How about if my protagonist is on the plane, going home to Egypt (He's half American, half Egyptian) and is already doubtful of his will to go back home. He says something similar to: 'Was I going there to satisfy the urge of revenge, to kill my mother's murderer? I sure wasn't going there because I'm amazed by the Pharaohs or for missing my old friends whom I don't seem to even remember their names. And what if the past I feared to rise again finally did, especially that I was now headed to the same place where every dilemma in my life had taken place.' That's only a part and it isn't exactly what I'm going to say, but is it generally good? I finished the novel, by the way. So, please don't think my style is that bad. I know I have too many grammar and punctuation errors, but I'm just too stunned that I'm done and I can't think of anything right!!
It depends on how well you write the final version, and how well it fits with the rest of the novel. Why ask us?
I know that, but I wanted to know if the idea would pull the reader in. I delayed the epilogue until I finished the novel.
I think you mean Prologue. An epilogue happens at the end of a novel. While a prologue is at the begining. But is it really needed? Couldn't you just add the prologue/epilogue as the first/final chapter?
You're right. I'll forget about the prologue then. And yea, it was prologue, not epilogue. I didn't even notice >.<''
I get them confused sometimes too. If you want to add them thats completely up to you. Whether they work or not comes to how they are written. Something thats full of info dumping is only going to bore the readers. If done right it can capture their attention and want to keep reading. But this could easily just be done in the first chapter.
To be honest, I'm not a big fan of prologues. Necessary background information can be slipped in throughout the story, a bit here and a bit there, so that readers know what they need to know by the time they need to know it. Prologues, on the other hand, (this is generally speaking) tend to dump ALL the information on the reader at once, rather than weaving it in naturally. I usually skim over prologues or just skip them entirely, because most come across as dry history lessons. Not saying this to dis on your prologue, of course. As the author, you're the best judge of whether or not your story should have one -- and if you can write one without it being boring, then kudos to you. If you DO decide to include a prologue, please fill it with lots of dialogue and action-filled scenes. No one wants to read a long diatribe about a character's ancestors or anything to that effect.
Some people go for: "There I was, weaning myself from suckling every second. I had to face that clown that killed my grandfather. Even now I can see his huge smile, every hair every crack filled and sticking out in brilliant red. Red like blood." While others think that type of writing is really very silly and has no place in fiction whatsoever except as a coping mechanism for being unable to write a really gripping piece. Something can be like an epilogue and not corny. Consider the ending to Lord of the Rings. They didn't just all go home and be merry, no, they had an all out hobbit brawl. Sam got married. And Frodo went to rehab across the seas. The example you've given us could use a lot of revision. I'm glad you completed your novel, but be wary of asking for advice on bits out of context. That can tend to make errors, like your repetition of "place", more glaring.
I've only used a prologue once, and it was in the most recent novel I wrote (not actually finished with it, yet). It sets up the situation in the present day, in which the reader learns that there is an unpleasant past history among the main characters, and then the body of the novel flashes back in time. Also, the prologue is written in the first person, while the rest of the novel is written in the third person. I'd never done that before, and I must say it opened up a lot of possibilities. My advice is to write a prologue if you really feels your story needs one, but only then. In my case, I wanted to set up the fact that the main character has really changed over time, making the reader more tolerant of him when he's rotten in the early years. YMMV.
