Writing a Novel and in Need of the Perfect Trick

[Shane.Klink]

I’ve long been a lover of magic and collector of card decks but I am by no means a historian on either matter. Hopefully, someone here is because I could really use some help.

I am presently writing my first novel. It is a story rooted in the theme of mentorship and heavily inspired by aspects of the Ricky Jay: Deceptive Practices documentary. Since watching it years back my mind has been flooding with ideas about the generational gift of magic and the social groups and characters of the Coney Island scene in early-mid 20th century.

Much of the story is so far based on a single magic trick that connects the lives of two people over the course of about 50 years. And that’s the problem, trying to find the trick that works the best for the story and fits well within the world of very difficult but actually performable feats of sleight of hand and not the impossible camera only stuff that is too easy to write and ruins the realism.

Here are possible caveats to the trick:

1. Sleight of hand based, but could include card, coin, or cup.
   
   
2. It may be a technique somewhat common today but should have been cutting edge and ahead of the curve in the 1930s
   
   
3. It should be the kind of trick that if you were not told how it was performed it may have taken years to solve yourself
   
   
4. As a kicker, a trick that can be performed easier with one hand than two would be great
   

I’ve tried researching this myself, but being an appreciator and not an active participant there are limits to the knowledge I can find online for this type of thing. The story means a lot to me and a big part of it is that I don’t want to insult the artists and communities involved.

If anyone can help or point me in the right direction it would be endlessly appreciated.

Thank you,
Shane Klink

 

[Josh Burch]

A few things come to mind:

Flat Palm Bottom Deal - Marlo writes about this. It's a bottom deal where the deck is just placed on the left hand. There is absolutely no movement from the left hand yet the right hand is able to take the bottom card imperceptibly.

The Double Deal - Depending on your approach this can be an incredibly difficult deal to pull off. If it is performed just once it is very bold. The idea is that 2 cards are dealt to the table as one, to either show the second card in the deck as the top card or to sneak youself or your partner more to work with. It's magic applications are unending as well.

The Center Deal - This is, perhaps, the obvious one. Ricky Jay relates how Dai Vernon tracked down a center dealer in his show. The story is also related in Phantoms of the Card Table.

 

[Scodischarge]

The Center Deal - This is, perhaps, the obvious one. Ricky Jay relates how Dai Vernon tracked down a center dealer in his show. The story is also related in Phantoms of the Card Table

And, of course, the book "The Magician and the Cardsharp". From what I've heard, this is the most detailed telling of the story. You can also find a clip on YouTube where Dai Vernon himself tells it.

I like your ideas, Josh! Just going to throw in another one: How about a cooler (=deck switch)? I don't know a lot about magic applications, but it's a very difficult move to pull off well (and not get caught doing) and is extremely powerful in a gambling setting. I'll send you a PM with a video you might take a lot from if you decide to go with this idea.

Shane, can you tell us a little more of this book project? We might be able to help a little better then.
It's great to see a "true" appreciator of magic; most people enjoy magic when they see it, but a non-magician who likes it enough to write a book centering on magic -- well, suffice it to say you don't meet them every day.

Looking forward to hearing more of your ideas, sounds like it's going to be really interesting, especially for us!

 

[Mitra#008]

From the kind of gist I make out from your post, I get the feel this would be a thriller, where you have some sort of a history repeats, lives interconnected, etc. kind of story, which I love. If you could tell me more about the plot, being an avid reader of such novels, I could provide some ideas. Now, if there were too be a body of sleights and deceptions that together form the basis of the plot, you could get an idea from many books and movies, and the time period you mention is more or less the age of stage magic rather than close up, which was up and coming around that time. So restricting yourself to certain props such as cards, coins, the cups and balls, etc isn't very ideal. I'd take on a very simple secret, like using a stooge. But I think a better one would be having a partner in the audience, who, in the busy noise of the stage or theatre, calls out a clue, something, which only the magician hears because only he knows what to listen for, a number, a word, etc. This is the kind of secret that can be impossible to decipher, yet is very elegant. Another would be the use of certain words between partners to communicate information, maybe, the length of the words suggests a number. As you can imagine, this would be extremely difficult to comprehend. If you want something with cards, you could have someone develop nasty at estimation (which you can read up on, one place you can find it is Card College), and it is imperceptible because, they're expecting a trick. A secret such as juggling is great, because it forms the perfect kicker for a story, as do any of the above ideas.
These ideas probably donot have much context to a certain part of history (or maybe they do), they might not be what you're looking for, but, to me, they seem like the methods for a trick that can create obsession among rivals, something that I think may be an element in your novel, and can weave a very mysterious story. Glad to help, be free to ask any further questions. It'll be best to delve in some literature if you still want something new. My best advice would be to seek the help of an old stage performer, or someone with an interest in the history of magic, who can provide better ideas, which would be more accurate from a historical context.