Element of Writing: "Foreshadowing" Through Dreams

Foreshadowing is an important element in writing because I think it can make the story more realistic, especially if it's through dreams.



Foreshadowing is even in our every day lives. Sometimes it is obvious, or sometimes it is completely invisible until the event blindsides us. When I wrote my romance memoir, a character says, "She's your problem now." My past self replied, "Problem? What problem?" Later, a bunch of problems ensue.

In that story, I had vivid dreams after the end of my relationship. At one point I date a girl who had a similar name and features as the previous girl. In the dream, their faces flash back and forth, foreshadowing that it's the same girl and that the relationship won't work out.

In fact, in many of my stories, I use dreams to enhance them. In Channels of Arsenergia, the protagonist, Connor, is a lonely, misunderstood teenage boy. He has a dream that he is locked in an enclosed space, crying. He cant stop crying, and he realizes his tears is causing the water to build up in the room. He is alone, and there is no way out. The water reaches the ceiling, submerging him underwater. His vision becomes hazy as he loses consciousness, and the last thing he sees is a bright, blue light.



It's a complex dream in regards to the figurative language it refers to, despite seeming simple at the surface, and packs a ton of meaning into the story in a short time. The dream signifies the suffering to come (his crying and being submerged underwater, which symbolizes suffering--different forms of water [which resembles life in itself] represent different symbols throughout the story) and the blue light represents the magical friend who will save him in many ways (identity-wise for instance). Connor needs outside intervention before he can save himself and his new friend, and eventually save others, too. It also foreshadows him being trapped in a body that he will not be in control of. It illustrates the theme of loneliness vs. connectedness, feeling whole vs. empty. So, theme, symbolism, foreshadowing, and more in one short dream that is maybe a paragraph or two long. And it foreshadows that these themes and symbols are going to happen in the future, too, as they are not limited to the dream itself.

As the dream draws the reader in it and out of it, it makes readers even more inside the story and can make them forget they are in the real world reading a book, if done right. The dream needs to seem realistic, like the weird ones we would have. And they usually mean our brain is trying to deal with unresolved problems or issues, or signify something important. Sometimes, we have no idea what our dreams mean, and that's okay, too.


If you're ever writing a story, don't forget the power of dreams. And if you're reading about characters having dreams or if you yourself are experiencing them, don't forget about their significance.