There’s a rule in writing, and of course, whenever I say there’s a rule, I’ll think of multiple ways of breaking it, but so far, I’ve never broken this rule, and it goes like this:

Rule #10: If your hero needs a gun at the end of the story – You must show that gun in the beginning of the story.

and the opposite is true as well”

Rule #10: If you show a gun at the beginning of your story – you better use it at the end of the story.

When you show the reader an item like a gun or a magic sword, or a remote control robot, or . . . and you spend a lot of time describing that item, then you’re making a promise to the reader that this thing will be important later. If all you say is “the zombie had a sword” then that sword is probably not important. But if you say, “The zombie’s sword sparkled with magical power, the razor-sharp tip pointing right at the snowman’s chest,” then that sword is probably important, and it shouldn’t just disappear after that; it should be used throughout or later in the story.

I bring this up because I’m working on Chapter 17 in my 24th book, Wither Invasion. Watcher is going to need some fireworks so he can shoot them at the withers, to help his escape, but I haven’t mentioned fireworks anywhere in the book yet; I know I haven’t because I searched all of the previous chapters before this point. So, to satisfy rule #10, I found a good place to mention them early in the story, and that was in Chapter 4:

Watcher emerged from the long, brick staircase to cheers and applause. The entire community gathered at the foot of the stairs, many of them banging weapons against chest plates or shields. Someone was shooting fireworks up into the air, the tiny rockets exploding against the high ceiling, showering everyone with sparkling colors. He stopped on the staircase and scanned the crowd, looking for his sister, then spotted her.

“Were the fireworks your creation?” he shouted over the cheering.

His sister nodded with a grin and held one of the tiny red and white striped rockets in her hand, then set it on the ground. The missile shot up into the air and exploded, forming the face of a creeper outlined in glittering green sparks.

Watcher smiled at Winger, then jumped off the stairs as the village’s celebration enveloped him with shouts and greetings and pats on the back.

I added the sentence in bold, so there was a mention of the fireworks, so that in Chapter 17, it doesn’t seem like someone just happened to have some fireworks. I also added the next three sentences in bold, so I could establish who had the rockets. This is important, because in Chapter 17, I need someone to have the rockets in their inventory, and that will be Winger, Watcher’s sister. The fireworks will become really important at the end of the story, so the mention of them in Chapter 17 is critical, and introducing them in chapter 4 is a MUST!

I hope this was helpful.

Keep writing and watch out for creepers.

Mark