The shadows I see are worse than those that hide from me

I've been thinking a lot about foreshadowing lately, and when it's good, and when it's not.

When foreshadowing is done well, it's subtle. The reader won't realise they're being given a hint of future Big Events, at least not until the Big Event happens and then all will become clear, and the reader will think to themselves, Ah! I get it now. The Big Event won't have come out of the blue, completely unexpectedly, but the reader just won't have realised they were expecting it.

Subtle.

JK Rowling is the master of subtle foreshadowing. The entire Harry Potter series is threaded together in so many small ways that seem insignificant when first read, but everything has a greater meaning. One of the most basic examples is at the start of the first book, Harry talks to the snake at the zoo. Later we learn that he's a parseltongue and the ability is rare. But when I first read the books, Harry's ability to talk to the snake at the start was only proof of magic, nothing more. Not until later.

On the other end of the spectrum there's obvious foreshadowing. Perhaps the most cliched is:

It was a dark and stormy night...

Yea, ok, so something bad's gonna happen, right? Another one which is quite common is:

I shouldn't have left the house that day, if I hadn't XXX would never have happened...

Or some variation on that. Personally, I'd prefer to be surprised than to read so much heavy handed foreshadowing throughout the book that I know exactly what will happen when it happens. It takes away the excitement and the payoff for spending the time reading the book.

So how do you get the foreshadowing right?

Well, I'm no expert on this, but I can tell you what has worked for me, and what I think has worked in the books I've read.

First, don't make a big deal over the hints you've dropped. Assume your readers are smart, because they are. They don't need you to put flashing red arrows up to show them the clues. They'll see them, but they'll appreciate them a lot more if they can figure out the importance on their own. If your MC's going to get charged by a bull today, instead of blatantly saying:

I threw on my lucky red sweater, but little did I know that it was the bad luck I was going to get today...

Just leave it at:

I threw on my lucky read sweater and ran out the door...

Red sweater? Check. Does the reader think it's important? Not yet. Later? Aha!

Next, don't try to get all your foreshadowing in first draft. This is near impossible if you're a pantster anyway (which I am). If you're a plotter I'm sure it's easier to slip some foreshadowing in while you're writing the first draft, but as is often the case with first drafts it might not be done well. And things change, do they not?

Once you've got the first draft done, figure out the major events, the things that can't just happen out of the blue because then your readers will be left scratching their heads (which is just as bad as them knowing it's going to happen before it happens). Once you know this, in revisions go back and slip in your clues. The off-hand comments and the seemingly inconsequential details about setting or character descriptions or whatever.

Sometimes if you've allowed your muse to do its thing during first draft you'll find you've unintentionally left hints, Holly Lisle calls these muse bombs, and they are often more interesting (and subtle) than the hints you drop intentionally.

Test your foreshadowing on beta readers. Are they surprised but in a good way when your Big Events happen? Disappointed at figuring out the story before your MC did? Scratching their heads going WTH just happened? Trust me, beta readers and crit partners are gold.

And of course, keep practising. Don't give up. You'll get there!

What do you look for in foreshadowing? Have examples of good? Bad? Any tips on making it work in your own writing?