Foreshadowing: Set Up and Pay Off

Do you ever wonder why JKR’s stories are so satisfying to read? Why is it so much fun to follow her characters into an adventure and solve one riddle after the other?

To build a plot like that, you need proper set up and pay off.

The mystery genre uses this the most, but it is a technique that you find in all kinds of stories. For seven books, Harry and his friends are solving mysteries like Sherlock Holmes himself, and it keeps us glued to the page.

Mystery alone does not make for a satisfying story, though. Harry Potter is satisfying because we get a chance at solving the mysteries alongside Harry. There are hints and clues hidden in the story that enable the attentive reader to solve the riddle without the very clever Hermione giving us the solution.

Example:

In CoS, Ginny seems at first as if she simply has a crush on Harry and is unable to have a normal conversation with him. When you reread the book, though, it is quite obvious that she tries to tell Harry something important that sets her on edge. Even in the movies, the scene where Lucius Malfoy puts a book into her cauldron hints at her involvement with Riddle’s diary. When it is revealed that Ginny opened the Chamber and released the Basilisk, it feels like an earned and satisfying explanation for the big riddle Harry has tried to solve for so long.

• Set up: something going on with Ginny while at the same time there are terrible, unexplained things happening at the school
• Pay off: Ginny being involved with those events

Set up and pay off is often subtle: When at one point in the story your character needs a special spell, make them learn that spell beforehand. FORESHADOWING is key.

This method should also be used the other way round: MAKE EVERY DETAIL MEANINGFUL! If your character has a necklace, let it have a consequence, or have significance later in the story. Maybe use the old: “Someone shot me, but it bounced off this pendant and saved my life—how convenient!”-trick! Of course, that has been overused to the point of being cliché.

Tip: Look at YouTube for examples in your favourite movies! This principle is also known as Chekhov’s gun if you want to do some research of your own.