hi i am doing my WIP and reaching chapter 8 and i have a few ideas on a prologue i think i said this correctly but not sure how long it should be my idea is it being a scene between the two MC that turned really bad their relationship since from chapter one they have a bad relationship since that night but something else has also happened the next morning to make the male MC walk away from her and creating more distance. my idea is to just have the first "problem" or "scene" for the readers in the prologue and from chapter 1 to 8 other facts about the situation coming to light but only when getting to chapter 8 the real reasons be completely out and massive secrets revealed shattering both MC and the next chapter 9 be focused on the dealing with the ramifications and trying to end the conflicts created i hope this makes sense
If you are determined to have a prologue, I suggest making it shorter rather than longer. Also, keep in mind that some readers skip prologues (they're more likely to skip long ones, in my opinion) so putting information in the prologue that is essential to the story might be mistake. On the other hand, if it's not essential why even have the prologue? DISCLAIMER: I generally hate prologues.
even if there's a gap? so the event that changed the MC happened 10 years before, so the point of the prologue was to show at least some of why they have such a bad relationship in starting chapter 1 but throughout the chapters i have shown reasons for their actions back then and how it has changed them. in chapter 8 is where the big secrets that pushed them apart is revealed so wasn't sure to go back and adding more hints or to add a prologue with at least part of the reason if that makes sense
IMO, the reasonable prologue is 4 or less paragraphs. Any more implies a chapter. That said, is the prologue needed? In your first chapter or two, you could flashbacks but only if that is truly needed.
