Hey Quill! I was just wondering if you could spill some tips and tricks on how to foreshadow in a story, and how to keep readers guessing without telling too much. Hope you have a nice day/evening!
Hello hello, @insert-witty-writing-username! I hope you have a nice one as well! And oh, oh you’re asking me for writing advice? Hm! I haven’t really done this before!
We’ll see what I can give, but remember to only use what helps you---advice is only a suggestion, after all~
Advice for Writing Foreshadowing
Though not all stories need it or have it, foreshadowing can be used to enrich and deepen the ocean that is your plot, to excite the reader with anticipation for a later event, to build suspense for a great catastrophe or reveal, to give them the foundations for theories they can’t wait to confirm, or to act as that lovely little detail that on a second or third read through makes one go “Oh, wait!” with delight as they connect the dots.
But what is foreshadowing? A warning. Mostly, it’s the hints dropped in the writing that sets up for something happening later on, usually something big and critical to the plot. It can be blatant, like a statement direct from the narrator that something bad’s going to happen soon, or it can be subtle, like... oh, it’s rather odd that the writer mentioned that background object that doesn’t get used in this scene...
So, how do you write it?
First, you as the writer need to know what’s going to happen that you can foreshadow. You could attempt to use foreshadowing by pantzing (aka writing without an outline) but I think it would be a real mess if you have no idea of what’s to come. SO. Make an outline! Or at least get an idea of big important plot events coming up! Then go back and see where you can add in this foreshadowing, or add it in as you write your draft~
Types of Foreshadowing
I’m just going to go out and say this explicitly: there is no way I’m going to be able to cover all the types of foreshadowing in this post. There are soooo many ways of doing it, so I just briefly highlighted some that are commonly used! (Probably just typing “types of foreshadowing” into google or whatever search engine you use would bring up a lot more!) Also I have no idea what these are actually called, so bear with me with the made up names. ^^’
Leading Event: If a giant hole’s just been blasted into a boat’s hull, that ship’s probably not going to stay afloat for long.
Background Focus: Why did the writer focus in on that decorative sword hanging over the mantle? Can’t be because it’ll be taken down to fight with, later... can it?
Conspicuous Mention: When a character brings up something unusual or notable in conversation or narrative, it obviously doesn’t mean anything important whatsoever. Right?
Vague Names: Take my character, The Scientist, for example. Only referred to by that name and no pronouns are ever given (until much later, anyways). Curious! This can also be used for big events or important objects as well as characters, but be careful not to over use this one!
Vague But Direct: “This is going to be a long day,” the character says. Clearly, it’s going to be a long day! But... why?
Imagery and Symbolism: Wow, the writer really likes using bones and graves and stiff coldness to describe this character a lot. Interesting that they die in the seventh chapter. Oh... wait.
Magic!: Prophecies, or omens, or mysteriously real-feeling dreams... obviously it’s all fake though, right?
Little Act Now, Major Later: I’m sure that character who just stole and hid an important document isn’t going to end up being revealed to be an Evil Spy later. Nope. Definitely not.
Symptoms: *Eats some food* Oh, that was good! *Coughs* Oh no, I’m sick! *Coughs up blood* Oh no, I’m... really sick! *Passes out* Oh. They were poisoned. Nevermind!
Wait, That Didn’t Make Sense...: How did that person know where the villain’s lair was? *A few chapters later* OH HECK, THEY USED TO WORK FOR THE VILLAIN.
Any tips?
Foreshadowing early allows for the seed to grow, and is especially useful for the most major events. Once your readers reach what’s being foreshadowed, they may well have almost forgotten the detail dropped earlier on, but it will make it even more satisfying once the memory is brought to the forefront.
Not all of your foreshadowing needs to be picked up on in the first read through. Sometimes, leaving the most subtle of clues allows your reader’s second or third reread of your writing to be all the more satisfying, since they’re picking up on things they didn’t before! This shouldn’t be the case for particularly important details, though.
Though you don’t have to go to the point where every single one of your environmental details act as foreshadowing, it is important to not include things that are given more attention or seem unusual when they’re not referenced again. Why would you mention something’s flammability, if it’s not going to be on fire later? It breaks the reader’s expectations, and doesn’t fulfill that satisfaction of confirming the theory.
That said, make sure your foreshadowing details make sense in the context, too. It would just be plain weird if that object’s flammability was mentioned out of the blue... maybe the person who says it is conveying a warning to another character who wants to use the object for something else?
Also! Make sure the tone of the build up fits what it’s building up to! Don’t mention something in an ominous way and have the event it’s foreshadowing be happy and cheerful---the emotion clashes and feels like it’s letting the reader down.
It’s perfectly reasonable to wait until your second (or third, or onward) draft to add in your foreshadowing. Perhaps you’re the sort who doesn’t know enough about your story to hint at future event in your first draft, because you don’t even know what those future events are going to be!
Also, get help from readers to know how much and how obvious the foreshadowing you use should be! As the writer, you already know what’s going to happen. It’ll probably seem too obvious to you to know whether it’s a good application of foreshadowing or not!
And continue reading under the cut if you want some tricks direct from me! (Plus some other goodies~)