Adding Clues to Forthcoming Events

Often called foreshadowing, this is a way of giving readers information that doesnt
seem relevant or significant at the time that is going to become really vital later on. It is
a way of planting information in the readers mind so that they can recall it later, thereby
providing them with a better understanding, giving the earlier scene more relevance. In
a detective novel, maybe the character hears or sees something that seems irrelevant
at the time, but then later becomes really important to them when working out who the
murderer was.
Another example would be of a wife finding a receipt in her husbands wallet or a
payment on a bank statement and thinking she knows what shes getting for Christmas.
Only come Christmas Day she discovers, in front of her parents or close family
member, perhaps of an older generation, that the scarf or underwear he has bought
isnt for her, it is for himself and he is cross-dressing and has been doing so for a
good many years!
Bet you thought we were going to say it was for another woman!
You can also set the scene to have more impact later. For example, an overworked
husband asks his overspending, lazy wife to book him a doctors appointment but she
forgets because she is spending the day at a health spa with her friends. A couple of
chapters later, when he is rushed into hospital with a suspected heart attack, the reader
can imagine how guilty she feels as he is wheeled down the corridor on a trolley. Or
does she?
In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, a great example of foreshadowing occurs is where
Winston thinks that:
[i]n the end the Party would announce that two and two made
five, and you would have to believe it.
Before the end of his rehabilitation with OBrien, Winston accepts this as truth. In other
words, eventually this demonstrates that people will believe anything the party tells
them and in the end Winston does.
J. K. Rowling used foreshadowing throughout the Harry Potter series. In my personal
opinion she demonstrated great foreshadowing skill as the significance of some things
was not discovered until later books in the series.
Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a young boy from Kabul, who
befriends Hassan, his fathers servants son. It is set against a backdrop of the fall of
Afghanistans monarchy through the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of refugees to
Pakistan and the USA, and the rise of the Taliban regime. Amir recalls an event that
happened twenty-six years before, when he was still a boy, and says that that made
him who he is. Amir feels immense guilt over failing to stop the rape of his fathers
servant and best friend Hassan. It is not until twenty-six years later that he redeems
himself by rescuing Hassans son from the same man. I dont want to spoil the plot for
you, but there is a great example of foreshadowing involving a sling shot.
Flashbacks
Flashbacks are a simple way of giving readers information or describing an event from
the past, i.e. before your story starts, that is relevant to the characters personalities or

your storyline in the present or the now. It can be done quite simply by characters
remembering an event from the past or by discussing it. It can be done formally, where
you take them back to the past, or as reverie, where the characters think back to the
past. A great example from classic literature just so you know I dont read just popular
modern fiction is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bront. This story is narrated by
Lockwood, a gentleman visiting the Yorkshire moors, in a series of flashbacks and time
shifts.
This previous experience in the past may impacts on the way the main character thinks
or acts. For example, there might be a couple who had a child and then went on to
have another baby, which they lost at birth. When trying for a third, the main character
might have panic attacks, which dont disappear until the baby is born. If the reader is
made aware of what happened to their second-born child, they will be able to see how
this previous experience influences the way they behave, so that the reader can
understand why the pregnant lady is worried and reacting like this.
Only use flashbacks if it tells the reader something they need to know, to increase their
understanding of the plot or motivations of a main character. They should not be used
for stylistic effect and as with all things, neither should they be overused. It is important
to use signposts to give a clear indication to the reader that the story is moving from the
present to the past. Dont forget to use a further signpost to tell the reader when you are
shifting back to the present.
When using flashbacks, you should use the pluperfect or past perfect tense, which can
easily be identified through the use of the word had. The pluperfect denotes an action
completed prior to some past point of time specified or implied, formed in the English by
had and the past participle, as in she had vanished by then. The past participle is the
form of a verb, typically ending in ed.
Always show the events unfolding with the use of action scenes and dialogue, rather
than tell the reader, as this can lead to dreary and uninteresting narration.
Coincidence
All plots need an injection of coincidence every now and again, such as chance
meetings, fortuitous circumstances, flukes and twists of fate. But dont overdo it and
keep it realistic.
For example, you could have a plot line where early on in the book a woman was
adopted at birth but has no idea. Her birth mother, who was only fifteen when she had
her, moved to America with her family and never thought she would see her child again.
Then twenty years later she is working as an executive in an ad agency when the new
interns arrive one of whom is her daughter; although she does not know it yet. The
daughter is at university in England studying advertising and part of the degree course
is a years placement abroad.
Another example would be where a child comes from a broken home in which his father
has indulged in a relationship with a new woman from the outset and his mother has
just met her dream man. The son has been shipped out for the night so that she can
meet up with him. He was hoping to meet his mothers new man before he left, but
unfortunately he arrives after he has gone. It is no coincidence that her son has
accidentally on purpose forgotten something vitally important. But if the ex-husband
happened to turn up on the driveway just as the new man was sweeping her off her
feet, this might be too corny.