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As a discovery writer, sometimes I'll add a fun little detail and then realize it's a Checkhov's Gun.

Double meanings I use a lot too! There's a big twist in "Hell Is Work" that's foreshadowed with a repeated phrase.

Virgil is very annoyed when he realizes.

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I don't build anything. I find out at a certain point that my characters did foreshadowing. 🤣

I'd say I have a mix~ Book 1 has some foreshadowing that's very obvious, and I expect readers to catch on... but then other foreshadowing for longer mysteries that so subtle, no one's noticed yet. I do that on purpose 'cause there are some things I don't want the reader to realize yet~

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What is this subtle you talk about?

Seriously, I try to use the "show don't tell" approach to things I'm nudging both readers & characters towards. I'm actually editing a scene in WIP2 now that's not in the least bit subtle, while still not explicitly saying [censored due to spoilers]

-- what you're foreshadowing in a TTRPG, but when your conclusion pulls on an earlier thread, it is not only extremely satisfying, but feels as if it was planned from the start

I like to discover foreshadowing as I'm writing towards an ending concept, and firm the details up in edits #Sustember

I take a lot of my storytelling cues from years of running and playing TTRPGs, and my favorite TTRPGs encourage the players and GM (if there is one) to have a looser hold on the narrative than some of the classics

How this relates to the concept of foreshadowing: you don't always know --
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I use a little bit of everything. It all depends on the vibes I'm going for and the flow of the story.

I like it when people are actively engaged in a story and asking questions. I weave in foreshadowing a lot in Resist, I want the reader to be an active participant. I want them to...
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#Sustember Sept 22 - I like subtle foreshadowing, but I also like foreshadowing that is so obvious it's like a kick in the teeth. I write horror. Foreshadowing is a great way to build tension. My horror comedy TRAILER TRASH ZOMBIES is a case in point. Excerpt below in alt.txt with pic.

My stories come together in the details. I will write a tiny descriptor with no ulterior motive and then realize several scenes later that this will cause XYZ. I do go back through and weave in some foreshadowing in later edits as well, but a lot of it just kind of comes coincidentally.

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My own #Sustember answer - I tend to do lots of edit passes; I'm more of a mix between plotter and discovery writer. Sometimes I know where the book is inevitably going and add crumbs from the beginning; others, I realize through an edit pass that I could hint to something well and add it.

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Let's talk foreshadowing! How do you build it into your work?

Do you keep it subtle? Do you have plans on how to weave it through? Do you find out when your characters do? Let's talk about it!

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#Sustember Sept 21 - I love red herrings! They're in nearly all my work. Here's an example from my story THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR, my take on the Lizzie Borden case. The house is supposedly haunted. Read my snippet in alt.txt with the book cover picture. Enjoy!

Another super fun series I'm joining late but glad to find ways to connect to my fellow writers. I love red herrings! Sometimes I use planted evidence & other times I use misplaced suspicions. Dishonesty is an excellent tool for a mystery and I use it often, white lies to huge deceptions #Sustember

I have. In my Realm of Monsters universe.

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From Skeleton Rebellion (book 2 in Tales of the Grim Reaper):

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