When crafting a narrative there are many tools you can employ, depending on the type of story you’re telling, the POV involved and personal style. One technique that can add richness to your stories is foreshadowing. The general idea behind foreshadowing is to drop hints to the reader regarding events that will occur later in the tale. This can be done through imagery, word choice, reoccurring situations/actions and many other forms. Subtlety and moderation are key when using this. Think of it as a light chime, making it’s presence known to the reader without drawing too much attention, as opposed to a sledgehammer beating in the reader’s skull with it’s obviousness.
The quickest way to go through a tangible example of this technique in action is not recommending you read a 350 page book and come back in a couple of weeks. Instead I will use a more easily digested form of storytelling, film. For the purposes of this post, we’ll go with one of my personal favorites, Shaun of the Dead.
<SPOILER ALERT>
I will be discussing this film in specific detail, mentioning plot points, character interactions and possibly the ending. If you haven’t seen it, please do yourself the favor of picking it up. This is an incredibly funny movie that honors its genre roots (zombies) and experiencing it for the first time as words on a computer screen is not the way to go.
</SPOILER ALERT>
Shaun of the Dead is “British romantic zombie comedy” starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. As you can tell, it’s far from your run of the mill story. Shaun (Pegg) is flatmates with socially repulsive Ed (Frost), who also happens to be his best friend. Stuck in a dead end job and in a rut with his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield), he just can’t get his life going. Luckily for him, a zombie apocalypse comes along to shake things up.
This movie is very well written, not only using foreshadowing heavily in its shots, situations and dialogue, but also creatively telling its story in many non-standard ways (the TV segments are fantastic). Looking over this film with a critical eye, it’s basically ALL foreshadowing. The script is so packed with references to what will happen next, that the observant viewer can tell how the movie will unfold the moment the zombies appear. I’m not saying it’s predictable (far from it), but you end up catching new things with every viewing. Since there are a plethora of examples, large and small, I’ll pick out some of the most effective.
The title sequence is outstanding, incorporating a montage of everyday life in England. As you can see, most of the people are already living a zombie-like existence, so the fact that they died never really changes anything. When they re-enter the film as brain hungry fiends, most of them have the same exact facial expressions.
When Shaun first bumps into his ex-girlfriend Yvonne (Jessica Hynes) while walking home from the bus, you get your standard issue awkward reunion chit chat. When Yvonne asks Shaun “how he’s doing” he simply replies “surviving.” The next time these two meet their conversation starts the same exact way, except “surviving” is especially apt after having navigated his little troupe thru zombie infested back alleys.
Two other examples involve the character of Pete (Peter Serafinowicz), Shaun and Ed’s other flatmate. When Shaun first takes a piss, he’s on his way to work. When all’s said and done, he fixes the medicine cabinet mirror to find Pete right behind him, which leads to a conversation in kitchen where Shaun tells Pete to “leave him [Ed] alone”. When Shaun takes another wee, he’s on his way out to save Liz. This time when adjusting the mirror Pete is right behind him in the shower as a zombie. When they’re in the Winchester, zombie Pete ends up taking a bite out of Ed’s arm, while Shaun shouts “leave him alone!” before giving Pete a wicked headshot.
The second Pete moment is after Shaun is dumped by Liz. Ed and Shaun are playing records loudly after getting their drunk on. Pete comes in for a heated confrontation since it’s 4 in the morning on a Sunday. At one point Pete yells at Ed “…you wanna live like an animal, go live in the shed…” which is exactly what happens at the end of the film, when Ed’s a video game playing zombie chained to the wall. Ed also gets a good one in, muttering under his breath “Next time I see him, he’s dead.” When Ed and Pete next meet, zombie Pete makes a snack out of him.
There’s also the “you’ve got red on you” comment that Shaun keeps getting, in the beginning because of a leaky red pen and later on because he’s covered in zombie blood; the military trucks racing around in the background, only to end up being deus ex machina for Shaun and Liz; and Shaun’s Mom (Penelope Wilton) asking what Liz wanted for lunch “Cause these days a lot of people don’t eat meat”, right before all hell breaks loose. Little touches like this, add flavor to what could have otherwise been a clichéd flick. The foreshadowing in Shaun of the Dead enhances the comedy, keeps the movie fresh after multiple viewings and adds depth to the character interactions. You can tell that the writing was a primary focus, allowing this mashup of average film plots (horror & comedy/romance) to transcend into a cult classic.
Injecting this technique into your writing, can create complexities in your narrative that enrich the initial consumption and encourage repeat readings.
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Image courtesy of Wikipedia
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