{"id":805,"date":"2016-04-19T09:38:53","date_gmt":"2016-04-19T09:38:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/?p=805"},"modified":"2022-05-30T15:41:24","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T15:41:24","slug":"the-dummies-guide-to-foreshadowing","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/articles\/the-dummies-guide-to-foreshadowing","title":{"rendered":"The Dummies\u2019 Guide to Foreshadowing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As you read this first sentence, little do you know that by the end of the article you\u2019ll have the power to make people writhe.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s foreshadowing.<\/p>\n<p>Foreshadowing creates a gap between what you know and what the characters in the story know. When done right, it gives the reader a frisson of worry mingled with excitement. The feeling that a greater mechanism is at work which the characters cannot see yet gives the story a sense of direction and sophistication, and a good dollop of suspense.<\/p>\n<h2>Types of Foreshadowing<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Explicit foreshadowing<\/strong>\u00a0announces to the reader outright that he\u2019s learning a piece of information unavailable to the characters. Its hallmark phrases are, \u201cLittle did he know&#8230;\u201d and \u201cUnbeknownst to her&#8230;\u201d followed by a key piece of information.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Veiled foreshadowing<\/strong>\u00a0is much more subtle, and is often fully understood only on second read or later. On first read, it might give the reader a sense of foreboding without a specific reason, which serves to create suspense.<br \/>\nVeiled foreshadowing is created by planting seemingly innocent clues in the narrative prior to a key event. They have to be conspicuous enough to be picked up on second read, but vague enough to not give away the plot at first.<br \/>\nFor example, in Shirley Jackson\u2019s\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.middlebury.edu\/individualandthesociety\/files\/2010\/09\/jackson_lottery.pdf\">The Lottery<\/a><\/em>, she plants clues to the surprising conclusion from the second paragraph and onward. There\u2019s a pile of stones, and the kids\u2019 antics with it, coupled with the way the grownups keep their distance from the stones, give the stones a special meaning which will only be clear at the end. But even at first pass the unusual reaction to a pile of stones serves to let the reader know that something strange is going on, and that something has to do with the object.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to Use Foreshadowing<\/h2>\n<p>Explicit foreshadowing is rather straightforward. \u201cLittle did he know that he would die later that day,\u201d is a good example for using it.<\/p>\n<p>Veiled foreshadowing can be done in several ways:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Planting key objects in previous scenes.<\/strong>\u00a0You can simply mention the object in passing, or have your characters interact with it. Be careful not to reveal its final purpose ahead of time, though.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ominous weather changes.<\/strong>\u00a0These are often used to note a dark event is about to unfurl. Remember the lightning that split the tree in Arthur Miller\u2019s\u00a0<em>All My Sons<\/em>, for example.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Unusual behavior in animals.<\/strong>\u00a0Animals are often claimed to have a sense of coming events, such as earthquakes and storms. The same is often applied to major story events. For example, a dog howling its grief on the morning of the day his master will die.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Foreshadowing DOs and DON\u2019Ts<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Do use foreshadowing to hint at big events that are about to come.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t over-use foreshadowing in your story, especially the explicit type. When over-done it might turn comical instead of suspenseful.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t give away too much information when you foreshadow, or there will be no suspense left for the reader.<\/li>\n<li>Do match the proportions of the foreshadowed event to the emphasis you gave its foreshadowing. If you\u2019re heavily foreshadowing a minor event, the reader might feel cheated by getting so worked up over nothing.<\/li>\n<li>Do add foreshadowing as you edit your story, for an extra layer of direction, causality, and depth.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t mistakenly foreshadow events that won\u2019t come to pass. In other words, don\u2019t plant Chekov\u2019s gun unless you intend to fire it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Bringing it All Together<\/h2>\n<p>Choose significant events, plant clues for them in previous scenes, and watch your readers writhe with tension. That\u2019s the power of foreshadowing. Try it out!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","categories":[9],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/805"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}