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A Story Term Defined: McGuffin
In a plot-oriented story, the protagonist has ample reason for action. The story is ABOUT the reason for action, about attaining the goal—they have to solve this murder or disarm that bomb or win that election or renovate that house. When your protagonist has a strong, concrete goal, it’s easy to create plot action—just give the protagonist the goal and present obstacles to overcome.
But in character-oriented stories, super-big important goals like saving the world or restoring justice can distract from the REAL purpose, which is usually to get the protagonist to learn something and change somehow. Trouble is, we don’t want the protagonist just to wander around and worry about some internal conflict, or go to therapy and talk about it… we still want action—the character moving through the story and trying to get something done.
In that case, we should consider “a McGuffin” as an external goal—something that is important enough to get the character to act, but isn’t the purpose of the story.
So writers sometimes install a "McGuffin" into their plots to instigate action. The term was probably invented by film director Alfred Hitchcock, who used it to identify the wine bottle full of powder that Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergmann risk death for in Notorious. "What is that?" says Bergmann, staring as he pours the powder into his hand. "Some ore, I presume," Cary responds-- that is, "I don't have a clue, but it's IMPORTANT!"
Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergmann in Notorious, holding the McGuffin.
A McGuffin is just the object of desire. The character's goal might be "I'm going to get that McGuffin!" But it's usually desired by others too, people who want to take it away. Therefore, "I want to get a Aston-Martin" hasn't got a McGuffin, because the desire isn't in contest. He can get a Aston-Martin, and so can others, if they have enough money.
But only one person can get the Holy Grail. And everyone wants it.
McGuffin is all about uniqueness and desirability. It’s not just any chalice, but the one Jesus drank from at the Last Supper (the Holy Grail—yes, that’s what it’s supposed to be).
It’s not just any Aston-Martin, but the Aston-Martin driven by Sean Connery in that fourth James Bond film, the car that Connery loved so much he bought it after the film and sold only when he found out it was driving with his windows down that made him go bald, the very special sports car that all the other classic car collectors are vying for... then it's a McGuffin.
A McGuffin is usually an object, a prop, not a concept like "freedom" or an attainment like "getting my marketing degree". It's something concrete that represents something presumably important-- but we might only get a hint about what that Something Important is. We just have to agree to believe that the McGuffin is desired for some reason.
In fact, a McGuffin is important mostly because it's desired, not for any quality within itself. It's not world peace; it's a Ming vase. Or it's the demon head in a funny episode on the old TV show Angel. Angel and Spike were sent to Rome to get this demon head so that... well, who knows? There's some sort of reason, but mostly they know that they have to get this demon head. And then someone steals it from them, and they have to run around Italy to get it back.
The head isn't important to the viewer/reader... it's only a prop that means that Angel and Spike have to go to Rome and try to find Buffy (their mutual ex) and argue with each other and ride a Vespa together. Their real goal is to find Buffy and win her away from the other. (They both lose.) The real purpose of the scene is to get them both "moving on" from their obsession with Buffy, so that they can cooperate and not fight from now on. But they'll never get to Italy and this big emotional transition unless they are chasing the demon head. So the writers put in that demon head as the ‘McGuffin’ that gets them together in Italy.
The McGuffin helps advance the scene, but it's just a prop. What's interesting isn't the prop, but why the character wants it so bad. Does he want this McGuffin because it means he's defeating the other guy if he wins? Or is a means of revenge, or of winning the fair lady's approval? The motivation is what counts -- "I'm going to Rome to get this demon head, see, and if I should happen to track Buffy down while I’m there and win her back, well...."
McGuffins are helpful when they get the character moving, but also to reveal the underlying motivation.
So if you're going to use a McGuffin, remember:
Make it concrete. In the Notorious film, the McGuffin powder was in a glass bottle, hidden in the wine cellar of the bad guy’s lair. It’s an actual physical object that can be handled and stolen. In the Angel episode, the McGuffin was an actual demon head, hacked off a demon. These McGuffins are physical objects.
Make it unique. In the Notorious film, the powder is something only the bad guys have, and it’s the only sample of it anywhere. In Angel, this demon head is the only demon head that will work to solve the problem.
Make it represent something important, like collaboration with the Nazis in Notorious. But you don't have to make a big deal about the reason for a McGuffin… it REPRESENTS something important, but might not be important in itself. In the Angel episode, the demon head was the key to peace between two warring tribes, which is presumably important, but not to the two guys—they only mention that feud a couple times.
Make other people desire it enough to fight for it. In Notorious, the Nazis want this ore really badly and are willing to kill for it.
Have the characters talk about the McGuffin, and show the actual physical object when you can.
Use the McGuffin to inspire action (chasing after it, finding it, fighting for it, losing it, bringing it home).
Make sure the McGuffin inspires the protagonist to do something that really IS important (like “save Ingrid Bergman from her Nazi husband” or "get over Buffy and learn to get along with each other").
Make sure the protagonist actually succeeds or fails at getting the McGuffin-- don't just forget about it.
(In the Angel episode, they lose the demon head about the same time they realize Buffy's involvement with another man from their joint past means that she's moved on and isn't going to end up with either of them. So they give up, surrender the demon head, and go heartbrokenly together back home to Los Angeles, only to find the head has been delivered to their office by Buffy's new, powerful beau-- just to show them up.)
Our protagonists need motivation to get out of their ruts and off their duffs and DO SOMETHING. We know that they have an internal motivation (Cary Grant to save the woman he hates/loves; Angel and Spike to get over Buffy). But if they don’t take action, and they won’t take action, something external might be needed to give them the push to do whatever they need to do. For motivation, bring on the McGuffin!
If you’d like to explore the use of a McGuffin in your own story, let me know! As you can tell, it’s a delicate dynamic—to make it concrete enough and important enough to inspire action without being so big it distracts from the all-important character journey.
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