I thought about it, and I could place it somewhere else, but for the moment, I'm keeping what I wrote as a prologue. It's a major decision, so I have to see how everything else turns out around it. MsMyth: I'll send it to you when I finish it. Might be a few days or so, though.
I tend to like prologues in books. It gives me some back story and gets me interested right off the bat.
so, it's not double-spaced... that would be more than 4 pages in a book... and too long for a prologue, imo...
When it comes to prologues, here's how I do it. I never decide to write a prologue at the beginning of a novel project. First, I will write the entire novel in first draft. It is during the revision stage that I consider whether a prologue is necessary in relation to the entire novel.
Yeah, same here, and it adds instant history to the (upcoming) present narrative. I also feel that because I can see action that roots the story in the world's history IN a scene, it will hold a little more weight.
Hey guys, I was wondering if a story had to have a prologue. I usually skip over the prologue and start from chapter 1 in a book, but do you HAVE to write one? I'm not really sure what I would write as the prologue anyway.
Quite often prologues are little more than info dumps with minimal-- if any-- action. If you can't think of a reason to write one, or what to write in it, you definitely don't need one.
I wrote a prologue for one of my books, which was a scene for the purpose of establishing suspense that the first chapter otherwise wouldn't have. I don't really appreciate prologues which are essentially info dumps either.
If it's short, sweet, relevant & tactfully done. Otherwise, you're probably better off writing it as a stand alone novel or not at all.
I'm not sure if it's a forum etiquette thing, but what's wrong with thread archaeology? Discussions never die, they just break for recess ;-) Personally, I like prologues. I read/write historical fiction, where they are quite common. They are used with varying degrees of success, and I agree that the infodumpy ones are a pretty tough slog to read. But if done well I certainly see no reason to persecute them simply for being a prologue. My current WIP has a prologue, which is getting to be chapter length. I guess you could call it backstory, but the events are shown as they happen, not dryly told as they would be were I to intersperse references throughout the chapters. But this is only a first draft. If it doesn't make the grade, it will go in the rewrite.
I have the prologue from my novel posted somewhere in the novel feedback forums, and the comments it recieved pretty much mirror what most others are saying...don't do them, or try your darndest not to write one. Generally I believe in this train of thought, but wouldn't you know it, I found a reason to write one...My main characters have zero reason to discuss why the Earth became the way it is, because none of them were alive when it happenned (post apocolypse thing). To them, things have always been the way they are. I know here in America we really dont sit around and talk about 1776 in any sort of bar conversations...but it is still pretty important to the history of the country. So, in order to help the reader understand why people act the way they do, I felt a backstory, infodump, whatever you want to call it was in order. I kept it as short as I could and hit the main points. It is less than 1k words by a good bit but still dry...not great, but it will do. Now, the easiest way for me to fix the dryness and make it engaging for the reader is to write say 4k words like yourself in some sort of reliving the past flashback scene when the Earth gets hit by a meteor and everyone tries to stop it...I don't want to waste a bunch of time with dead characters. 4k is too long for that, and I hate flashbacks...I find them much more distracting than a brief infodump. Brevity is key when trying to force feed readers I think, but face it, some times force feeding is needed. I suggest keeping in mind the points people have made while you re-write your current prologue. My guess is you will easily cut that 4k in half if not throw it out all together.
This is a very informative thread; I learned a lot from the discussions. I think a sensible prologue would be a link to a future event in your book, but a subject that doesn't need much explaining itself and is effectively a side story to you main story. It is then meant to avoid the reader feels cheated. Example: some treasure is stolen from Indians by bad guys (prologue). The story is actually set 100 years later and in the plot this old treasure suddenly pops up, making clear a lot of actions/events that were presented throughout the whole story....
Unsure I have a short introduction to the story, from the point of view of the antagonist, and most likely we will not see things from his perspective at any other point of the story, but I'm not sure if this should go as a prologue, or if I should extend it a bit to make it chapter 1.
I've written a prologue for my novel. It's short, less that 1,500 words and it foreshadows the events leading up to the main plot of the book. I view the prologue as sort of a "trailer" if you will. People who go to a brick and mortar store will want to read the 1st few pages to see if it piques their interest. The idea with the prologue is to give them just enough to make them want to dive in for more. Give them enough insight as to what is going on but don't tell them everything. Mystery is a good thing, even outside the genre.
Ok, four pages of dissing (more or less) prologues, but no one (or did I miss something?) clearing out when they are actually acceptable and how to use them. Because some of you said prologues could be a good tool. Please specify, someone. I have a prologue in my current novel and its not an infodump, I think is about 1000 words or less, I think it fits perfectly in the context, so I wanna hear your opinions on when they are right!
I'd be interested in seeing someone specify, as well. For years I've been hearing pro-prologue arguments (or attempts, at least) and trying to figure out when and how one is useful and good myself, and haven't come up with anything. Usually, everything someone cites as good for prologues, can be done just as well or better in Chapter 1, but without the stigma and/or disconnect of it being a prologue.
The best way to decide is to go to the bookstore and/or library, pull books off the shelf that are similar to yours (genre/intended audience) and see how many use a prologue. And of those that do, how they use them and how long they tend to be. You can even narrow your focus to houses you'd like to see your work published by. You can use what you discover as a guide.
I've done that already, at least checking out the length and frequency, and since it's being used so often I don't understand why so many people are against it. I guess I have to check another time to see how they actually used it too, although I think I automatically have used mine in a way similar to those I have read without ever having analyse it, because I usually work that way with things, especially about writing, language, grammar and spelling. (in my own language that is) I am very much for doing things out of a general feeling of what is right. Must be some kind of gut feeling, lol, but I have learned to trust it. I have never had anything against prologues, they don't bother me at all, I actually like them. They give a foretaste of the story-theme without throwing you directly into the action.
And yet, one of the only bits of writing advice I've ever seen that nearly all agree on is that a story should throw the reader directly into the action.
Lol, I know, and chapter 1 really starts in the middle of the action, And that's how I like it, I like getting a short hint before start reading. Mine is around 3 pages long, I think it's quite reasonable, and even in the prologue you're being thrown right into the action... That's why I wanted some general rules about how to use the prologue, so I could compare it to mine, but I guess there are no rules because it's actually not prohibited at all, it's just forum-people disliking it.
I have a similar problem, only mine is much bigger. My prologue is over 10,000 words, so that's pretty much a chapter. It's so different from the rest of the story though, and because the rest of the story itself needs backstories, I feel it would get too chaotic if I take out the prologue and try to place it on other parts of the story. I feel like it's important though, cause the connection between the antagonist and his actions needs to be there.
