Foreshadowing and Surprise (Patreon)

Watching a big blow up in the Age of Gods webnovel as the author deals with backlash from readers who are unhappy with a plot point. I'm not going to comment on if or if not the plot point was correct, but I did want to discuss one often mentioned comment - it was a complete surprise.

I recall reading, a long, long time ago in some writing book that when readers complain about an unpleasant surprise or how something is 'unrealistic', it's often because the writer has not foreshadowed the event sufficiently.

Now, a surprise, a 'good' surprise is often hinted at to some extent in the book. There are sufficient clues in the novel that when the surprise comes, it might still be a surprise but for the reader, it's a pleasant one. Because in the back of their mind, they can tell that it was hinted at.

The issue is, if you're writing a webnovel, you can't do that unless you've properly plotted the book out beforehand. Worse, if you are a discovery writer like me, you might not even realise that it's something you need to foreshadow until it happens much later.

It's also an explanation of why I often have you guys 6-10 chapters behind where I am in terms of writing. It helps me go back and edit in a few quick foreshadowing scenes, even for preview patrons. While it doesn't help all the time, it makes me more comfortable than dumping something out the moment I write it.

Also, it means on weeks when I've done little writing I can still make posts with preview chapters. Like this / next week since I need to get The First Step edited.