TERRIBLE PROSE TUESDAY: Father was acting very suspiciously

Know what I like? Foreshadowing.

Without foreshadowing, a writer’s twists can come out of nowhere and make about as much sense (see: “Frozen”).

If you’re going to drop a huge bomb later on in the story, it’s best to drop little hints before it happens.

Or, you could do what Janna Nickerson does, and make it incredibly obvious that something is going to happen.

I like to call this “obvious foreshadowing.” Good foreshadowing makes a reader go, “How could I have missed that!?” Obvious foreshadowing calls attention to itself.

“LOOK OVER HERE! OVER HERE! THERE’S A PLOT POINT COMING AND IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU KNOW ABOUT IT AHEAD OF TIME!”

“Here I am.”

“AAAAAAAAGH! WHOOOOOA! A PLOT POINT! NO ONE SAW THAT COMING!”

Why is Mat’s dad acting so suspiciously? That will be revealed later. The answer will be magical.
(Did you get that? Magical. It has something to do with magic. Probably. Ooooh, it’s a mystery..)

Also, why didn’t Mat’s dad think to ask how Mat got home until an hour later?