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| that’s mine |
I like them when I don’t notice them. I can’t stand them when I do. I swear I won’t write one and yet I have.
Not much help there, is there?
Prologues are a dang if you do and a dang if you don’t. How much? How little? Direct copy from later in your book? New material not found later in your book? Should it be a build-up of what’s to come or backstory to lead your readers in?
Confused? Yup, so am I.
I will admit right here and now that every time I open a submission with a prologue I groan. This doesn’t mean I automatically toss the submission to reject. It means I’ve read too many dull or un-needed prologues.
I’ve seen some prologues which should just have been titled Chapter One…then deleted and have the story start at Chapter Two (or Three). Some prologues have been info-dumps which would have served the story better if sprinkled/weaved/blended (yeah, like that word, blended) into the story when relevant to that moment’s action.
Yes, this also means information from previous books in a series. No reader…least the many I’ve talked with…wants to read pages upon pages of old storylines. Again, blend the VITAL bits at the right time. Glide the old news into the new.
But, but, but…no. GET TO THE STORY. No hesitating. No, you’re not really being cleaver by hinting, and playing peek-a-boo with maybe this or maybe that. As a reader I’m not stupid, I can figure things out for myself. Haven’t needed to be spoon-fed for more than fifty years. (note…future topic: mistakes all us writers make)
Moving on from that argument 😉
Getting to the question…to prologue or not to prologue.
It all depends.
I hear you…oh great answer smart-arse.
But, that’s just it. There is no definitive right or wrong answer to that specific question.
The answer is within the content of the prologue. If the information can be used elsewhere in a better manner where you’re not going to repeat yourself…then don’t prologue it. Write your story so the seams are invisible.
Be harsh on yourself. Really look at those prologue pages and ask if (a) am I being a stubborn writer about it (b) am I being a lazy writer about it (c) am I forgetting my readers aren’t stupid.
Be extremely HARSH on yourself.
The best prologues I’ve read have these in common:
1. Short, nothing past one page. Page and a half at the most.
2. Are driven by action or emotion. Powered by intensity. Leave me hanging needing to know more.
3. Are never repeated within the story.
4. Are repeated ONCE verbatim right before a massive shock.
5. Quietly sneak up on me…as I’m reading the story.
6. Have been so smoothly written I’ve not recognized the info-dumping…rare, but these happen and hats off to the writer.
Look, the most important thing as a writer…newbie and experienced…is to just write. So, write the prologue THEN kick your butt into high gear during your edits. Ask your critique group and beta readers, pointblank ask, does this story need the prologue.
Listen.
Listen to your gut.
Listen to your publisher, your reviewers.
Listen to your gut…but keep improving, be open to change. Keep writing.
I think what you say about writing it and then deleting it is wise advice, Chris. I struggle to read a prologue (fiction) or an introduction (non-fiction). The latter occasionally turns out to have been necessary and I have to go back. Every once in a while there's a magical prologue that enhances the experience of reading the book. It is, however, every once in a while. anne stenhouse
Hi, Anne. Thanks for dropping by. I'm struggling with this right now with a fiction piece. So, I wrote the prologue just to get writing…and laughed cause I'm doing exactly what bugs me when I read LOL…forget the exact wording but read it somewhere: the story is in the rewrite.
I've read some excellent prologues (which, like you Chris, I'm not an advocate of reading prologues afraid too much will be given away, but needing to read in case it's backstory I'll need to "get into" the story straight away).
I know an author whose prologue is actually more or less a letter from one of the main characters within the "series" of books…and I've fallen in love with those – never thought I would, but it just works perfectly as an immediate intro to the fantasy world…and it's nice and short too, I might add; )
Nice post, Chris…thanks for sharing your thoughts. I love to hear them.
Hi, Susan, thanks for coming by. Now I like that letter idea, sounds like it keeps it active and not the passive telling.
Hi Chris,
I have written and deleted prologues. Within the series The Chronicles of Caleath, I used a minstrel to give the reader short reminder of where the adventure had taken us. Feedback on this type of short succinct prologue has been positive.
Like many readers I really don't like long introductory prologues outlining unnecessary information. 'Get right into the story and 'blend' the backstory in snippets'; great advice!
Good topic. As you say there is no right or wrong answer.
Hey, Rosalie…thanks for coming by and dang I should have remembered your minstrel. I love the minstrel. Doesn't have a prologue or info-giving feel at all. Just pulls me back into your world between book breaks…as if I never left.
If only we could have simple answers 🙂
I struggled with that too in my first novel If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor. There was a scene that I wanted to put first so the reader had the information, but my critique group advised me to put it into the story as dialogue. If you remember that ropes scene you will see how much I had to add in dialogue. I think that was the hardest scene in that story to write.
Hi, Barbara. Glad you dropped by. The thing to remember about dialogue is how active and forward moving it is. Now with that said, I've loved some scenes I just can't cut and make into dialogue…more comfortable writing scenes than dialogue 🙂
Hi Chris. It's like everything else in writing: a judgment call. I agree with you that many prologues make better first chapters or further understanding if worked into the text at an appropriate place. Yet I have used a prologue in the third volume of a storyline to introduce a situation alluded to in previous volumes that had tremendous impact on the main characters. It showed the moment a dubious character became an evil character. Since it predated even the first volume's timeline, and I felt it necessary for readers' understanding, it became a prologue. It had a purpose and I think that is what is important about a prologue.
Hey, Rhobin…thanks for coming by. Exactly…purpose and judgment call. Your example is a perfect one.