tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post7799221905360042830..comments2024-03-26T17:48:56.627+00:00Comments on 'Do You Write Under Your Own Name?': ForeshadowingMartin Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082485795280777670noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-72106429867086694552009-09-13T21:18:48.613+01:002009-09-13T21:18:48.613+01:00Good question, Mike, and I wonder about other exam...Good question, Mike, and I wonder about other examples. I haven't seen The Andromeda Strain, but like any tricky narrative device, this one needs a lot of care.Martin Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16082485795280777670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-26414018538688196952009-09-13T18:49:49.570+01:002009-09-13T18:49:49.570+01:00Equally disappointing can be the even rarer but al...Equally disappointing can be the even rarer but also riskier flash forward.<br /><br />In the film THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (1971), the fate of the world is very much in doubt, yet the viewer at one point is shown a scene in which characters discuss the crisis AFTER IT HAS BEEN RESOLVED; and, of course, there goes the suspense.<br /><br />One wonders how often writers actually employ the flash forward, and of those who do, how successful they are with it.<br /><br />—Mike GrayMike Graynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-70264691990067052022009-09-13T18:22:19.835+01:002009-09-13T18:22:19.835+01:00It's tricky. It brings the reader out of the ...It's tricky. It brings the reader out of the story, I think, which is always dangerous. I like the device in small amounts, though.<br /><br />Elizabeth<br /><a href="http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"> Mystery Writing is Murder</a>Elizabeth Spann Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15625595247828274405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-67899120463646570112009-09-13T13:05:26.791+01:002009-09-13T13:05:26.791+01:00Yes, there's quite an art to a good blurb. Per...Yes, there's quite an art to a good blurb. Perhaps a subject for a future post...Martin Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16082485795280777670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-89689201352853214182009-09-13T12:27:16.053+01:002009-09-13T12:27:16.053+01:00I came across a case of "cover blurb foreshad...I came across a case of "cover blurb foreshadowing" last year that spoilt an entire book. I was, as Jilly said, constantly wondering how on earth what was happening in the book was going to fit in with what it said "on the package". <br />It didn't and I think the publishers badly let the author down with the blurb. I found this book very slow and I suspect the publishers did as well and tried to spice it up with an interesting blurb.Uriah Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02046023583067265187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-91658835303560864692009-09-13T11:43:23.846+01:002009-09-13T11:43:23.846+01:00Thanks, Jilly. An interesting observation from suc...Thanks, Jilly. An interesting observation from such a keen reader. I guess one common aim of foreshadowing is to compensate for a quiet opening to a story by promising dramatic events to come - but it's a pretty high risk tactic, I think.Martin Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16082485795280777670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-31557689069284994122009-09-13T11:23:30.400+01:002009-09-13T11:23:30.400+01:00I must admit I find it irritating because the sent...I must admit I find it irritating because the sentence lodges in your brain and you're constantly looking for something to happen which fits that sentence. Which means I often miss other things because I'm focussing on that. Foreshadowing can sometimes read as though the author doesn't think the reader will pick up the clues and can therefore be a little patronising.Jillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00104126307586066155noreply@blogger.com