: Re: How do I hide Chekhov's Gun? If there is a gun on the mantelpiece in the Act 1, then in Act 2, that gun must be fired. Background I'm a big believer in Chekhov's Gun. I try not to

@Ann1701686

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An alternative approach might be to use it twice:

Show the gun early on.
In the first act, have a character fire it, for some minor plot reason.
Don't mention it again until near the end, and then have a character fire it a second time.

(TVTropes calls this Chekhov's Boomerang.  Warning: TVTropes!)

This hides the gun in plain sight, while preserving (some of) the surprise.  Savvy readers are likely to think that the gun has served its purpose after its first use, and then forget about it, so there's a good chance they won't be expecting it to reappear.

It may help if you can make the gun seem completely ‘used up’ after its first firing — all its possibilities exhausted, and neatly filling that plot point — so that readers are likely to dismiss it.  And also if you don't make too much of that first firing, perhaps making the ensuing plot development into a distraction.  That should help to make its reappearance more surprising.

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