Are prologues good or bad? There is certainly argument on both sides of the camp, but rather than rehash here, Nathan Bransford has done an excellent job describing Prologues on his blog post, Prologues.
I have debated on whether or not to start Hope and Faith with a prologue. Right now, there is a prologue, but of course, this is a work-in-progress so it may not stay. My reasons for including a prologue are:
- It gives a feel for the protaganist’s childhood and family. Since the story starts with the protaganist leaving the childhood/family situation, the prologue gives insight into what that life was like.
- There is a major story element that is not re-introduced to the plot until much later in the story, and without the prologue may feel like it was coming out of nowhere.
What are your feelings about prologues? Can they work or are they a distraction? Is it asking too much of the reader to start reading from a prologue and then start again at the 1st chapter? Would love to hear your thoughts.
I usually advise the authors I represent not to use a prologue. Editors feel that many readers skip them, which can be a problem when there’s important story there! I once read a piece by the late Phyllis Whitney in which she said she avoided prologues and simply called them Chapter 1! That’s what I do in my own mystery novels.
Evan Marshall
http://www.WriteANovelFast.com
Evan – Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. I wonder, though, if in some cases making the prologue an actual Chapter 1 might be confusing. Particularly in this case where the story starts approximately 7 years after the prologue. In the prologue the protagonist is a young girl, and in the story she is a young lady. Hmm, what to do, what to do. I tend not to like prologues myself, although I think it was nicely done in Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants.
I think the best way to handle this is simply to use a date stamp: at the beginning of Chapter 2, put “Seven Years Later.”
Best,
Evan
http://www.WriteANovelFast.com
I’ve certainly considered that, and it may end up being the solution. It’s just that the prologue is so different than the following 1st chapter that I’m not sure that will work either. I’ll keep thinking and working on a solution and appreciate any other tips or ideas. By the way, I visited your website – it contains a lot of good information!
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A prologue is ok to me—only if it is short—I like it better –just to get into the book & see what is happening.
I always write prologues, I don’t know why, and generally it’s from a different character’s point of view (not the protagonists’), which is why I avoid just calling it Chapter 1 instead. And it’s generally in the instances before the main character comes on to the scene.
I generally find it draws people in. And for the most part I enjoy reading prologues, too.
But I dislike ‘setting the scene’ prologues which just ramble about the countryside/city, or ones that are too far in the past or future. Or ones that are just a repetition of the key climax in a novel, because by the time you reach that point, the climax loses efficacy since you’ve already read the scene.
There certainly seems to be a lot of differing opinion about prologues. I’m still debating on whether to include mine or not. For now, I’m just going to let it sit and see if I can see clearer after I’m done with the rewrite. Thanks for your comments.