Signposts

When a character has a realization or comes to an important understanding

When a character is given serious advice

When the action of a story is interrupted to flashback in time to an earlier event

When a character acts the opposite of how they usually do, or the opposite of what you'd expect

When an image, event or phrase keeps being repeated

When a character wonders something to themselves or asks themselves something important

When you read fiction, what should you do?

What is the signpost: "As I walked down the street and saw the ice cream store, I remembered back to when I was five years old and my grandma would always buy me an ice cream treat when I came to visit"

What is the signpost: "Nick woke up late on Monday: "Great!" he thought sarcastically. Then, when he got to work, he discovered that they had run out of coffee. "Great!" he thought. Then, the people around him were playing annoying music super loud. "Great!" he thought. After a long day he finally returned home. He was exhausted. All he wanted to do was be alone, where no one could bother him, but his doorbell rang. When he went to answer the door, he discovered a letter. He opened it; it said "I just wanted to send you a bit of sunshine to brighten your day." There was a giftcard to his favorite coffeeshop inside. "Wow", he thought. "This is great!" And for the first time that day, he smiled.

What is the signpost: Michelle usually came home from school, ate a snack, worked on her homework and then helped her little brother practice piano. Most days she would do her chores the first time she was asked, and she would even go out of her way to try and compliment someone each day. But not today. Today, was different. Today was the beginning of the end.