Prophecies have always been powerful tools for building tension and interest in a story. When done well they create mystery, intrigue and even misdirection, but I’m getting ahead of things. At the risk of offending Mr. Taylor or other English teachers, I need to define what I mean by prophecy versus foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is a plot device, which hints at things to come to build anticipation or offset disappointment. Playwrights and authors from Shakespeare to Steinbeck – and quite a few more whose names don’t begin with S – make extensive use of it. Prophecy is a specific type of foreshadowing built around an explicit prediction or statement about future events. It is particularly common in YA fantasy.
Prophecies are riddles, not in the sense of a joke, but rather a puzzle for readers to solve. They’re most commonly written in verse using metaphors and misleading language loosely tied to information the reader possesses or can reasonably guess. If they’re too explicit, the prophecy risks giving away too much, if they’re overly opaque they’ll confuse the reader. Properly balanced the loose connections hold the readers’ attention and fill their imaginations with double meanings, dead-end threads, and red herrings. To waste a few more of your brain cells, red herring is a 19th century term credited to William Cobbett in reference to his allegedly using a strong smelling smoked fish (a kipper) to shake some dogs off the scent of a rabbit.
Prophesy Examples
Ruins of the Oracle of Delphi
Examples of prophecy in popular fantasy include Rick Riordan’s Olympians series and David Eddings’ Belgariad series. Riordan bases his prophecies on updated versions of classic Greek and Roman myths. Eddings built his from whole cloth – admittedly with a strong nod to western European tradition, or as his detractors might say stereotypes. The Belgariad features multiple prophecies told from different perspectives for the heroes and the villains, while Riordan takes a more traditional open-ended approach.
Both books successfully use prophecy to drive their stories and pique the curiosity of the reader. Even Tolkien (frequent readers wondered where he was) dabbles in prophecy, albeit only at the edges. The Elf-lord Glorfindel (cut from both movie adaptations) foresees that the Witch-King of Angmar will not be killed by the hand of a man. Indeed more than a thousand years after his proclamation, the Lord of the Nazgul is slain by the hobbit Merry and the Lady Eowyn. So if prophecies are so valuable why doesn’t every fantasy author use them? Naysayers would argue that they do, some just do so more effectively than others. There’s some validity to that thought. While I’ve used classic prophetic delivery vehicles, e.g., Penny’s recurring nightmare from Misaligned: The Celtic Connection, I haven’t gone all in. Why?
Because a successful prophecy needs to be intricately woven into the plot, with clues and connections spread throughout the story. You need the prophecy to create the story, but you need to know the end before you can create a good prophecy – the classic chicken and egg problem.
My Creative Process
Unfortunately, I rarely know the ending before I start writing. It’s just not how I create my stories. My process is a mixture of planning and improvising. I typically start with a question. Misaligned, began with what happens at the intersection of String Theory and Arthurian Myth. Additional questions and answers flow from there, leading to a somewhat disconnected outline of thoughts. Usually about a page long, the outline contains the main characters, for Misaligned these were Penny, Duncan, Myrdin, Master Poe, Simon and Ms. Morgan and issues for each. It also includes proto-scenes resolving or creating some of those issues. The outline is a starting point, a guide, but not a limitation to my creative process.
When I put fingers to keys new ideas pop out. Old ideas get modified, deferred for later use, or rejected. I often don’t know what’s next or how to deal with a curve-ball I’ve thrown. But it’s how I connect with my creative side. Some of my favorite scenes and characters spring into life during this process. I suppose I could write the story leaving space for a prophecy to be superimposed after I’m done. However, something about that doesn’t feel right for me.
As always, thanks for reading.
Armen
Armen, I always enjoy your behind-the-scenes thoughts on the art of writing a good story. It gives your books a great deal of credibility – not that they aren’t already entertaining. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Rick. I’m glad you enjoy my posts and books, too!
I believe motivation is vital to any character’s actions. Prophecy shouldn’t be used to motivate the main character but can be used to explain and expand on the plot and the reasons for secondary characters’ actions.
Hmm, does that make sense? As you said, it isn’t my starting point, but it does become a thread in the tapestry of storytelling.
I agree there’s a fine balance between using prophecy as a powerful plot device and having a prophecy become too dominant in a story. In some ways a well written prophecy is a lot like a good horoscope. Both have multiple meanings and seemingly fit the facts after they’ve occurred, but I wouldn’t want to live my life by them. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment.
Thanks for this, Armen. I’ve shared it on my wall. As I mentioned elsewhere, I based an entire book on the ages-old prophecy of the dwarves and the elves that a “maiden fair shall lift the stone …: etc. etc.” And of course my heroine is the maiden fair. Actually, it’s not that simple. And she’s not a maiden fair, but a very short troll. And therein lies an entire saga …
Erin, thanks for reading and sharing, too! I suppose she might be fair to someone or perhaps something 🙂 Best of luck to you!