Writing Tips

Foreshadowing and Forecasting


“When you insert a hint of what’s to come, look at it critically and decide whether it’s something the reader will glide right by but remember later with an Aha! That’s foreshadowing. If instead the reader groans and guesses what’s coming, you’ve telegraphed.”
—Hallie Ephron

Foreshadowing and forecasting are literary tools and have their place in storytelling. The POV style of writing determines the use of these literary tools.

Foreshadowing

Think of foreshadowing as “breadcrumbs” in a story that can inject suspense and tension. Foreshadowing is a literary tool that hints to the reader what is coming later in the narrative. Not the outcome. These literary “breadcrumbs” help create tension, suspense, and curiosity. Using “breadcrumbs” also works great for setting up plot twists. Foreshadowing can be subtle or obvious. How subtle or obvious will depend on your writing style and plot.

Remember to give the reader a few breadcrumbs, not the entire loaf. Foreshadowing can be subtle or Obvious.

Subtle:

Think of hidden breadcrumbs, but in plain sight. The reader might see them and think they are insignificant. But later, the breadcrumbs reveal their true importance.

Obvious:

These are not hints. The message stares into the reader’s face. There is no doubt about what is about to happen.

Several ways to toss out bread crumbs:
Chapter title: A chapter title can provide the reader with a hint.
Dialogue: Using the characters’ dialogue is a great way to toss out some breadcrumbs. You can give subtle or obvious hints.
Metaphor or simile: This is another excellent literary tool to foreshadow.
Changing scene or setting: A change in scene or setting can hint at something to come.
Character’s behavior: A change in the character’s behavior can hint to the reader that something will happen sooner or later.

Forecasting

Forecasting is a popular tool used in Omniscient POV writing, but it is the evil twin of foreshadowing and violates limited and Deep POV. Do not do it.

Forecasting is also known as foretelling, projecting, or telegraphing. Forecasting is when you, the writer, tell the reader something important is coming. In other words, author intrusion, hooking the reader.

Picture this:

Joe is the POVC. Bad guys stole his 1966 classic Ford Mustang. He discovers where the bad guys hid his car and sneaks into a warehouse to recover it.

Issue:
Joe guessed it was around two in the morning. He stepped out of the shadows and scanned the surroundings. No sounds came from the old warehouse. He wedged the crowbar into the doorjamb and pried the old metal door open. Maybe he should’ve called the cops. He snuck into the dark warehouse, blinked, and waited for his eyes to adjust. If he had known what would happen next, he would never have gone in.
♦ The last sentence is forecasting and has two issues. First, the sentence violates limited and Deep POV principles. It is the author’s intrusion, hooking the reader. Second, it is head-hopping because Joe does something, and the author says/thinks/tells/explains something in the same paragraph.
Fix:
Joe guessed it was around two in the morning. He stepped out of the shadows and scanned the surroundings. No sounds came from the old warehouse. He wedged the crowbar into the doorjamb and pried the old metal door open. Maybe he should’ve called the cops. He snuck into the dark warehouse, blinked, and waited for his eyes to adjust. His gut tightened, and his legs weakened. Maybe coming alone wasn’t a good idea. What if the bad guys were inside waiting for him? He tightened his grip on the crowbar and stepped forward.
♦ This example reads better using inner thought instead of forecasting. This reads smoother and eliminates author intrusion.
Other Forms of Forecasting

There are other forms of forecasting. Forecasting can sneak into writing in other ways, like telling the reader something the character already knows or describing the result before it happens.

Example:
Her voice cracked. “Why did you do that?”
♦ Forecasting is also describing how the character speaks before speaking.
Example:
Sue kneeled and reached for the gun’s recoil spring on the floor.
♦ If Sue knows nothing about guns, so she cannot know the names of the gun parts. Forecasting is also describing something the character knows nothing of.
In Summary:

You want foreshadowing in your story. It can be subtle or obvious.

Forecasting is the author intruding in the story. Avoid forecasting even if you write in omniscient POV.