Crystal ball gazing

On June 21, 2013, Kenzi Anne wrote, So I have a question about riddles…I don’t know about you guys, but I like to throw in a riddle sort of mystery into some of my books, like a prophecy or enigmatic saying, but… I’m not very good at making them! I feel like it’s either too easy to decipher so that the story’s ending is too predictable, or otherwise the clues are too much of a stretch and won’t make much sense. Any advice? 🙂

I love enigmatic auguries, too! And I’ve used them in many of my books. In Ella Enchanted and Fairest gnomes can see into the future, but dimly, so they just give hints. In Ella, a gnome gives this warning: “Danger, a quest, three figures. They are close to you, but they are not your friends. Beware of them!” The quest, of course, is to end the curse of obedience; the three figures are Dame Olga, Hattie, and Olive; and danger abounds – from ogres, from Ella’s stepfamily, and from the curse itself.

The trick here is that the warning doesn’t foretell the solution to the story, so it doesn’t give anything away. It just heightens the mystery, enhances the atmosphere, and makes the gnomes more exotic.

So that’s one way to go. If your prophecies don’t give the ending away you don’t have to worry about being too specific.

In Ever, Puru, the god of fate, drops an occasional hint. But then he contradicts everything he’s said with: “Fate may be thwarted.” And he confesses, “I long for a happy outcome.”

That’s another approach: Make your omens contradictory.

In The Two Princesses of Bamarre, the kingdom is afflicted with a fatal disease called the gray death, but a specter has foretold that the cure will be found when “cowards find courage and rain falls over all Bamarre.” MC Addie obsesses about the prediction and wonders how many cowards have to find courage and how long  the rain has to fall, and whether it has to fall all at once.

So make your portent open to interpretation.

Here are two more rolled up in one. In Stolen Magic a wooden puppet issues a warning: “Expectation misleads.” In this case, the words are so vague and the source so questionable that nothing is given away. You can make your prediction hazy, or make the character who gives it unreliable.

I’m sure there are more that I haven’t used. For example, we can introduce so many signs that the reader doesn’t know which to believe. Or the prophecy can be received in a dream or a hallucination, and its credibility can be in doubt. The character who delivers the prediction can have questionable motives. Or the person who receives it can be too receptive. For example, if Portia believes fortune-cookie fortunes and spends ridiculous sums of money on handwriting analyses, tea-leaf readings, tarot-card fortune tellers, and she consults her Ouija board nightly, the reader will be skeptical when she tells her best friend to avoid anyone with a harpoon tattooed on his or her wrist. Even so, the reader will sit up when that harpoon tattoo shows up.

We need to pay attention, too, to the timing of a prediction. If it’s delivered late in a story, it may feel contrived to the reader, like a set-up.

I’ve talked about Chekhov’s gun on the blog before, but in case you haven’t seen that post and don’t know about this rule, the Russian novelist and playwright Anton Chekhov wrote that one mustn’t show a reader a rifle hanging on a wall and not have it be shot at some point in the story. I don’t always agree with this. Sometimes the rifle can just reveal the character of its owner or provide atmosphere. But I do believe that it has to contribute in some way, and, in the case of predictions, I agree completely. That harpoon tattoo has to come into the story. It can’t just be left hanging. Same with any portent. You need to use it, although not predictably, and it doesn’t have to come true.

Naturally there isn’t a single way to use your foreshadowing. In Ella, I use it subtly, I think. The gnome delivers the warning and, if I remember correctly, Ella doesn’t think much about it after that. The reader may identify the three figures, may see danger on all sides, and may wonder until the end of the book and possibly after that what the quest was. Still, it plays out enough to be satisfying.

It plays out more overtly in Two Princesses. When MC Addie is huddling in her castle, she looks to the prophecy for deliverance; she keeps searching for signs that it’s coming to pass, but once she takes action, she becomes less fixed on it.

In Ever, the prediction that Kezi hangs onto, that sustains her, is that fate isn’t immutable.

A prophecy has power. It will linger in the reader’s mind, so we don’t have to refer to it often. We can let it spin its magic in the background. The reader will compare story events as they move along with the augury and will wonder if it’s playing out yet or when it will rear its head.

