1. EFF_FireFly

    EFF_FireFly New Member

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    To Prologue or Not to Prologue?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by EFF_FireFly, Apr 1, 2017.

    Hah, I feel like I should be hiding behind something. Those words are something of a war opener around here, aren't they?

    Now, I know the general opinions concerning prologues, and I know the reasons writers can consider them unnecessary.

    Here's my dilemma: when I wrote the original story for the project I am currently working on things like perspective and point of view weren't exactly in my wheelhouse. I wrote an awesome scene introducing major conflict and personal background, as well as one of the 'minor' villains of the story.

    Unfortunately, the power of the scene occurs because it is from the perspective of the villain. I think that it expresses the problems and introduces the conflict very well, but I'm never in that character's head again. Also, in rewriting the story I'm contemplating adding more to the beginning of the story, the Ordinary World scenes, before the narrative hits the Inciting Incident and introduces all of the problems.

    I think if I take the scene, expand on it, and then place it in a prologue I can preserve the elements of the scene that help the narrative without worrying that I'm head-hopping or screwing up the perspective.
     
  2. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Yes, you can. Keep working that, and see how it turns out. However, don't use it as a dump. Make it a vital launch of your story. The fact that he is the protagonist, but will never be again, sounds like a good reason to make this a prologue. But make him jump out at the reader and be a vital enough character—enough that the reader will worry about encountering him again. Don't use it simply as a reason to 'explain' his motives or give us the history of the world.
     
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2017
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  3. EFF_FireFly

    EFF_FireFly New Member

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    Thanks for the encouragement. And the scene has never been a dump, the character comes up several times in the first part of the story and then the memory of what they did lingers like a bad smell. I just never write from that perspective again. I'm glad to get positive feedback. I really was cringing when I posted it.
     
  4. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    My concern would be about the reader really enjoying that character and feeling cheated to never be in his head again. Is it mandatory that he never return as a POV character?
     
  5. EFF_FireFly

    EFF_FireFly New Member

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    It's a valid point, the reader may enjoy seeing the story from this character's perspective, but no, there isn't really a chance I'll be returning to her pov. Frankly, she's written as the villain and she has more than a few screws lose. She arrives, facilitates plot and character development, continues do that through the entire story as characters battle with what she did, but she spends very little time on screen past the first chapter of the story.

    Thank you for your input.
     
  6. Stormburn

    Stormburn Contributor Contributor

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    I've recently had the same debate. I went with a prologue because it launched the reader into the character and her story, but, it did not fit into the beginning of the story. I wrote the entire story for my series. It was part of the story. It could not be cut out or merged in any other part of the story. So, I did have a prologue.
    Godspeed!
     
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  7. Norita Sieffert

    Norita Sieffert New Member

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    My feeling on prologues is that if your story may start out a little slow, but you know it's going to get exciting if the reader can hang in there, then use a prologue to show that something really exciting and/or intriguing is coming. It hooks them from the beginning and keeps them reading until the exciting stuff actually starts happening.

    Or, you use a prologue to introduce something that wouldn't be introduced right up front, but might be essential to the story later. I think of how Clive Cussler does this in his books. It's quite effective.
     
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  8. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    No, no, no, that's a terrible reason to include a prologue! All you're going to do is make the reader feel cheated.

    If you (general 'you', not you Norita) can't hook readers without a gimmick, you have issues a prologue won't fix.
     
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2017
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  9. Tobin Rickard

    Tobin Rickard Member

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    When I started working on one of my current WIPs, it was as a short story. I fell in love with the character and was curious what happened to him after our journey had ended. The two stories were only tangentially related, but I thought it was a short and important enough story to bring into the overall book. That's how it became my prologue. My feelings on prologues are that they belong to the story if the story asks for them, and nothing more.
     
  10. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    I like prologues, but @Tenderiser is right. A prologue shouldn't be an excuse to start the story with a bang, to 'grab' the reader.

    The start, no matter what you call it, should never be a gimmick, for the reason Tenderiser stated. The last thing you want to do is leave the reader feeling cheated or deflated. Your best bet is to work with rising action. Start slow and build. Obviously however your story starts, it needs to intrigue the reader from the beginning. But don't use starting intrigue as a chance to dump dull stuff on the reader just afterwards.

    Also keep in mind that 'slow' isn't bad. It's only bad if it's dull or boring. Don't be afraid of a slow start. Be afraid of a dull or boring start.
     
  11. EFF_FireFly

    EFF_FireFly New Member

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    Thank you all for your advice.
     

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