Forewarning

DamaNegra · Jul 12, 2007

Today I'm in a hurry so I don't have time to do a search of this forums to see if it's already been asked (AW search function hates me).

Am I the only one who's annoyed at the 'glimpses' of the future scattered around books? As in:

"John and Jane walked together, and she thought how lucky she was to be with him. She had no way of knowing that would only last for a few days."

Is it acceptable? It annoys me to no end, but really, maybe it's just me.

kristie911 · Jul 12, 2007

It doesn't particularly annoy me, but I definitely notice it. It makes me feel like the author is intruding on my story. I see it a lot as a finish to a chapter, which I think comes off as a cheap way to add a "cliffhanger", hoping to keep the reader engaged enough to keep going.

Azraelsbane · Jul 12, 2007

Oh, you mean like...

In the end his speed would matter little. Fate would always run a step ahead. Love proved no match for inevitability.

I don't usually mind it, and I do find myself doing it sometimes such as in the above example.

Danger Jane · Jul 12, 2007

I'd say sure it's acceptable, if you see it in published books, although it seems like author intrusion.

I don't do that myself. I write mostly in first person...that would be a little out of POV.

scarletpeaches · Jul 12, 2007

It annoys me because it yanks me out of the story. Whoever the narrator is, they couldn't possibly know what was about to happen to another character. Unless they were God. In which case, is the book written in omniscient POV?

It smacks of premonitions, which I don't believe in anyway, but even in a book it feels like cheating. It's a clumsy way of foreshadowing to say, "Little did Jim know, but..." Don't tell me what's going to happen in the future - show me!

It could be argued that if the story is being told in the past tense, the narrator (whether it's in first or third person narrative) is writing from a point of being able to look back in time. Maybe so, but it's not euphonious*. It's clunky.

And it never, never works in present tense. "Little does he know, but..." If it's in present tense, you can't possibly know what's going to happen at a point future to the time period being discussed/played out on the page.

*I always wanted to use the word euphonious in a post.

RLB · Jul 12, 2007

I remember a specific example of that in Pet Cemetary... the parent was warning the three year old not to put marbles or something in his mouth and then King wrote something along the lines of "It wasn't the marbles that would get him. It was that semi truck that would come barreling down the highway." It didn't bother me at the time, cause I liked the way he wrote it, but on the other hand, it stood out and I've always remembered it.

maestrowork · Jul 12, 2007

DamaNegra said:
"John and Jane walked together, and she thought how lucky she was to be with him. She had no way of knowing that would only last for a few days."

It annoys me, because it's out of POV. If she had no way of knowing, then the writer shouldn't report that at that point. That's the one thing about "omniscient" that bugs me sometimes...

"Joe walked down the street to buy a milk. If only he knew a car was speeding around the corner, he would have turned around..."

Eek. Personally I try to avoid that, even if I'm writing in omniscient.

It reminds me of the movie "Stranger Than Fiction" in which the narrator, played by Emma Thompson, said something like "Little did Harold know, a chain of action has started that would lead him to his imminent death." To which Will Ferrel's character reacted by looking up at the sky and said, "Why?"

I think it was really funny, and the screenwriter is playing with the cliche: "Little did he know..."

san_remo_ave · Jul 12, 2007

It bugs me, for sure. Pulls me out of the story. I don't like it a-tall.

III · Jul 12, 2007

I just read Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas the other day and it had quite a bit of that, although the novel is told by the MC recounting events that had already happened. I'm sure he did it to build angst in the reader so we'd know that, even though the hero is struggling against the odds and looks like he may win, there's a very bad outcome; leaving the reader to wonder if there will be a silver lining to the cloud at the denumont.

Begbie · Jul 12, 2007

I usually see it at the end of chapters. I don't like it all. It feels like the writer is insisting we must read on, when the story itself should be insisting. I've never seen it where it was actually necessary to advance the story.

aadams73 · Jul 12, 2007

My answer? It depends. I know that's vague, but it really depends on how its done and who is doing it. Sometimes it works just fine for me, then others it just seems lazy and annoying.

katiemac · Jul 12, 2007

There are better, subtler ways to plant foreshadows.

Soccer Mom · Jul 12, 2007

I've seen it done for humorous effect and it can work, but only if....well....if it works. Put me in the "it depends" line with Aadams.

scarletpeaches · Jul 12, 2007

Little do you all know, but this thread will descend into name-calling and hair-pulling, and Mac will ban you all.

cooltouch · Jul 12, 2007

If the work is written in 1st person, I think this is acceptable, but it shouldn't be overdone.

If it is in 3rd person, then it becomes narrative (or author) intrusion and, imho, must be handled very carefully. I notice this a fair amount in current fiction, and I don't really care for it for the same reason that others have expressed.

I think foreshadowing is a much more effective tool to employ, but I guess that there are times that the author gets a little lazy and would just rather intrude than think up a good passage that would show a foreshadowing of events to come.

Best,

Michael

Michael Murphy · Jul 12, 2007

Michael McBroom said it well, but I thought I'd add my two cents (clicke). If 3rd person it is author intrusion and also says, "I'm the author and I'll tell you what you need to know when I think you need to know it." I think it's always best to make the narrator as invisible as possible and allow the reader to immerse themselves into the scene. The method mention yanks them out. I've seen King do it several times, but he's rich and can do whatever he wants and his books will still sell.

DVGuru · Jul 12, 2007

It definitely annoys me. If something bad (or good) is going to happen to a character, I prefer to find out along with the character. I love his work, but Stephen King kills the anticipation for me when he does this. It's one of the worst forms of author intrusion in my opinion.

pepperlandgirl · Jul 12, 2007

Yeah, Stephen King does this all the freaking time. Multiple times in every single book. I really hate it. I have no idea why he feels the need to do it. Just to prove that he, the authors, knows what's going to happen next? I love his work, but that's the one thing that sometimes will make me walk away from a book---I always return, but it's disruptive, lol.

Begbie · Jul 12, 2007

Scarletpeaches' foreshadowing just sent a chill down my spine. I retract my statement; it can be done well.

JEMcGee · Jul 12, 2007

I like to foreshadow in a way that when you read it you don't know it's foreshadowing but later when something happens that bit can be remembered. Sort of like the hints given in "The Sixth Sense" where at the end you want to experience the story again to see all the clues.

Example: "Jane let John lead her by the hand as they walked quickly through the park. While he was holding on a little more tightly than was comfortable, she smiled at his enthusiasm and said nothing, not wanting to spoil the fun of the moment."

Stijn Hommes · Jul 12, 2007

Sometimes it's acceptable, but the overt author intrusion you mention often doesn't work for me. I like my foreshadowing subtle. (Aka Having 13 people dine and later kill off the person who left the table first).

MMWyrm · Jul 12, 2007

It depends for me too. I hate the average narrator putting stuff like that in. I always imagine one of those on-air voices from old radio shoes. With King and Odd Thomas, it seems more like a conversational thing: something the narrator just can't help but tell you.

maestrowork · Jul 12, 2007

Yeah, something about it that makes me wonder: "What else are you not telling me?"

Willowmound · Jul 12, 2007

scarletpeaches said:
Little do you all know, but this thread will descend into name-calling and hair-pulling, and Mac will ban you all.

NICKY!

scarletpeaches · Jul 12, 2007

Swine!

Forewarning

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Know what you write...

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Lightly salted