Literary Devices: Foreshadowing & 5 Techniques

Foreshadowing is a common literary device that most seasoned writers have heard of before. It's when writers give hints of future events that are to come or will happen later within a story. However, there are many ways writers can use this type of device in their writing, and five techniques in particular. Let's check out these different ways below. 🔍

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WATCH THE EPISODE

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See episode 17 of season 2 of my Journey of a Christian Writer series, Literary Devices: Foreshadowing & 5 Techniques or continue reading the blog post for more information.

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5 FORESHADOWING TECHNIQUES

Foreshadowing is a literary device that can be used in all genres but is most commonly used in mysteries or crime or psychological thrillers. There are many different ways writers can include foreshadowing in their short stories or books. The following five techniques are some of the creative ways writers can use foreshadowing:

1. CHARACTERS or THEIR ACTIONS

2. SYMBOLISM or MOTIFS

3. THEMATIC SIGNIFICANCE

4. SETTINGS or ENVIORNMENTS

5. CHARACTER DIALOGUE

Okay, let's go through each of these with some examples.

CHARACTERS or THEIR ACTIONS

For this first way, a character or character's actions can be used to foreshadow or indicate later events within a story. One example of this could be a character's apprehension used to indicate an approaching tragedy later in a story. This is pretty much what I did in chapter two of my debut novel, "Eva's Promise," if you pay attention to the last closing lines shown below.

TECHNIQUE 1: CHARACTER or THEIR ACTIONS

Outside gripping the gold knob, she placed her other hand to her stomach. A bad queasy feeling caught her off guard, like a foul smell down a country road, making her feel like throwing up.

She took a deep breath of cool air and locked the front door. Don't embarrass me, Andre. Please be on time.

This passage indicates Eva's apprehension of Andre being late, which later happens in chapter 3 (the car accident scene on the back country road) and (his no-show at the restaurant) in chapter 4.

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SYMBOLISM or MOTIFS

Symbols and objects can also be used to foreshadow or convey future events, playing a significant role in the story. A good example of a motif that foreshadows is the white feather blowing in the wind in the 1994 film, "Forrest Gump," which represents the storyline of Forrest's life journey and the concepts of chance, fate, destiny, and the unpredictability of life.

TECHNIQUE 2: SYMBOLISM or MOTIFS

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THEMATIC SIGNIFICANCE

As I mentioned before, thematic significance is a moral, statement, or universal truth that authors convey to readers in a story. This third technique can be used to foreshadow the themes or lessons learned by the characters that will take place later within the story. An example of thematic significance used to foreshadow is the opening paragraph from Charles Dickens novel, "A Tale of Two Cities," which opens with the following lines:

TECHNIQUE 3: THEMATIC SIGNIFICANCE

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age the wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair..."

In the opening paragraph of the novel, it foreshadows the contrast of thematic elements explored in the story during a single era and the paradoxical nature of the time period before and during the French Revolution.

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SETTINGS or ENVIORNMENTS

With this fourth technique, scenes, places, or environments within a story can be used to foreshadow future events, symbols, or characters and can be a clever way to add suspense. One example of this is a boisterous thunderstorm that indicates a contemptuous character that appears later in the story.

TECHNIQUE 4: SETTINGS or ENVIRONMENTS

Opening Line: Rolls of thunder tumbled like a bowling ball striking nine pins as monstrous, slate-gray clouds smothered the heavens and showered steady rain upon the bustling city neighborhood. Men and women wrapped in raincoats and carrying umbrellas took cover from the threatening weather.

(...)

Later in the Chapter: Every Monday morning, everyone stayed out of grumpy Leslie Wilkins' way. As her high heels echoed up the long hallway, before her curly, brown hairstyle peeked from around the corner, they all scattered, grabbed their white mugs of coffee, and ducked behind their office cubicles like busy bees producing honey. The week always started off rough whenever she came in to work. Her mood swings were unpredictable, and her irritable yells were louder than clashing thunder.

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CHARACTER DIALOGUE

Lastly, for the fifth technique, writers can use character dialogue to foreshadow later events by having characters say or mention things that hint at significant characters, settings, or events in the story. An example of this are the farmhands in the 1939 movie, "The Wizard of Oz", as in the beginning of the film they give clues and mention through their dialogue the characters they would later portray in the land of Oz.

TECHNIQUE 5: CHARACTER DIALOGUE

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CLOSING REMARKS

As you can see, there are various ways foreshadowing can be shown throughout a story. The next time you use foreshadowing, try experimenting with some of these lesser common and noticeable techniques to hint at other future events or significant elements in your stories and discover what creative ideas you can conjure up yourself. For more writing videos or tutorials, subscribe to my writing channel Journey of a Christian Writer series. All right, that's it for this post. If you found it helpful, please, give it a (heart❤️), take part in the poll 🤔, and share your thoughts or comments 💬 below.)  

Happy Writing! 😊✍🏽💻

🤔Hey, writers, which of the foreshadowing techniques below have you used within your writing?

• 🚶‍♀️‍➡️CHARACTERS or THEIR ACTIONS
• ♻️ SYMBOLISM or MOTIFS
• 🌳SETTINGS or ENVIRONMENTS