Who can do this?
Owners and co-authors with rights create hints, edit them, move them to the trash and restore them. If a co-author is restricted to certain books, they can only choose scenes from those books.
Foreshadowing
With foreshadowing you keep track of planted plot threads and how they are resolved.
What is it for?
A foreshadowing hint is a clue that is meant to pay off later. You record it with the scene it appears in, a short description and how noticeable it is. Later you note whether and where it was resolved, was meant as a red herring, or has been discarded.
The status is the basis of the reminder: every hint with the status “Open” creates an “Open foreshadowing” flag in the Illuminatio Engine. As soon as you change the status, the flag disappears on the next run. That way no thread gets lost, and you do not need to keep a list of your own.
The page also works as a planning overview: it shows all hints of the project at a glance. Deleted entries land in the trash first and can be restored.
How it works
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Open “Continuity”, choose “Foreshadowing” and then “New hint”.
What you see afterwards: The “New hint” dialog opens.
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Choose the “Chapter” and the “Scene” and describe the hint under “What was hinted at?”.
What you see afterwards: The foreshadowing hint is linked to a specific scene.
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Set the “Subtlety” and the “Status” and save.
What you see afterwards: The entry appears in the list.
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Later, open the entry, update the status and the “Resolution chapter” and choose “Save”.
What you see afterwards: “Saved.”
Your data
Hints belong to the project and are backed up and exported with it. An entry in the trash is kept for 30 days.
Limits
The scene selection requires that the chapter text contains scene dividers; otherwise it shows “This chapter has no scene dividers in its text yet.” The description has at most 10,000 characters. There is no quantity limit for hints on the Free plan. The flag appears after a run; with Vastitas, a run starts by itself after every change.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between “Discarded” and “Intentional red herring”?
Both close the thread. “Intentional red herring” stands for a hint that misleads on purpose, “Discarded” for one you no longer pursue.
When does the “Open foreshadowing” flag disappear?
When the status is no longer “Open”, the engine removes the flag on the next run.
Why does the scene selection show nothing?
The chosen chapter has no scene dividers in its text yet. Add them in the editor, and the scenes then appear in the selection.