Foreshadowing: The Art of the Aha!

Have you ever been reading a story and you can’t put it down? The plot is engaging, the characters are dynamic, and then just as you’re flying through the pages, the puzzle pieces finally click together, your mouth drops open, and you internally (or externally, I don’t judge) just go, “WOAH.” 

That’s the “Aha!” moment, or as we call it in writing, the full circle of foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is when the writer starts to hint at what is to come. This device is used for many reasons, but something it really highlights is that feeling of suspense that ultimately leads to that WOW moment. 

Foreshadowing can seem random at times, but don’t let that dissuade you. It does have a purpose! Depending on the kind of foreshadowing you use, direct or indirect, the hints can be easily identified or not by the reader. You can use many literary devices such as plot, setting, imagery, dialogue, and more to create foreshadowing. 

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As MasterClass says, there are two different kinds of foreshadowing you can use when writing fiction. Let me take you through both of them. 

Direct

The first is direct foreshadowing. This is when the hint is used through narration and/or dialogue from the characters. For example, let’s look at my favorite world, Star Wars. Have you ever been watching the films or the shows and somebody always says the line, “I have a bad feeling about this?” While an iconic line and a running gag, it is also direct foreshadowing. 

In Episode IV, A New Hope, Luke Skywalker says the line just as the Millennium Falcon approaches the Death Star (the first one). That immediate reaction and then the looming danger shortly after is a great way to add suspense to the moment.

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Indirect

The second kind of foreshadowing is indirect. This way of using foreshadowing is a lot more subtle and is usually the reason for that previously mentioned “Aha!” moment. For this example let’s look at another world I love, Marvel. Spoilers for Marvel Studios’ Moonknight, if you haven’t seen it, but I think that this show uses indirect foreshadowing the best. 

From episodes one to six, viewers know of the two alters of Steven Grant and Marc Spector living in one body. However, throughout the episodes, there are moments when things happen that neither Steven nor Marc is aware of or can remember. Then, in a limbo-like world, after Marc rescues Steven from a locked sarcophagus, a second sarcophagus appears but is ignored. There is a feeling that someone is in there and that something else is going on within Marc and Steven’s body. It isn’t until the very end of the series that you learn that there was a third alter by the name of Jake Lockly and that they were hinting at him all along. 

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Using Other Literary Devices With Foreshadowing

The use of this literary device is all about how readers respond to it and how they can put puzzle pieces together. Another thing to consider when creating foreshadowing is how the story pacing affects it. If you rush into the reveal, it won’t offer that same amount of tension that is essential. 

Think about it this way: Your readers are detectives who want to find the answers and reasons behind all the evidence. As a writer, your job is to not only provide that evidence but the magnifying glass that they will use to discover it. That is where the literary devices I mentioned before come in. 

For setting, having your story set within a dark forest or on the edge of a cliff is going to provide suspense. What is looming in the trees? Will the characters fall off? It’s the rising questions that create the tension. Using sensory details such as smell or taste can offer this tension too. Even a character mentioning seeing something off-hand may not seem important at that moment, but once you tie it to a larger reveal, that is when corner pieces start to align and create the bigger picture. 

Foreshadowing is fun, interesting, and helps with the creative process. The next time you add in a small detail that you don’t think means something, think to yourself: Huh, maybe this could be another piece of the puzzle. 

Who knows? Maybe you’ll have your own “Aha!” moment. 

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About the Author

Haley Forté is currently a student studying creative writing and English with a fiction concentration. Growing up in both Washington State and California, Haley has relied on her family to keep her busy and on her toes. She is a writer of many genres but prefers to sit within the realm of science fiction where she is currently working on a novel. When she is not writing, she is curating her Star Wars helmet collection, playing apocalyptic video games, and learning all she can about the Cosmos.