One more thing. This is a reply to Kenzi Anne from Elsabet, suggesting how to handle prophecies: I LOVE riddles!!! Read a book of poems maybe, read books of riddles. That helps me. I like to see how other people do things, and then I do it myself, but MY way. I’m not sure about other people, but I love poems that rhyme. Other poems, they’re okay (No, I’m not insulting anyone, it’s just my preference.), but they don’t seem to have the same type of dazzle, the same type of power. My dad says it this way: Anyone can write a non-rhyming poem, but it takes someone special to make a really great rhyming poem. It’s harder, and funner. My dad’s a poet (unofficially, of course, but he writes good stuff). So just keep that in mind. The riddle probably shouldn’t be too short, and if it rhymes, I suggest you use a different scheme (or whatever poets call that) than aabb or abab. Too common. If it’s an old prophecy or riddle it should probably rhyme. Make it special, and don’t worry. Use longer words and serious sounding synonyms if you can. Run it past a few people, and if they think it’s too cheesy, try again. If you like it the way it is, keep it. Mrs. Levine is good at writing poems, she probably has some good advice. I don’t know too much about writing all kinds of poems, but I write songs, which can be challenging, so I totally understand how hard it can be. Just do your best! I hope it comes out great.

Yes, rhyme scheme is the proper term, and that’s a great idea, to pay attention to the language of your prophecy. If the prophecy comes from a character who is given to elevated language, or if she’s in a trance, pull out your $600 words. Make it into a poem, if you’re feeling poetic. Make it rhyme, if you’re feeling rhyme-y.

Here are three prompts:

• Cassandra is a tragic figure in Greek mythology. The god Apollo gave her the gift of future sight, but after she angered him, he turned it around so that no one believes her when she accurately forecasts the future. And yet she keeps trying. Bring her into the modern world and put her into a situation, a party, on a train, a family gathering, whatever pleases you. She meets people and instantly knows their fate. Write her as your MC, trying to get out of her own fate while also attempting to help the people around her.

• Your MC’s father has disappeared, and she’s trying to find him. In desperation she consults several people who say they can look into the future, an astrologist, a fortune teller, a specialist in tea leaves, and someone with a crystal ball. Write a scene with each. Keep going if you like.

• The MC whose father has gone missing becomes convinced that a particular character really has powers of divination. She goes to him, but he won’t help her unless she answers a riddle. Write the riddle. Keep going, if you like. Let this seer stay in the story.

Have fun, and save what you write!

35 Responses on “Crystal ball gazing”

  1. gailcarsonlevine says:

    This came into the website:

    Hey Mrs. Levine,
    I have a character in my book named Garrett. At the end of my story, he will betray his family and friends by trying to kill my main character for the queen, an evil woman who wants to annihilate his kind (which he knows) but needs his help to do it. I have put bits into my story that will help his betrayal in the end make more sense, but, purposely, I haven't yet made it clear if he is working for the queen out of his own free will (which he is), and they're small enough bits that my readers might not know exactly what he is doing, which I'd like to keep that way until the end. He has problems with drinking and other addictions, and can be very violent when he is drunk or angry.
    At the same time though, my main character thinks that Garrett is his friend. Garrett happens to be very attractive, and can be quite charming when he wants or needs to be, and seems, to my main character, like a pretty good guy, but I’m not sure if my readers will think that way. How do I make him a likable character, likable enough that my readers will be upset when he turns traitor, even though he is truly, completely evil through and through? Please help.
    JesseGee

    • Elisa says:

      I'm doing that too (Well, something similar anyways) so these comments will be helpful to me too! However, I do have my own methods. My story is divided into two parts, the first is told by the "good guy" And the second by the "Villain", who is actually the good guy. So, the first bit is told in first person POV by the "good guy" who is really the bad guy, and I want the reader to think him a good person at first, and I want a slightly-more-than-mild surprise at the end of his narrative, but I don't want them to be shocked nearly to the heart-attack-stage. So I make him do subtly horrible things, like take pleasure in making people do things for him, or make them make mistakes. Or he likes punishing people and getting them into trouble, things that are more or lessly normal. He is rather arrogant, intensely sarcastic, very revengeful and he has a horrible temper; but seldom lets it get away with him. When I write him, I give him little evil thoughts, like how very much he would like to slap that crying child, and then his thoughts go from slap to knock over and then he's on the verge of wanting to strangle her and then he is interrupted. Or he goes out of his way to kick a dog, or says something quite awful to a maid who tripped over her skirt and spilled a tray of ashes. Once the reader gets to part two, they get a sort-of surprise, but they understand what's going on. Hope I was able to help.

