Prologue POV

[reenkam]

If the main text of a book is written in first person, is it okay to have a third person prologue? It wouldn't include the MC, but feel like it could be helpful in making other parts of the book make more sense/upping the suspense.

What's everyone think?

[HeronW]

Stephen King's book, 'Needful Things' is in assorted 3rd POV's, but it has a 1st pro & epilogue, both by similar elderly people, essentially echoing each other.

Go for it!

[Moon Daughter]

Hey...if it works, it works.

[reenkam]

Thanks to both of you!

I guess I'll go for it and see how things go. :)

[HourglassMemory]

Sorry to sort of make this thread mine but I jsut had to ask since this was points of views in prologues.

Can the prologue be written from the main character's perspective?
and then the first chapter is where you see him later on?

[OverTheHills&FarAway]

Reen you can do whatever you want with POV and tenses and persons. Seriously. It has all been done.

BUT

it has to work. It has to be done in such a way as not to detract from the rest of everything in the story.

You can do anything, but you have to do it well. Can you do it well?

:D

[maddythemad]

I'd say go for it. Later you can send it around to BETAs and see if it works or not.

[cethklein]

I've seen every combination work well, it just depends on how it's written. I guess if the structure is done well and it's engaging, do what feels right. I've seen books written in third person with prologues/epilogues written in first, and vise-versa.

Again, I think as long as it's written well, do whatever works for you. Third person prologues always feel like a narration to me, which can be a good thing if you're writing a fantasy or science fiction novel. It's just a prologue so it's not like you have to worry about it dragging on forever.

If it sounds good, go for it.

[wayndom]

Sorry to sort of make this thread mine but I jsut had to ask since this was points of views in prologues.

Can the prologue be written from the main character's perspective?
and then the first chapter is where you see him later on?

Sure. Why not?

Some posts I've read here seem to suggest that there are hard-and-fast rules regarding POV's. There is only one POV rule: Don't make them confusing or difficult to follow.

As long as that rule isn't violated, anything goes.

I cite as evidence, Sho-gun, which had multiple POV shifts in every chapter, was a world-wide bestseller, and as far as I'm aware, was never criticized for having dozens of POV's.

Keep it clean (as in neat and tidy), clear, and make it serve the story (not show off the writer's ability), and you're good to go.

[Raphee]

Any POV or combinations thereof can work. Just has to be done well.
Read Orhan Pamuk's 'My Name is Red.' there are many many first person POV's including from a corpse, a dog, various people and on.
It is not light reading but great art. Cant help myself promoting this guy.

[PeeDee]

Just write. There is no Writing Police that's going to haul you away if you write a goofy POV in a prologue, an epilogue, a middelogue, or anything else. If it doesn't work, then you take it out and do something there. There is no hard and fast rule, no ironclad "law," on anything writerly, and if you feel you need permission for anything at all, I hereby grant it to you. Isn't that nice?