Foreshadowing Revisited

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I've been blogging about how to make any piece of writing more literary.  I've mentioned foreshadowing as a key to building up what is important in a piece of writing, but it's been a long time.  I figured it was worth revisiting because it is such an important technique. 

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Good writing builds toward a meaningful end.  Every book and so many moments within the Harry Potter series foreshadow and foretell the ending.  The same is true of Shakespeare, Austen, and just about any good piece of writing you can name.  It keeps the series or book unified and helps the reader keep guessing what is coming, which propels the reader forward in the text.  Foreshadowing builds suspense and makes the reader eager to know what happens next and why.  For instance, throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare is always foretelling the end from the prologue with sentences like, "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life."  The reader knows the end is coming, which enhances the weight of every scene, every action as we build toward that ending.   Keep in mind foreshadowing can come in the form of phrases, prophecies, symbols, or other hints of what's to come without (for the most part) coming out and telling the reader exactly what's going to happen (unless you're Shakespeare).  Watch for foreshadowing as you read through your favorite books.  

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You can't really do this very well with your first draft.  Some writers outline their books and know precisely what will happen ahead of time.  That kind of writer can build in moments of foreshadowing and foretelling to prepare the reader for what comes next.  But even when one outlines a book, one doesn't know everything that will happen until it's written.  A writer can then go back through and find places to put foreshadowing to enhance the dramatic tension the reader feels as they read.  If the reader knows too much of what will come, they may lose interest.  However, without foreshadowing, events will seem to come out of the blue and won't necessarily tie into the rest of the story well.  If no foreshadowing, meaning, and tension had been built up toward Romeo and Juliet's death, the reader may find two teens offing themselves for a short-lived romance kind of ridiculous.  However, with the way it is built up as a monumental occurrence and the result of years of family feuding (and with even the laws of nature representing the stars disapproving their connection), it seems like the only logical end and what must be.  They become lambs to the slaughter in an inevitable occurrence.  

Where do you have foreshadowing in your book?  If you don't have it yet, what meaningful events at the end of your book need to be built up?  Where can you put the signs, portents, or other symbols of what is to come?  

Period Writing

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I've been blogging about literary writing. A very popular area of writing (not even a genre since it's wider than that and can spread across several genres) is period writing.  I'm not talking about faux period writing, meaning, for instance, fantasy set in a medievalish setting, one of the most popular kinds of fantasy writing.  There's nothing wrong with that kind of story, but that's a separate subject.  This is about real period writing set in a real time period.  This kind of story requires a lot of research. 

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There are many pitfalls one can fall into when it comes to writing about a period of history.  The most common would be to skip the research.  The hardest part could very well be really understanding the period about which you want to write.  Experts know this period. A poorly researched piece that purports to be about one period but uses anachronistic hairstyles, setting, fashion, technology, or other detail will throw the astute and well-educated reader right out of the narrative.  My husband tried reading Braveheart but could not take it seriously when someone lit a match long before matches existed.  If you want to skip the research, it's time to build a new world, which is an entirely different skillset and headache.  The first step in period pieces is always research, lots and lots of research. Long before Lacey can meet Juan, you need to know if those names could exist where and when you want them to live and love.  What could they wear?  What would they do in a day?  What tools might they use?  If you don't know the time, you can't know any of this. 

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Even more important than the trappings of the period, how would someone who lives in that time period think?  Modern feminism would be a foreign concept to a woman of the Renaissance.  Environmentalism would not necessarily be the first concern for a pauper from Dickensian England.  Know the thought processes, the theories, the basic understanding of the world of your character.  Don't just tack your thinking onto their faces, or it won't be convincing. If you're going to write about a doctor living during the late middle ages, research what medical theory would have looked like.  Would he have even washed his hands before performing surgery?  Why or why not?  You need to know that because a historian reading your piece certainly will.  And if you can't convince your reader that your setting is real, all the deeper meanings in the world won't mean anything to your readers because you've already lost them.  They're not your readers anymore. 

If you have a period piece from any period, do you know enough about your time period?  Do you understand how your character would think, live, and love?  If not, it's time to research some more.