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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40430
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40430
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The MacGuffin is bound with the plot - it can't be any random thing not related in any way to the plot around it. Consider some examples:

- _The Hobbit_: Thorin wants to find the Arkenstone, a particularly beautiful and precious jewel. He is _not_ looking for a briefcase full of money - that wouldn't fit the setting. The MacGuffin in this story must be something unique, recognisable, valuable in general and also particularly precious to the character. It must be a symbol. The exact nature of the item - whether a stone, or a sword, or a crown - is irrelevant.
- The Three Musketeers must retrieve the Queen's diamond studs. Again, the exact nature of the incriminating love-gift is irrelevant, but it must be something that can function as a gift from a husband to a wife and from a woman to her lover. A briefcase full of money will not do.
- Indiana Jones is after some sort of ancient treasure in each film. The MacGuffin must therefore fit into this frame.
- In a thriller, on the other hand, a briefcase full of money is a perfectly fine thing to chase, fight over, etc.

It follows that **to create a good MacGuffin, you must be guided by the function it must perform in your story, by the place it holds, by what your story is about and where/when it is set.** Sure, a MacGuffin doesn't _do_ anything, but it is sought after by certain people. What kind of object would be valuable to the characters you've created?

Original score: 10