An incomplete list of successful dead or dying foreshadows in fiction

[conuly]

Successful here means that I got it on the first try, not after the character was revealed as dead or, worse, after somebody explained it to me.

1. A leaf or petal falls
2. Snow falls
3. Night falls
4. Pretty much anything else falls and then breaks
5. A warrior takes off his helmet and then puts it on the floor instead of wherever it's supposed to go
6. A window is left open
7. There is a crow or raven, or another culturally appropriate animal or flower, just hanging out
8. A person actually says "good-bye" when hanging up the phone
9. A tree is dead in the spring or summer
10. A child's toy is abandoned
11. Somebody has a headache or a nosebleed or a cough

You'll note that none of these things are fatal in real life, but in fictionland the rules are different.

You'll also note that I didn't include "Somebody who has no business making long-term plans suddenly decides to announce their plans to all and sundry" or "Somebody who just left a life-threatening situation declares that they're safe now". That's not foreshadowing, that's just recklessness. Don't do those things.

Comments

[sabotabby]

Hah. Now I'm trying to think of what I've read recently that's tipped me off. It's usually something hamhanded like "declaration of future plans" or "confession to someone they've been into for awhile."

[conuly]

When it's good, it's good, and when it's not it's just cheesy.