fun. What can I do with a laundered prophecy? a purloined underground? Hmmm. Stretch them a little, and they have potential. 😀 Great for creative thinking.
I’ve bookmarked it and plan to put it on my blog.
Thanks, Deb. A lot of the combinations don’t make sense, but most of the ones I’ve gotten actually do—sometimes uncannily so.
But a laundered prophecy? Hello! They “cleaned” the background (as in money laundering) so you can’t tell the provenance—can it be taken seriously? (“Underground” there can mean either the Tube, London’s subway system, or an organization that is underground. Purloin those as you wish.)
ROFL! Okay, cleaning the provenance of the prophecy makes sense. I’d forgotten the Tube, but purloining it still blows my mind. I do plan to use your MacGuffin generator for inspiration and to knock a hole in writer’s block, should it rear its ugly head. The more bizarre the combinations are, the better they’ll work, in those cases.
If anyone complains that the badges don’t work after being pasted into Blogger, it’s because Blogger adds code to your code. Strip out all the Blogger.com stuff and the odd shaped quotes, and it will work fine!
Oooooh, I just got a MacGuffin I love! Now to find a plot to go with it…
Yes, the code is in HTML, so they have to be inserted in the HTML tab if you’re putting them in a post.
What fun! “Laundered papers” came up on my first try and it’s actually something I could use in one of my wip. Neat idea, Jordan. Thanks!
What luck, Carol!