While I know some people hate prologues, as I go into my second draft, I find that there are two scenes that I think would improve the story if added as a prologue (and if critique partners hate it I can always take it out) of course, I'm not going to include both, so I need to decide which one would work better. This is a high fantasy story about a woman (Val) who joins a budding revolution on a flying island, while also dealing with a strange voice in her head and a dangerous ancient magical relic being re-discovered. Option 1: Seven years before the main story, Val was part of an anti-corruption social movement and took part in a march that turned violent on the part of the 'police/guards'. Val attacked one of these guards in an attempt to protect a fellow protestor and was arrested. Pros: I could probably get away with just calling this chapter 1. It shows the protagonist in an active role (while she is forced into a more passive role for the current chapter 1). It depicts an event that is directly relevant to the present-day revolution plot. It gives an interesting then-and-now comparison between the young idealistic Val and the version that's been stuck in prison for seven years. Cons: It doesn't involve any fantasy elements whatsoever, and neither does most of the next chapter. I also made 'why was Val in prison' a bit of a mystery in the first few chapters, so I'd be cutting that, but quite frankly that was because I couldn't find a natural place to include it without info-dumping before chapter 4 so I'm not too concerned about removing that. Option 2: Set in the distant past, it follows Ava (who will later be revealed to be 'the voice' in Val's head) as she struggles to activate the mechanism that will cause the currently earthbound island to fly before a militia reaches it, sacrificing her own life in the process. Pros: Clearly and obviously fantasy. Fleshes out a major secondary character (Ava) and adds impact when the nature of 'the voice' is finally revealed. Mirrors a scene near the climax (In which Val gets stabbed by the magical mechanism) and adds context for what happens next. While not as directly relevant as option 1, it still nicely sets up the mystery portion of the plot. Cons: It has more of the traditional prologue problems in that doesn't introduce the MC, and isn't obviously related to the main storyline at first. It will also be more difficult to pull off without being confusing, but that's something I can deal with in editing. Thoughts?
what do you want to accomplish with your prologue? do you want to introduce the world, or introduce the character? do you want to introduce the plot, a trigger, or an after effect? for example, if you watch the series "How To Get Away With Murder" each episode starts with a "prologue" so to speak, that takes place in the future (a bunch of characters arguing over what to do with a dead body, for example). Audience is left with thinking "what happened???". Then the episode actually starts, and, over the course of the episode, you piece together what happened in the "prologue." i have a prologue in my WIP. It takes place years before my MC is even born. She's not related to this man, she's not even from the same village as this man, but I wanted to establish the spirituality of my "world" (dying man talking to Death), and I also wanted to establish the morality of my world (man left to die because he did something wrong). These things are very important in the story itself. Even though the prologue isnt about the MC, the outcome of the events is tied to her story. both of your prologues seem fine to me... but in order for you to make a decision for yourself, you need to think about what you want to achieve with a) a prologue (in general), and b) the prologue you choose
I wouldn't necessarily count the fact that Option 2 doesn't introduce the MC as a con. Many of the best-selling novels out there don't have their MC in the prologue. Like @J.T. Woody says, it can be used to introduce the world and theme more. Game of Thrones, both the book and the TV show started off by showing 3 throwaway characters - purely for the reason it introduces the Wall, the white walkers, the Night's Watch, and one of the three ends up going south and tipping off the main character (Ned Stark) that something bad is coming. Other books do similar things. If you want my personal option? I would plumb for #2. It sounds like it sets up a lot more. It introduces your world, its mythos, and readers tend to love foreshadowing that gets revealed at a later date. Ava seems to fulfill that role very well. In fact, more importantly, it may pay off in a better way than you intend. Because part of getting readers to like your work is about earning their trust. They will give you leeway to present things that they don't understand, straight off the bat,... as long as you then repay that trust by making it have a purpose later. By presenting Ava and that option, you are essentially saying to the reader "I'm not wasting your time, this will be important later." You're making them an unspoken promise. And, when it does become relevant later, they then see you weren't wasting their time and they trust you more the next time you need leeway. Promise made, promise kept. Trust is earned. Do not underestimate that effect.
Feels like it might be a good idea to include both scenes. The second one could be the prologue and the first one be chapter 1. Is there any particular reason why you are intending to only include one?
I have a pretty strong idea of what I want to accomplish with each prologue, my issue is that each accomplishes something different that I find equally valuable. I've really been waffling on which way I want to go for a while. That's an interesting way of looking at it, I hadn't thought about it before! I was trying not to stretch out too much space before the actual story starts rolling (speeding up the pacing at the beginning has been one of my main edits this round) but actually, I might give that a go and see how it reads. Thanks for the idea
Yes, I agree with Steve Rivers. A prologue does NOT need to 'introduce' the MC at all. In fact, the purpose of a prologue is often to get the reader up to speed on aspects of the situation they need to know BEFORE the main character appears at all. It's easy enough to play out the MC's personal backstory during the ordinary chapters. Option 2 gives you a chance to set up the framework for the story's somewhat supernatural elements. The word Prologue indicates that this chapter has elements which are different from the rest of the story. It can be a different character, different location, different time period ...but it WILL have direct impact on the story. So go ahead and use a prologue as a writer. Stubborn readers will skip your prologue at their peril. However, choosing Option 2 will take away any mystery about the 'voice' your main character will be hearing. So keep that in mind. However, turning everything into a mystery is not as intriguing as it sounds. It can just be an annoying diversion. If the main thrust of the story is what your main character DOES with the information the voice is giving her, then why take pains to make its source a secret? It may be a secret to her, but does it need to also be a secret to your readers? If the readers know about the origin of this voice, but your MC doesn't, the intrigue for readers will come in waiting for her to discover the truth. Forget chronic Prologue-haters. They're the ones who will struggle to follow the story, if they skip yours.
I don't think there is anything against prologues, but against writers misusing them, which might cause a disruption in the reading rather than generating expectations and excitement, like already explained by @J.T. Woody and @Steve Rivers above. I prefer when a prologue doesn't introduce the MC, but rather the world and/or theme of the novel. It makes more sense to me why it is a prologue and not a chapter in the book. Because it is generally shorter, the prologue can take long strides and present a question that will later find its answer. I find it exciting when reading about a world, and then wait in the story for it to see why it is important, how the MC is related to it. I personally prefer option 2.
