I know that the word on the street is that prologues are bad. Hell, if Elmore Leonard says to avoid them, that's good enough for me. However, I am rereading Fight Club right now. Chapter 1 of that book is actually, chronologically, Chapter 30, and Chapter 30 should be Chapter 31. So technically, Fight Club starts with a prologue; it's just called Chapter 1. It's short, only about 5 pages.
An even more egregious example is in Joe Hill's Horns. He starts off the story in the main timeline, then in the next part, delves into a lengthy, multi-thousand word back story.
I find myself noticing this because I too have a multi-thousand word back story section in my novel. I thought about busting it up and sprinkling it throughout, but it's rather important that it be taken in as a block, much like the flashback in Horns. It marks the beginning of the MC's most important relationship, which comes to an end (of sorts) at the end of the novel. At this point, I'm sure I don't want to cut it up, so that option is off the table.
So would it better to make this chunk of back story Part I of the book (it's long enough to be chaptered in its own right)? Or to start with the main action of the story, find an A La Recherche du Temps Perdu moment, then flash back? Is there a way that is considered more appropriate? A style that people prefer to read? Do you feel aggravated when you start in one timeline, then are dragged backwards? Or is it worse to read several thousand words in one timeline, then find that the story skips ahead a few years?
An even more egregious example is in Joe Hill's Horns. He starts off the story in the main timeline, then in the next part, delves into a lengthy, multi-thousand word back story.
I find myself noticing this because I too have a multi-thousand word back story section in my novel. I thought about busting it up and sprinkling it throughout, but it's rather important that it be taken in as a block, much like the flashback in Horns. It marks the beginning of the MC's most important relationship, which comes to an end (of sorts) at the end of the novel. At this point, I'm sure I don't want to cut it up, so that option is off the table.
So would it better to make this chunk of back story Part I of the book (it's long enough to be chaptered in its own right)? Or to start with the main action of the story, find an A La Recherche du Temps Perdu moment, then flash back? Is there a way that is considered more appropriate? A style that people prefer to read? Do you feel aggravated when you start in one timeline, then are dragged backwards? Or is it worse to read several thousand words in one timeline, then find that the story skips ahead a few years?