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writercisesOriginal Posting July 7, 2017
Over here https://madgeniusclub.com/2017/07/05/the-shadows-of-whats-to-come/ Sarah Hoyt discusses foreshadowing. Apparently early in her career, she often got criticism that she had no plot. Now, since she was outlining, diagramming, and even borrowing structure/plot from other sources, this puzzled her. Then a friend told her that her plot and structure were fine, but she needed to foreshadow.
Foreshadowing? Giving the reader advance warning without spoiling the surprise. That's right, instead of just dropping walls on your characters without warning, toss in some creaks, a few groans, and... when the wall falls, your reader will cheer!
Feelings, premonitions, dreams, bystanders making pithy observations about where this will all end up -- these are all possible. Signals and hints about what's coming!
Foreshadowing, done right, adds to the tension about how things are going to resolve.
In other words, the problem with surprise is that it feels to the reader as if the author is just tossing random events in. Bad. So... foreshadow! Make us worry about what's coming, give us hints and shadows on the walls, and then... unexpected, but inevitable!
Drown your hints in other actions. Make them vague. But make sure the reader expects something to happen.
Three times? Well, that's the rule of thumb for most things. Three little pigs, three bears, three times the raven crows... okay, maybe not that. But don't depend on one hint -- make sure your reader catches on by giving them three chances.
And then when the surprise comes, they will really be shocked!
Practice? Take a piece you've written or are working on. Check what revelation, climactic twist, or whatever you've put in it. Now, where do you foreshadow that? If you don't have enough hints before hand, add some!
And, as always, write!
tink
Over here https://madgeniusclub.com/2017/07/05/the-shadows-of-whats-to-come/ Sarah Hoyt discusses foreshadowing. Apparently early in her career, she often got criticism that she had no plot. Now, since she was outlining, diagramming, and even borrowing structure/plot from other sources, this puzzled her. Then a friend told her that her plot and structure were fine, but she needed to foreshadow.
Foreshadowing? Giving the reader advance warning without spoiling the surprise. That's right, instead of just dropping walls on your characters without warning, toss in some creaks, a few groans, and... when the wall falls, your reader will cheer!
Feelings, premonitions, dreams, bystanders making pithy observations about where this will all end up -- these are all possible. Signals and hints about what's coming!
Foreshadowing, done right, adds to the tension about how things are going to resolve.
In other words, the problem with surprise is that it feels to the reader as if the author is just tossing random events in. Bad. So... foreshadow! Make us worry about what's coming, give us hints and shadows on the walls, and then... unexpected, but inevitable!
Drown your hints in other actions. Make them vague. But make sure the reader expects something to happen.
Three times? Well, that's the rule of thumb for most things. Three little pigs, three bears, three times the raven crows... okay, maybe not that. But don't depend on one hint -- make sure your reader catches on by giving them three chances.
And then when the surprise comes, they will really be shocked!
Practice? Take a piece you've written or are working on. Check what revelation, climactic twist, or whatever you've put in it. Now, where do you foreshadow that? If you don't have enough hints before hand, add some!
And, as always, write!
tink