Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and my fifth book was announced last week. It will be a young adult dystopian thriller set at Edwards Air Force Base in Mojave, California, which is one of the many places where I grew up.
Writing thrillers means being super careful about the distinction between foreshadowing, and just straight up confusing the reader. For example, imagine we have a character named Lily. If someone pops their head in the door and says: “I just saw Lily walk by!” the reader is immediately taken out of the story. Who in the world is Lily? Why hasn’t this been mentioned before? Did I miss something? On the other hand, if someone peeks in and says, ominously, “She’s here,” that’s weird. That’s unsettling. That’s foreshadowing.
Here are two tips for good foreshadowing. One—it’s usually best not to use proper nouns, especially names, that won’t be defined until later. Two—at least one character involved in the scene should be just as confused as the reader.
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