Readers, particularly those who read a lot, love to be able to pick up on clues early in the story that might point to where the plot or a certain character is headed. They also don’t always have perfect memories and may well have forgotten an important point made earlier in the story. That’s why it’s important to use dialogue, at times, to either foreshadow coming events or remind the reader of something important that was established earlier.
Here’s an excellent example, in my opinion, of foreshadowing in a bit of dialogue from Leah in Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible:
“It’s a heavenly paradise in the Congo, and sometimes I want to live here forever.”
Those of you who have read the story will know exactly what I’m talking about and the rest of you can no doubt make an educated guess. (By the way, if you haven’t read this, you really ought to.)
I found another terrific example of foreshadowing early on in the book Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott:
“You did well to find Elizabeth. Find Elizabeth, find the seventeenth century, we always say. She has a gift.”
“You talk about her as if she’s still here.” I put my hand to the back of my neck suddenly. Something—the wind, a twig, a wind-blown leaf—had touched me there.
“Oh, but she is still here. I haven’t seen her yet, but she’s here all right. There are others here too. Don’t you feel them?”
Seized by Words 