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?