On Facts

“Facts – those are the cobbles that make up the road upon which we travel.”

– Hercule Poirot

Red Herring

Besides the fact that in normal discourse a herring is a fish, in logic and literature, a red herring is a fallacy of relevance – a clue or piece of information that is (intended to be) misleading, and diverts attention from a question or piece of relevant evidence.

A red herring is the author’s way of sending his audience on a wild goose chase.

Consider detective novelist Agatha Christie, inventor of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Difficult clues and red herrings were her most powerful devices for misleading and confusing the reader. The key to solving a complex Christie-style murder plot is to determine what is a real red herring and gather enough clues.

On Writing A Novel

“Nothing turns out quite in the way that you thought it would when you are sketching out notes for the first chapter, or walking about muttering to yourself and seeing a story unroll.”

– Agatha Christie

To Deceive

“I did not deceive you, mon ami. At most, I permitted you to deceive yourself.”

– Agatha Christie

On Inventions

“I don’t think necessity is the mother of invention — invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble.”

– Agatha Christie

The Possible Impossibility

“The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances.”

– Agatha Christie