    • gailcarsonlevine says:

      I'm not sure why the reader shouldn't know Garrett is evil. If they know and your main character blissfully believes he's good, the reader will be in a tizzy of worry for your MC, which is a good thing.

  2. Bibliophile says:

    Well, is he REALLY evil? Or is he just stuck between a rock and a hard place? Does killing this character help to annihilate his people or save them?

    Maybe you could write it from that angle. If someone were trying to murder your entire race, then wouldn't you do anything to stop it?
    It sounds to me that this is a series. What if among his other defects he is VERY afraid of dying. So in order to save his people he can either A)Kill himself; or B)Kill this (I'm assuming) girl. Obviously he would choose to murder her.

    Is his addiction brought on by suffering or maybe the realization that if he weren't alive his people would be safe? I mean, if I had that issue and didn't fancy suicide than I would probably drink heavily as well to forget my life for a bit.

    Is this a retelling of Snow White? It sounds like it to me.

    I hope that this helps even though I realize that I asked more questions than I gave answers. But I hope that this will help you solve your problem without you having to do a massive rewrite.

  3. Jennaral Lee says:

    Just out of curiosity, Mrs. Levine, how do you pronounce Rhys?
    And another question: in a few post you've mentioned numbers of pages (e.g. "When I've written three pages, I always think, 'I've written one percent'; at thirty pages I think 'ten percent'…" from the post Tick Tock, the Publishing Clock). What do you consider "one page"? Is that double-spaced or single-spaced, and in what word processor? How does the number of pages in a document on your computer generally translate to the number of pages in a published book?

  4. Elisa says:

    Bug, I wasn't able to answer you yesterday, so here are some of my TTDP ideas. This will be a fairly long comment, and I apologize in advance.
    1. The soldier is actually a spy, and he is investigating the disappearance of some of his fellow agents. The sisters are a small organization of counter intelligence agents, and the soldier is from a country at war with them.
    2. Quite frankly, I thought this one was WAY to creepy to ever use: The princesses are ghosts and are dancing in Hell.
    3. This one's a twist on king Thrushbeard (Or Hawknose). The king is the one forcing them to dance, because the eldest refused so many suitors. The soldier was King Thrushbeard.
    4. It's a jilted lover forcing them to dance
    5. The eldest princess is forcing them to dance
    6. It's the princesses' evil stepmother who's forcing them to dance.
    7. The princesses banished aunt, who tried to take the throne is the one cursing them. There's a good motive in that one. "Hah, brother, banish me will you, I'll show you! *Evil cackling*.
    8.The princesses are cursed, and in danger from an odd night-creature (Haven't figured out what it is, I decided not to go this way before I was able to decide what type of creature t is.) who is trying to harm them, but can only come out during moonless nights. Some king of the fairy realm takes pity on them and allows them to dance in his kingdom until their curse is broken.
    9. They are half fay, and dance in an in-between place, not the mortal world, yet, not the fay either. It is their curse until a mortal, or fay can recue and wed one of them. Competition between mortals and fays?
    10. They sleepwalk (I mean, sleepdance) because of a curse, cast upon them by an enemy of their parents.
    11. They are evil half-witch women, gorgeous and horrible, and want to kill off all the heirs of rival kingdoms.
    12. They must dance underground each of them for a year before they can be excepted into a community of sprites or elves. The older ones have started disappearing.
    Theses were some of my (very) random ideas. If any of these inspired you, feel free to use them, I didn't choose to go with any of these ideas, and they are free for the taking. I think there are more, I'll have to see if I deleted them yet. Hope I helped!

    • Bug says:

      Thank you, Elisa!!! These are very helpful.

      I was wondering, do any of the books you said might help have anything inappropriate? (I mean other than Once Upon a Beanstalk, which doesn't sound inappropriate at all.)

  5. Michelle says:

    I have this character. He's really quiet and hardly ever speaks. He ends up being a traitor in the second book, so I want to keep him silent because I feel it adds an air of mystery. But the problem is that in all the scenes he's in, I find myself forgetting that he's there (and he has to be in almost ever scene). I just don't know how to handle him.

