: Re: How to write a prophecy? No, I'm not actually asking you to tell me how to predict the future! Several pieces of fiction I've read/watched recently have prophecies. One of my favourites is

As usually with all riddles, start from the end - what the prophecy describes.

Write or at least plan thoroughly the story, leaving a placeholder where the prophecy has to go.

Then sum up the events that are to be prophesized, actors involved, their role, the effects. Try to get that into about the size you want your prophecy to take.

And then get to convoluting it. Start replacing names with metaphors, involving deeds or characteristics of the subjects involved. You may consider writing it as a rhymed riddle. Make sure to obfuscate, give it double meanings; good if the second meanings are deceiving - match both the actual subject and some completely different subject that still has a prominent place in the story.

Depending if you want the prophecy, or a part of it to be understandable from moment one, involve factors that are already known at the time the prophecy is encountered. The parts that are to remain unclear should reference factors either not known to the reader at the time, or not yet fully understood. Nevertheless, spice it up with a few grains of clarity, something the reader can understand readily and grasp as obviously relevant - say, alternate name of a place, or an obvious, unique trait of a significant character. If the whole prophecy is a mystical mumbo-jumbo without a single good hint, it will not be attractive.

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: Have the ending in mind and backtrace from there. The events serve one fundamental purpose: reaching the final resolution. Everything else is secondary, hides or reveals motives, caveats and

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: Insecurity with a short story about mountains and love This is printed on very nice paper. The letters are detailed, elegant and pitch black with slightly blurred edges. You can feel the ink

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: Should I use hypophoras at the beginning of every paragraphs? Hypophora is a figure of speech in which a writer raises a question and then immediately provides an answer to that question.

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: How should footnotes be used in non-paginated media? How should footnotes be attached to a text that doesn't form pages? Say, a lengthy text, over 10,000 words as a single webpage but with

: Re: How to write a prophecy? No, I'm not actually asking you to tell me how to predict the future! Several pieces of fiction I've read/watched recently have prophecies. One of my favourites is

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: Have the ending in mind and backtrace from there. The events serve one fundamental purpose: reaching the final resolution. Everything else is secondary, hides or reveals motives, caveats and

: Insecurity with a short story about mountains and love This is printed on very nice paper. The letters are detailed, elegant and pitch black with slightly blurred edges. You can feel the ink

: Should I use hypophoras at the beginning of every paragraphs? Hypophora is a figure of speech in which a writer raises a question and then immediately provides an answer to that question.

: How should footnotes be used in non-paginated media? How should footnotes be attached to a text that doesn't form pages? Say, a lengthy text, over 10,000 words as a single webpage but with

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