Hi, I'd like to write my novel in first person POV, because I need to get inside the characters heads, know what they're thinking. But my Prologue would be much better written in third person, because it should be mysterious, draw the reader in. Would it be okay to write the Prologue in third person and the rest in first, or would this be weird? I'm just wondering.
How is your prologue drawing the reader in that the start of your chapter 1 can't? I don't general like or read prologues, but when I do, if they're in a different POV then they just feel even more detached from the story than normal. To me, it's kind of like showing the trailer for a movie as part of the opening credits for that very movie. Particularly bad if a novel's prologue is not even in the same POV, as then it just feels blatantly like the writer coming in to show you a preview of the book, which makes me wonder why chapter 1 isn't good enough and exactly how long I'm going to have to wait until the book gets 'good.' I mean, if the writer doesn't think it's even good enough to simply start the story... then I get some doubts. Personally, I wouldn't even have a prologue. And if you do have it, I'd keep it in the same tense/style/technique/etc as the main novel, to try to reduce its disconnect as much as possible, since by nature it's already a disconnecting mechanism. And don't put it all in italics.
Hmm, I guess that's true. I normally wouldn't have a prologue, but it seemed kind of right at the moment. It's just that the first chapter is all just really my MC meeting the other MC. yes, I think the first chapter is good enough for a beginning. It's kind of mysterious, and there's already something that you can wonder about, but that's beside the point. I wanted to introduce the character Raven, and what her everyday life had been like and how she actually got to Alyssa, the other character, without giving that much away. Now you're making me wonder if I really need the prologue, because I never really thought about it that way.
There are plenty of threads on the pros and cons of prologues. Sure, you can do the 3rd person POV prologue and then slide into first person POV for the main storyline. It depends on how well you write the prologue and it's value in what it does for the reader/story. It can be tricky doing the protagonist meets another MC and 'a day in the life' for the first chapter, and truly snag the reader's interest. And counting on a prologue to hook the reader to help them get past the first chapter (even if it has some mystery and has 'necessary content for the story to proceed' material) might not work out as well as hoped. Of course, I am talking in generalities. It's your story and you know what's going on and what would (and wouldn't) work best. You can always write the prologue and first chapter and keep writing...since you'll have to revise/edit the first draft anyway. Don't let this hang you up for too long. Better to write and get past this and revisit once you have the story finished (1st draft). You'll have a better perspective by then of what would work better when considering the context of the entire story. Hang in there and good luck moving forward.
