Magic

Fantasy readers want some element of magic to be present in their books. This could come in the form of witchcraft or sorcery, it could be similar to Game of Thrones where the main element of magic is otherworldly creatures like dragons, or it could be akin to V.E. Schwab’s Vicious series or X-Men with characters developing supernatural abilities. Regardless of what you choose, it’s important to establish how the magic in your world works as well as its limitations. Though you don’t need to explain in as great of detail as you would in a science fiction novel, fans of this genre crave intricate world-building and that involves thoroughly detailing the world’s magical system.

Maps

As stated previously, readers of this genre crave complex world-building and one of the best ways to show that off is through maps. Maps are present in some of the most renowned fantasy series of our time, including Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Six of Crows, etc. In fact, it’s getting increasingly more difficult to spot a modern fantasy book without this inclusion. Including a map a) shows the readers that you did your homework in terms of world-building and b) makes it easy for your reader to follow the course of your protagonist’s journey. It will also likely lend you a hand in the writing process and allow you to assure continuity throughout your story.

Romance

Though this most certainly shouldn’t be the central focus of a fantasy novel, most fantasy readers want at least one romantic element present in their books. Though fantasy and romance are very different, fantasy as a genre is rather romanticized. It’s all about magic being real, the world being bigger than we think, or us having more power than we realize. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that readers who crave these messages will similarly desire romance. But again, this shouldn’t be the forefront of the story. Depending on your own desires for the trajectory of your story, it could be a driving force behind your plot or as simply a background storyline as it was in the Harry Potter series.

History & Real-World Themes

We’ve talked previously of how important it is to construct a bible for your fantasy book, but this is because fans of this genre crave a rich history in their fantasy worlds. They want this world to feel as real as possible so that they can get lost within it for a while. Similarly to how our world has a long history that informs our choices and who we are in the present, so should your fantasy world. In addition, though readers of this genre definitely want an escape, they want to see small parts of our world reflected in your pages through specific themes and motifs. People are people, regardless of if they’re humans or elves, so your readers will want to see themes that show specific things (good and bad) that are relevant to our human nature.

Foreshadowing & Payoffs

Another major element to the fantasy that is actually similar to the mystery genre is they want to see seeds planted early on and harvested later with a huge payoff. For example, let’s take the Harry Potter series, which is famous in part for its continuity and payoffs (WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD). In book five, when Harry is hiding the Half-Blood Prince’s potions book, he notices the statue of a wizard with a tiara sitting on top. At the time, he thinks nothing of it so neither do we. It isn’t until a full book later that it’s revealed to us that this tiara was both Rowena Ravenclaw’s and also one of the final Horcruxes. This is exactly what fantasy readers crave: that ah-ha moment showing just how thoroughly an author planned out their series.

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The Plant

The first part of foreshadowing is ‘the plant’ or putting in the relevant information in a subtle way. Foreshadowing is a balancing act; the information needs to be sprinkled throughout the novel, but not in such an obvious way that it tips the reader off about your ending. One great example of an author who is a master of foreshadowing is J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series. There are countless examples to choose from, but one is (spoiler alert) about finding Ravenclaw’s diadem (crown). Though this item doesn’t become significant until book seven, back in book six Rowling makes a brief mention of the item when Harry is in the Room of Requirement. He simply notes seeing a crown among other miscellaneous items in this room. This wasn’t an obvious detail at the time of ‘the plant,’ but knowing the author was already planning out its significance a book ahead of time is a fantastic payoff.

There are other ways to create a plant outside the world of fantasy. For example, your protagonist can notice a coworker looking for jobs online, foreshadowing a violent act at work. Your detective protagonist could be investigating a house and a drawer got stuck while they were trying to open it- maybe because it has a secret compartment hiding a gun that is later found. Though it’s cliche, it could be as simple as a protagonist’s close friend telling them, “Be careful who you trust.” The plant must be something small that will later pertain to the climax or resolution of the novel. This involves planning, outlining, and technique. If the plant occurs toward the beginning of your book, make sure you remind your readers of it either throughout the book or at the payoff.

The Distractions

In order to prevent your foreshadowing from being obvious, make sure you’re creating other suspicious circumstances and threads that your protagonist will follow. No matter how subtle you think you’re being with your plant, astute readers will likely pick up on it. This is why you need to create other plot points for them to follow. This way, their suspicions will likely be swayed or they may forget about the small detail entirely- until the inevitable reveal. When ‘the payoff’ finally occurs, you want to create this sense of, “Aha! Of course, it had to be [insert circumstance]!” You want the payoff to make sense to the readers, but still be unpredictable. So they should have that ‘aha’ moment, even though the story could’ve very easily could’ve ended in several different resolutions equally plausible.

The Payoff

This is the final part of masterful foreshadowing. If you’ve done your job correctly with ‘the plant’, all you’ll really need to do here is let the scene unfold and let the action play out as you’ve planned. This will be an ‘aha’ moment for your readers, so don’t be afraid to create the drama. Just remember to explain all of the plot points you used throughout the story. So don’t just explain the ‘payoff’- make sure the distractions are explained as well (whether that be in your climax or resolution).

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The post How to Use Foreshadowing appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.