    • Elisa says:

      Perhaps make him be something of a nervous person, who moves around a lot. He hates having people around him, because he thinks that they might be able to see that he's spying, and so when anyone approaches him, or gets close to him, he moves away. He'll move a lot, and so you won't forget about him. And if you get stuck in a scene, he'll be there to startle and jump away from someone, knocking down a book or priceless vase in the process. Also, he likes darkness, because, he fears they'll see that he is living a lie, so he stays in the darker corners of the rooms, and in the shadows. When he does speaks, he asks questions, or makes observations. And yet, he feels compelled to know what's going on, so he lingers around the table the maps are on, or the plans for an invasion, and sometimes bumps into people trying to keep his eyes on them, causing him to go fluttery. He often tries to memorize things, so that he can report them to whoever he is in league with. Your MC may hear him muttering things over and over again, practicing his ability to memorize things. also, give him a few more subtle, memorable quirks that will add to your story, such as, he loves gems. If, say, there's a jewel on a table, he'll hover around it. Or he is always fiddling with a decorative dagger. I'm not sure I quite understood your question correctly, so if I didn't, forgive me. Hope I helped.

  6. Michelle Dyck says:

    Okay, at the risk of sounding vague, here's a question for anyone who cares to answer.
    I recently discovered that my WIP needs *another* rewrite, possibly a dramatic one. Some story problems were brought to my attention, along with a few possible solutions. But most of the solution ideas don't fit within the 'rules' of my story.
    One especially tricky problem I need to fix involves doing a better job showing a threat to Earth (the story takes place in two different worlds: Earth and a made-up one). Currently, the threat to Earth is nonspecific, and therefore nonthreatening. I need to make it threatening, but to do so, my evil characters probably need access to Earth. The way my story is set up, however, they can't have that until a great many events fall into place. So I'm sort of at a loss. Do I drastically change the rules of my story world? I'd prefer figuring out a unique way to make things work with everything I've already established, but…
    I know that's a very muddled 'question' (more like problem), but if anyone has advice, I'd like to hear it!

    • Natalie says:

      Michelle, I've had this problem in my writing, too, and I completely sympathize with your confusion. What I've found that helps is to think about whether these "rules" are helping or hindering my story. Sometimes, plot twists come up that utterly alter a story's course. In that moment, some of the old rules, plot events, characters, or scenes may either become either irrelevant bits of information or stumbling blocks to further progress. The same is true in a situation such as yours, when the only way to save the story is to cut some of the old version's essentials. What I would advise you to do, if you can't find another way to fix the story's plot problems, is to weigh your reasons for and against changing the rules. Try making a chart with pros and cons of the two options (this really helps). Where could you take your story if you abolished the current rules, and what can happen if you keep them as they are? When you've finished, look back at it and ask yourself, "Which method will create a better story? What will move the plot along better, instigate more conflict, flesh out my characters more, or bring about a more satisfying ending? Which method can I more skillfully portray at my current writing level?" After looking at the pros and cons of your options, you may feel more confidence in your conclusion. And in the process, you may get some fresh inspiration for your story or maybe a new direction that you have never even considered.
      Best of luck with your rewrite!

    • gailcarsonlevine says:

      From the website:

      I am having a dilemma about a book I am writing (surprise!). I have written a good three-quarters of it, I would say, but a month ago took a break from it so I could write a story for a contest I was entering. After my contest story was completed and I went back to my book, I felt as if I had come up against a wall. I have waited for inspiration, read over what I have written and tried to get the writing juices flowing again … but I can't seem to get excited at all about my book.

      Now, I'll be truthful and tell you I suspect it's because I simply have lost the passion for the story I wished to tell. I don't believe it is writer's block. In fact, I feel eager to begin on a new book that I have had in the back of my head, on hold, until I had finished my latest one.

      I am struggling with the idea of doing that, though, because honestly, it will make me feel like a quitter. I put a lot of work into this book and am very reluctant to abandon it. But neither do I want to force something that isn't going to happen.

      I keep holding off on beginning my new book idea for fear that, once I begin it, there will be no going back to my old book. I have toyed with the idea of just giving the old book a break for a while, but that is exactly what I just did (while writing my contest story) and it made me LESS enthusiastic about the book – not more.

      Urgh.

