General Discussion and News > Writing Advice

In search of the right MacGuffin

(1/1)

Dan from TX:
Good day all.
 
I’m a new forum member and dipping my first toe into mystery writing proper. I like the general tone of the discussions I’ve read here and thought this community might help me. A while ago I wrote a story involving a police detective, even though the story itself wasn’t strictly what I’d call a mystery. Anyway, I’d like to bring the character back for a more traditional locked-room premise.

The problem: I’m stuck brainstorming for a MacGuffin that will work for me. There’s a crucial piece of evidence my detective needs to find. It’s hidden in a suspect’s house, and some trickery will be required in exposing it. (If that sounds a little page-one “Scandal in Bohemia,” well… I’m just getting started in the genre. If this story works I pledge to try something more sophisticated.)

Does anyone have suggestions for an item that

1)   Is compact enough to be hidden out of sight without much trouble
2)   Must be kept by the criminal, at least temporarily. In other words despite its incriminating nature, it cannot simply be discarded or destroyed immediately after the crime (let’s say murder, but I’m open to other options).

These are the ideal criteria for the story mechanics I’ve got in mind, but I’ve just been stuck awhile on this point. I hope I’ve got the right thread / am using this forum properly. All thoughts, practical and outlandish, will be gratefully entertained. Thanks!

Old Bill:
Hi Dan and Welcome. Honestly, I had to Google "Scandal..." and MacGuffin [gotta love Ole Hitchcock (I've forgotten more than I ever knew)] but I'm willing to give it a try.

Why keep incriminating evidence? Value or implied value (Maltese Falcon) either monetary or sentimental; thumbdrive/microdot; weapon/instrument that everyone knows you have/use; extortion material still having relevance. Pretty obvious stuff but you've probably already thought of these.

Where to hide in a house...I can think of a gazillion places depending on the size and probably in plain sight. Once was part of a team sent to search a suspect's house...by the time we were through, it looked like it was hit by a tornado (a slight exaggeration...forgive me).

Good luck and looking forward to more from your WIP.

Old Bill

PS: Hope you survived Harvey unscathed.

Dan from TX:
Thanks! All good fuel for thought. I've just got to make myself narrow down the available options.

P.S. - My family and I came out fine in the hurricane, although we live within a quarter mile of being in real trouble. Feeling very fortunate.

Dave Freas:
What about an XD or SD card like some digital cameras use?  They're smaller that a postage stamp and not much thicker than a business card and could be hidden almost anywhere.  And might be easily overlooked in a search of a drawer for example that's filled with lots of little odds and ends.

My digital camera uses XD cards and I keep them in a plastic gizmo that holds six of them.  They come in several different capacities, too (I have 16 and 64 MB ones and if memory serves there are or were also 32 and 128 MB ones).  And each one can hold tons of pictures - up to several hundred on the larger cards - depending on the camera settings for film speed used.

The crucial clue - a picture of the murder? - could be on it or it could hold something as innocent as a flower blooming or anything in between.

Hope this helps.

Navigation

[0] Message Index