I've been blogging for over seven years on how to write in a more meaningful and literary fashion. One important technique is to hint at what is to come in the story. It keeps the narrative and the reader focused on the end or at least the next step. It also can hint at some kind of fate or destiny, to make that future feel bigger and more important than just one character. There are multiple ways to do that.
The most obvious way to point to the future of the story is through a prophecy. 20+ years ago, almost every story featured some plucky child of prophecy. The protagonist may have been princes, princesses, wizards, peasants, knights, or just a regular human, but they all featured prominently in a prophecy. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and so many others appeared prominently in a prophecy. In the case of Harry Potter, he was one of two who could have fulfilled the prophecy. One way or another, many characters are made special and unique through the prophecy trope.
Some still do today, though child of prophecy has fallen out of favor mostly because this trope has been so overused. There's often no meaning or depth to this prophecy, just a trick of the narrative that arbitrarily singles out one character above all others. This is no longer a recommended trope; however, prophecy can still used on occasion. If you're going to use it, I'd recommend finding a way to be subtle, more like signs and foretellings point to events happening or a nebulous prophecy that doesn't explicitly point to one character being a child or prophecy. Better yet, it can be used ironically or in some new or unexpected way.
A lot of literary fiction uses foretelling to hint at events to come and to direct the drama of the story. Foretelling is a technique whereby the author comes out and tells the reader what is coming, like the beginning of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Most people have heard the line that tells us, "A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;/Whose misadventured piteous overthrows/Do with their death bury their parents’ strife." There's no beating around the bush, no hinting. The author just tells us what's coming.
I read a book wherein almost every chapter starts with something like, "I didn't know then that everything was going to blow up in my face." We have a hint and then become hyperfocused on how everything will blow up. The question of how becomes the question that builds tension and excitement. The reader keeps going because no sooner is one such question answered than another appears. It carries us through. I haven't seen this a lot in modern literature, but it can be powerful when used right.
A more common technique even with modern fiction is foreshadowing. Hints in the world, in the narrative, in the dialogue hint at something momentous about to occur. Two characters walk through a cemetery, and the shadows touch on one of them. The cold wind sends a shudder like death down his spine. A sense of foreboding builds up in the protagonist. Everything for pages point to his death, and then, he's poisoned or some such. It feels potent, meaningful, and inevitable. The very world of the story has been preparing us for that loss, building the tension.
Think of how you may use a focus on the future to help build tension for your reader. Is there some way to bring in prophecy, foretelling, or foreshadowing?
