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Foreshadowing
Plant your clues using this Foreshadowing template.
Created by Reedsy
New foreshadowing...
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Target
Ex. The twist, a betrayal, a death, a culprit's identity, etc.
Plant → Payoff
Ex. Act 1 → 2.5
Concerns
Ex. @Protagonist
🌱
Plant
What do you want to foreshadow?
Write the reveal in one sentence, as if spoiling it to a friend.
What is the seed you'll plant to foreshadow it?
What's the smallest thing you could plant and still pay off?
Where will you plant it?
How early can you plant it?
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Lay
Beginning
What scenes carry the clue in the beginning?
How does each appearance differ?
What red herrings do you plant in the beginning?
Name the wrong conclusion you want the reader to reach.
How strong is the trail in the beginning?
Reread the clues planted up to here. Is it subtle enough?
Middle
What scenes carry the clue in the middle?
How does each appearance differ?
What red herrings do you plant in the middle?
Name the wrong conclusion you want the reader to reach.
How strong is the trail in the middle?
Reread the clues planted up to here. Is it accumulating?
End
What scenes carry the clue by the end?
How does each appearance differ?
What red herrings do you plant by the end?
Name the wrong conclusion you want the reader to reach.
How strong is the trail by the end?
Reread the clues planted up to here. Could a sharp reader solve it fairly?
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Payoff
What's the payoff?
Does the payoff deliver what the seed promised?
How can readers connect the dots?
Trace the line from the seed in "Plant" through each act to here. Does it hold?
What changes once the reader knows?
Reread your clues and red herrings. What flips on a second read?
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