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In fiction writing, keeping your keeping on their toes is one of the most important, yet most difficult art to master. Today, we delve into two devices you can use to maintain suspense and ensure that your plot twist pays off well.
Foreshadowing
What is foreshadowing?
Foreshadowing is a literary device which is used to hint at significant events or moments that comes later in the story. Subtlety is of utmost importance here, and your readers should be curious to unravel its significance.
Readers are often unsatisfied if something is revealed abruptly, so foreshadowing is your safeguard against a random twist. Once the twist happens, and the reader tries to find out how it happened, they should land on whatever you’ve hinted. Foreshadowing should be subtle but logical, and overtly obvious in hindsight.
The two types of foreshadowing
There are two ways you can go about this:
Direct Foreshadowing:
The outcome is directly indicated or stated outright. This could happen through a narrator or a secondary character, or could also occur in the form of a prophecy or prediction.
Example: Macbeth (William Shakespeare)
