Writing many stories set in the past, I often have characters engaging in conversations that foreshadow future events to help set the story in that time frame. As just a few examples, in 'Banging Cousin Becky In Blackpool' which is set in 1955 titular character Becky who is from Liverpool argues with her Aunt Agatha, and asserts that in a few years' time one of the world's greatest bands might emerge from her home city. In 'April Leads Julie Astray' which is set in North Carolina in October 1963, the two girls discuss November being a dull month, April saying to Julie that if in the future anyone asks them what they did in November 1963, they would be sure not to remember. In 'Bridget the Bossy Bridezilla' which is set in Brisbane Australia in 1993, a grumpy Croatian father does not approve of his daughter's love of grunge music, and says that if he made grunge he would get a gun and shoot himself in the head. In 'Janelle & the Janitor' which is set in early 2001, drama queen narrator Janelle laments that if she doesn't make it to the ladies' room soon then the 'biggest disaster of 2001 will take place in her panties'.
While I obviously have the benefit of hindsight as an author to write these scenes, have you ever written a story that seemed to foreshadow a future event that took place after publication? It could be a major or minor plot line, or simply a throw away line, but which seemed somehow prophetic? Not to the scale of early science fiction novel 'Futility' by Morgan Robertson published in 1898 which seems to foretell the Titanic disaster of 1912 with amazing accuracy, but enough to stand out re-reading the story?
I got a comment today on one of my fetish stories 'Spying on a Spoiled Brat' published in early December 2019 and set earlier that same year, where the narrator Steve is a painter and decorator and he and his team are re-painting a posh house in an expensive suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Steve gets a call from one of his team Barry, who has come down with the flu and calls in sick. Steve notes that Barry 'sounds like he has the flu in 1918 rather than 2019', a simple line that could easily be overlooked had this story not been published just a month before the commencement of the COVID 19 pandemic and which now is kind of eerie, like a premonition. I had actually noted this myself, but a reader also picked up on this on their comment.
Have you had any similar experiences?
While I obviously have the benefit of hindsight as an author to write these scenes, have you ever written a story that seemed to foreshadow a future event that took place after publication? It could be a major or minor plot line, or simply a throw away line, but which seemed somehow prophetic? Not to the scale of early science fiction novel 'Futility' by Morgan Robertson published in 1898 which seems to foretell the Titanic disaster of 1912 with amazing accuracy, but enough to stand out re-reading the story?
I got a comment today on one of my fetish stories 'Spying on a Spoiled Brat' published in early December 2019 and set earlier that same year, where the narrator Steve is a painter and decorator and he and his team are re-painting a posh house in an expensive suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Steve gets a call from one of his team Barry, who has come down with the flu and calls in sick. Steve notes that Barry 'sounds like he has the flu in 1918 rather than 2019', a simple line that could easily be overlooked had this story not been published just a month before the commencement of the COVID 19 pandemic and which now is kind of eerie, like a premonition. I had actually noted this myself, but a reader also picked up on this on their comment.
Have you had any similar experiences?
