When does foreshadowing become too much.

[So_Indecisive]

I've been reading this amazing book so far 'The Martial Unity' on Webnovel and it's been a great experience so far.
However the foreshadowing about a particular plot point was so godamn heavy that even I that finds myself very slow on the uptake could smell it coming from miles- solar systems away.

So the question is when does it become acceptable.
(a). So little that only the clairvoyant's among readers can pick up on.

(b). Too much even the dead can sense it coming.

(c). It's alluded too a couple of times but it's Hella vague so it's all good.

(d). F**k foreshadowing I'll just spring it up on them.

 

[ElijahRyne]

I've been reading this amazing book so far 'The Martial Unity' on Webnovel and it's been a great experience so far.
However the foreshadowing about a particular plot point was so godamn heavy that even I that finds myself very slow on the uptake could smell it coming from miles- solar systems away.

So the question is when does it become acceptable.
(a). So little that only the clairvoyant's among readers can pick up on.

(b). Too much even the dead can sense it coming.

(c). It's alluded too a couple of times but it's Hella vague so it's all good.

(d). F**k foreshadowing I'll just spring it up on them.

C is ideal, and d is the worst imo.

 

[Glitched]

C is good, A is ok depending on genre.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

I think about foreshadowing, but I never do heavy foreshadowing. It is usually something only people reading between the lines would pick up, or it is blatant and will happen soon. In many chapters, I foreshadowed something that would occur at the end of the same chapter or in the next chapter. Usually, it is something that isn't intrusive.

In one of my novels, I alluded to vampires from the very beginning. It starts with a character climbing a freezing mountain, and the foreshadowing uses descriptions like "the cold bit at her exposed neck." Well, at the very end of that chapter, she confronts a vampire.

Another example in the same story is how the MC will talk about her dream, but it doesn't take away from the things she has to do in the current arc. And it is like your example of how Naruto will talk about becoming Hokage.

 

[Cipiteca396]

(e) Do heavy, heavy foreshadowing, to the point that some people stop reading, and then do a twist that what you foreshadowed doesn't happen.

 

[Tempokai]

(f) do a foreshadowing so nonsensical that the context is lagging and when the context comes it suddenly feels as if author planned it all along (looking at you, Junji Ito)

 

[TheEldritchGod]

All foreshadowing should be one thing, but when you read the book, it should be completely different. Knowing the ending should change the book so you want to re-read it from the beginning, then it becomes a new book. Mystery should be replaced with anticipation. Fear of the unknown replaced with dread.

Most foreshadowing these days is Mystery Box shit, and rarely do we learn there was ever something in the box.

 

[WingsOfPhantasy]

(g) Do no foreshadowing. In fact, avoid it at all costs. And when the reveal happens, spend the rest of the novel gaslighting your readers into believing that everything before was actually foreshadowing.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

(e) Do heavy, heavy foreshadowing, to the point that some people stop reading, and then do a twist that what you foreshadowed doesn't happen.

That is red herring. Or subversion of expectations.

 

[PancakesWitch]

never do foreshadowing and make every new development a "WTF IS GOING ON" moment to surprise readers

 

[So_Indecisive]

never do foreshadowing and make every new development a "WTF IS GOING ON" moment to surprise readers

Ah so D it is then

 

[LilRora]

For me a, c, and d all can be good depending on the situation. b is a little more complicated, because used well it can also turn out really well, but it's difficult to write it in a way that doesn't feel obvious.

Because to me, in general, foreshadowing should not be obvious - and that's basically the only requirement. That also means it shouldn't be direct. Both heavy and light foreshadowing as well as lack of it can be written well, though as far as I can tell heavy foreshadowing is the one that's messed up the most. It often feels forced or just far too direct and obvious.