- 1). Write a list of all of the plot points you wish to portend.
- 2). Determine what class of omen you want to use for your readers. To do this, you need to know what kind of story you want to tell. For example, a story that takes place in nature (with bugs as characters, or a story about trees) might use natural omens. A story about Greek gods might use traditional Greek omens, such as birds or dreams. There are several classes of omens, including chance meetings and astrological/astronomical omens. There are also physiognomic omens (the appearance of a character predicts a certain outcome) and weather omens.
- 3). Connect an omen to each plot point you wish to augur or foretell. For example, if you chose physiognomy as your class of omen and want to portend a trip to Saturn, you could make the main character's eyes dusty brown at the edges (like the dust rings of the planet) with icy blue spots (representing the icy moons).
- 4). Determine where to place each plot point in the story. Omens that portend the rising action should appear near the beginning of a story, while omens that predict a resolution might need to appear closer to the climax.
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