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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40437
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Having a MacGuffin is not a good thing. A MacGuffin is a trap, a shorthand an author uses to make his characters do things. The best MacGuffin is one that does not exist.

Characters need motivation, and an easy one becomes get a magic sword because only it can kill the dragon, or get a nuke away from Dr X because otherwise he will blow up the Nun convention. Now you can send your heroes on crazy adventures for really no reason. Their actions and motivations don't have to matter. The dragon must be slain, and the Nuns must be saved, and we will go to every dark cave and strip bar necessary to do it!

So the question should not be "How do I write a MacGuffin?" but instead "How do I create interesting plot points?"

If you still find yourself in a situation where the only way you can make the plot move forward is to make the characters chase some object here are some suggestions:

- **Make it tangible**. Don't let it be like the anime hero that is looking for the Greatest X of All Time as he travels episode by episode.

- **Let the character get it (or not get it)** _before_ the last 10 pages of the book. 

- **Have it be a real thing that affects the story, and does not just tie off a neat bow.**"And then we grabbed the magic stone and wished for the lich to be dead, The End" is not great story telling. 

- Most importantly **give your characters other motivations.** Just getting the MacGuffin is not enough. They should have more personal desires, and all of it should be a puzzle that fits together. The chase for an object can be a catalyst, or something that unfolds in the background, but not the only reason the protagonist gets up in the morning.

Original score: 2