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Nickeris86:
you could also go in the exact opposite direction and give absolutely no foreshadowing that this person is a shape shifter. what i mean is that you could treat the big personality and the little personality as completely different characters and not reveal until then end that they are the same person through some kinda dramatic confrontation.

have the big character complain about how he wishes he could move out of his little apartment but the rent is to good to pass up. and pretty much sever all connection between the two, give the big guy his own cloths and his own routine, maybe even his own job (freelance bouncer or something).

shades of grey:
theres always the classic sitting up and smacking his head on the roof "funny, never noticed the ceiling was that low before", then possibly stubs toes on the opposite wall getting out of bed

meh:

--- Quote from: Nickeris86 on April 14, 2010, 07:19:50 PM ---you could also go in the exact opposite direction and give absolutely no foreshadowing that this person is a shape shifter. what i mean is that you could treat the big personality and the little personality as completely different characters and not reveal until then end that they are the same person through some kinda dramatic confrontation.

--- End quote ---

I like this, even if it is a bit (click to show/hide)Fight Club

drza:
Thank you, everyone, for the suggestions.  I think that I should clarify a few things, though:

1) It's a first person story, so the "little guy" and the "big guy" are both "I" in the narrative. 

2) The "little guy" is actually an imitation of an actual person that the protagonist made a deal with.  So during the once a month when he turns big the other little guy comes to replace him, so the protagonist interacts with a character that looks, acts, and has the same name as the guy he had been earlier in the book.

3) My "foreshadowing" was already pretty heavy-handed, I thought.  I mean, I already had a scene where the little guy is fighting to keep from changing, where his limbs keep trying to enlarge and he is fighting with all he has to stay small.  Then, the next day he goes to a mark on the wall and determines that despite his best efforts he had already grown some.  That was why, before other people read it, I thought that it would be fine to have the character wake up in his big body the next day.

But I think that I will try a few things from your suggestions.  The jewelry piece idea especially fits, since I've already got a medallion that the protagonist wears and I can just reference that right off the bat when he wakes up.  I also think that I could be a bit clearer with my descriptions immediately pre- and post- change so that the change transition is really the only thing that the reader has to wrestle with instead of having a few other loose ends the way that it is currently written.

Thanks again, and if you have any other advice by all means keep it coming.

Starbeam:
The foreshadowing might seem heavy handed to you, but not necessarily to readers.  You know what's going to happen, and sometimes that ends up things not being explained/shown as clearly as it could be.  Which is why most people tend to look for someone to read for them.  And since you mentioned you have beta readers, ask them where they got confused, and if they noticed the foreshadowing.  And what might help to make it clearer.  You might need to give them specifics to look for, or ask specific questions for them to pay attention to stuff.  They have to remember that they're reading to try to help you improve the piece, not just because you asked them to read it.

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