I was planning on doing character and development, but I had to get this part done!

Intro
You know those messages that StarClan cats give? Yup, those are prophecies. If your book contains a prophecy, it is what ties the entire book together!These messages can be difficult, so sit back, and read how to write a good prophecy!

What to do(and not to do):
When you are writing a prophecy, it's important not to make it too obvious. I recommend not putting in your cat's name. For example: (the cat's name in the following example is Reedwing)

Version 1
"When an old enemy returns for revenge on the clan, the reeds in the bed of bulrushes will rise and either save or destroy the clan." (This was my friend's first prophecy)

Version 2
"When time repeats itself, the life at the depth of the lake will rise and bring with it, life or death." (My rewritten version)

Look at the difference. The things that you should do if your prophecy is like the first one include:
1. Take out the name. Never include the first part of your cat's name(or the last part)
2. Remove "The clan". This just ruins the prophecy...
3. Remove anything that gives details of events with actual happening. (In this case, "When an old enemy returns for revenge on the clans".) This statement is too specific, and it destroys the purpose of a prophecy.

If you look at the example above, you can easily tell that while less obvious, the prophecy has virtually the same meaning. "The life at the depth of the lake," is a less obvious reference to reeds, which are living things that live at the bottom of lakes and stuff. Even more perfect, the clan of this character(who fully belongs to warriors613 ) is LakeClan! The new version also gives no specific details, but "time repeating itself" replaces the overly specific "when an old enemy returns for revenge..."

Something you can do is take your cat's suffix, and really tear it apart. Pick apart what it really is. If your prophecy is describing a cat who will betray their clan, and your cat's name is Dawnwing, start with this(as far as putting your cat in the prophecy, not what's gonna happen): "The day's beginning will betray the clan." Yes guys, I'm aware that the last part sucks. This was only to show you how to put a cat's name in your prophecy without it being obvious. You see how the beginning still describes Dawn without starkly saying "Dawn".
Now, we must continue to the last part.
When creating this part, you also need to really break apart what is happening. A great way to write a prophecy is to make it in a way where your characters can easily misinterpret it. It is supposed to be mysterious and a little bit difficult to figure out. Something else you can do is try is try to relate the second part(which describes the event) to your beginning(the name). Example time!!!! "The day's beginning will turn from the light and fall back to the darkness." You know, Dawn brings light of day, falls to the darkness... I hope you understand, because that really helps me! The light is her loyalty to the clan, and the darkness is her betrayal and dark side.

Receiving a Prophecy
I have seen people do great prophecies, but just ruin it with how they are received. When you have a StarClan cat give your cat a prophecy, it's important that it is mysterious. From just receiving the message, we must gain little information on the prophecy giver. They shouldn't speak much to your cat. They definitely shouldn't have a friendly conversation, and never make them say "goodbye" or whatever when they are leaving. Most likely, your character will be asking for an explanation on the prophecy, which is perfectly normal. If your StarClan cat says "goodbye", this is what I imagine they are thinking: I really don't want to explain it.... But, since StarClan is where the Clans' faith lies, you can make them do another mysterious, but slightly more hopeful statement. You can also make them dramatically disappear without another word. It's a matter of preference.

I always have the feeling of forgetting something, so let me know if I did! This is a long part, and I hope it helps you! May StarClan light your path!