Foreshadowing: Plot building or plot spoiling?

If anyone's been paying attention to the occasional threads I make here in the Writer's Lounge, they often involve advanced or obscure literary topics that are meant to be thought provoking. This time, I'm back with a rather intriguing subject that I implement constantly in my fanfics: foreshadowing.

As the name suggests, foreshadowing is the literary tactic of hiding hints into the general context and description within a narrative with the intent of building suspense or at least giving readers the feeling that something big is coming up quickly. Oftentimes, these hints are supposed to very subtle, such as characters noticing something amiss in the environment as they go about their business though not so much as to where they openly suspect something. In some cases, though, it's easy to go overboard and blatantly state that there are signs of something coming in a way that the narrator's basically telling the reader what's coming up next. When that becomes the case, is that generally when you (as the reader) stop reading simply because you can tell where the story is going and there's no point in continuing, or do you general shirk it off and keep going until you find out what really happens?

As a seasoned writer, I occasionally will use foreshadowing to mislead people into believing that something dead obvious coming up, but then I'll throw them a curve ball that they likely didn't see coming. In those cases, too, do you keep reading thinking you know what's going to happen and then get the surprise of a plot twist, or do you just stop thinking you've read enough to know what's going to happen? Some food for thought...

Foreshadowing is a great tool, but stupid writers misuse it a lot. For instance, you wouldn't write a story that seems to be a normal slice of life drama and then randomly have a ghost appear at the end of chapter ten. You would have some subtle cues that make it feel possible, but still surprising; however, dumb writers seem to think that to foreshadow the ghost appearing in chapter ten, they would have to parade a ghost through chapter three. That is not foreshadowing.

In my mind, foreshadowing goes hand-in-hand with layering. Using the right words to evoke the proper tone and support the emotional value of your plot helps foreshadowing along immensely. Many people don't know how to use layering, though.

For examples of short stories which would not work without foreshadowing and layering, check out Jorge Luis Borges's works.

I love foreshadowing and try to use it all the time in my fics and in my roleplays! It's the best feeling when you have your players (or readers) guess the future with theories and then be surprised (not shocked, unless it's still believable) at what it culminates to. I never just drop something on my readers/players, I always have a plan and try to carefully lay out hooks and even red herrings.

As a reader, there's not much I love more than a good plot twist. I want to make theories and I want to be a bit surprised when the real thing comes, but not shocked to the point that I didn't see it coming at all even when I look back at the previous clues.