A to Z Challenge 2013

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Foreshadowing In Writing

Today I want to talk about the use of foreshadowing in writing. This is difficult to do well, but it's something every author deals with in some form or another. In case you're not sure what foreshadowing is:


fore·shad·ow


(fôr-shād'ō, fōr-)
tr.v. fore·shad·owed, fore·shad·ow·ing, fore·shad·ows
To present an indication or a suggestion of beforehand; presage.
fore·shad'ow·er n.

4 comments:

writtenwyrdd said...

Nice bit of writing, and excellent points about foreshadowning. I also dislike being able to guess the plot right off. I like being surprized, too!

Danyelle L. said...

Very nice. My favorite foreshadowing is pulling bits of seemingly small unrelated things together. There must be logic in the tie in, and enough of a hint that things make sense when the reader looks back, but I love surprise twists.

Glynis Peters said...

I hate it when I read along, and then realise I am reading ahead of the book. I know the ending. I have to foreshadow a character, I wrote him in at the beginning, and now realise I have lost him somewhere. He needs to be found, so I can write him back into the storyline.
Good tips, great example, thanks.

Carol Kilgore said...

Great example and good tips, too. Nice blog!