You may have heard of the term 'foreshadowing' before. In fiction, it is a technique used in present situations that gives a hint of what may happen in the future. It works like a cliffhanger, a type of whetting the reader’s appetite as the writer prepares to set up his audience for the future he has for his character and plot. Depending on the writer’s technique, foreshadowing can be accomplished in different ways. 

The subtle foreshadowing: A night security guard makes his rounds inside a mall, notices a strange-looking mannequin in the ladies’ section he has never seen before. As he is about to reach and touch its face, he hears a noise at the adjacent men’s section. He turns his flashlight in the opposite direction to investigate, leaving the strange mannequin.

The obvious foreshadowing: While in the kitchen, listening to a radio announcement about the upcoming wedding of Stephen James to Mallory Deneuve, Olivia grins as she dices onions. She lifts the radio and throws it against the wall and jabs the kitchen knife against the chopping board. “There will be no wedding for you, Stephen!”

The stated foreshadowing: Tomorrow, he will announce to the factory workers that the cannery is going to shut down its operations.

In foreshadowing, the writer’s goal is to create a fascinating character embroiled in a situation that has a bearing on future events. This will form the basis of a gripping story. The reader, for his part, might feel surprised or shocked but he accepts the situation as a product of the character’s previous action. Foreshadowing is not a spoiler, wherein everything is given about plot and character that the reader has nothing more to look forward to. In foreshadowing, the writer is giving a hint to his audience that this situation may or may not happen. The result is not from the writer’s revelation, but the character’s choice.

Another example: If a stepfather is going to violate his ten-year-old stepdaughter or gets thrown in jail for child molestation, sometime in the middle of the story, the writer must provide a pattern of behavior that the stepfather has a predisposition to become a sex offender. A foreshadowing technique would be to show that the stepfather is throwing malicious stares at his stepdaughter before the dinner table, talking to her about sexual topics, and touching her inappropriately. 

The description of a character can also demonstrate foreshadowing. How his attitude or temperament is described can manifest how he will function and how that will lead him to trouble or success.

Example: Tony always had that sinister grin on his triangular face and speaks with condescension to all the rank and file staff.

In the above example, we get an idea about Tony’s attitude towards entry-level employees. This foreshadows two possibilities in the future: He could either get into trouble with Human Resources, or one employee could stand up to him and show Tony the error of his ways.