This Week's Practice Exercise

Foreshadowing (version 2)
Prepared by Patricia Johnson
Reposted on 20 March 2011

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Exercise: In 400 words or less, write a story that uses foreshadowing as a plot device to hint that something is going to happen, then fulfill that hint by the end of the story.

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Foreshadowing is a tool we can use to build interest and suspense, plant a seed in the reader's mind, provide a clue that will keep the reader turning the pages. Foreshadowing can be presented in dialogue, action, or description. It could be an omen or prophecy--a mirror breaking on the first page could presage bad luck, a prediction of a bad end for someone could come true. Foreshadowing might be one small detail or action, or a larger event, as long as it echoes through the plot or a character's development and fulfills itself.

Want to know more about this literary device? In his satiric essay on writing in the journal The Onion, John Grisham gives some good basic advice on foreshadowing. Follow this link to learn and laugh.

http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/now_that_ive_learned_about.

So, construct a story of 400 words or less that makes use of foreshadowing to advance the plot or develop a character, or both. Be sure that the foreshadowing comes early in the story and is seen to resolve itself in the end.

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Exercise: In 400 words or less, write a story that uses foreshadowing as a plot device to hint that something is going to happen, then fulfill that hint by the end of the story.

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In critiquing, point out the foreshadowing, tell us whether it was easy to see and whether its promise or threat was carried out. Did the writer use the device skillfully? Was it obvious or was it subtle?

These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writing Workshop.