      Sooo … what do you suggest? Do you think I should push through and finish my old book, for better or worse? Or begin on the new one and hope that inspiration will return for my old one at some point down the road?

      Thanks so much ahead of time for all the time and attention you put into your answers! I appreciate it so much 🙂

      Ashlee

    • Bibliophile says:

      Well, a new idea is like an itch… so scratch it! Honestly, I've had that same problem before and I found that for me, it helps to get your new idea down on paper. Even if it is only a few scenes or an outline it might get you motivated to write your old story.

    • gailcarsonlevine says:

      I agree with Bibliophile that you don't have to keep struggling with a story that no longer interests you. I wrote a post on this exact topic. You'll can read it by clicking on "Quitting" on the right.

    • faerietaleforest says:

      Thanks for the advice, Gail and Bibliophile 🙂 It actually feels more like "permission" than advice! Ha. I have been outlining my new book idea and will probably keep at it unless inspiration mysteriously strikes me for my old story again. I'm heading over to your post about this topic right now, too! Thanks again!!

  7. Michelle Dyck says:

    @Natalie: Thanks so much! It's good to get advice from someone who's been there. 🙂
    I think making a chart is a good idea. Sometimes I think best with a pen in my hand (or fingers on a keyboard, for that matter). So I'll take some time to jot down ideas and analyze the pros and cons of 'abolishing the current rules,' as you said.
    Thanks again! I appreciate it.

  8. gailcarsonlevine says:

    This from the website:

    Hi Mrs. Levine,
    I must admit I have not read any of your books. I came across your blog and I find it very helpful. I'm a seventh grader and as you said in your book, Writing Magic, once childhood is over, you can't capture it back. Unlike the stories that you have written, I am aiming to writing a book on myself. I have a very interesting background, being a traveling homeschooler, being a regular school going kid, living in two different countries at different times. I feel like I have so much to share, but I honestly don't know where to start. I love writing poems, though I don't read much of poems. I TOTALLY love reading books. How do you think I should start my journey of writing a book?

    And just so you know, i already write a lot. My creative juices are flowing. I'm a becoming writer, regular blogger and I write journals and poems.

    Thank you so much,
    Abby

    • gailcarsonlevine says:

      I haven't done much memoir writing, although there are snippets in WRITING MAGIC, or much autobiographical fiction, but I've written two related posts. To find them, click on "writing from life" on the right. Also, I think you should read this kind of book, memoirs and autobiographical fiction, which a librarian or a bookstore salesperson will help you find.

      I'm also adding your question to my list.

  9. Bug says:

    If you have kept a journal at all, I think that would be a pretty good place to start if you are writing a story on yourself. Do you mean a story based on your life, or a biography type thing? Either way, a journal would help a lot.

  10. Melissa says:

    I started a blog not too long ago and this week I have a post on homeschooling. I know that a lot of homeschoolers read Gail's lovely blog and I don't mean to misuse the comment section but I need as many people as I can get to just answer a few questions if you have the time. Here is the link http://melstorie.blogspot.com/
    Thanks for your help!

  11. Emma says:

    So, in the book I'm writing, the MC's boyfriend turns out to be an evil murderer. About halfway through the book the MC (and the readers, since it's in first person) learn what he's really like and during the second half of the book the MC is fighting him to stop him from killing a bunch of people. Up until he's revealed as a murderer the MC is madly in love with him, and it's a total shock when she finds out about him (he actually kills a girl who's like a little sister to the MC, so she goes from loving him to hating him while still caring about him some). I want the readers to like him at first, obviously, but then they have to hate him because he takes over as the main villain. I've given him a sort of darker personality, but I'm not sure if it's enough to hint at what happens later. Do you have any ideas? Thanks!

    • Bibliophile says:

      Ummm is there a justifiable motive? IE If he like knew that this girl would someday be an evil tyrant then it would make more sense if he killed her. I can see the confrontation scene now….

      I stared at him. First in disbelief, then in horror. "How could you do this Harry? She was just a child!" He stared down at his boots, if I didn't know better I would swear that tears were dripping down his cheeks. "Mary, I-I…." He stuttered into silence. I drew myself up and glared at him. The twisted spectacle of a man he was inside rose in front of me. He lifted his head. I ran.

      Umm, sorry about that. But I couldn't resist!!

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