To prologue or not to prologue, that is the question?

As a reader I always prefer to get right to the main hero and the start of the main story.

I prefer to get right to the story. I understand the reason for prologues, but less understanding of the need for "epilogue." Most writers, I suspect, spend a lot of time building the characters and back stories that they feel they must tell them in prologues, when in fact that's not necessary. Some prologues are very well done and necessary, but more often I find them not so. I'd like to suggest writers to just write, then in your revision, determine if your prologue is truly necessary or whether you could benefit from jumping right in.

I almost always write a prologue, first thing, and it's almost always the first thing to go when I get to second draft/editing stage. It's usually less of a story and more of a mood-setting piece, frequently poetic, mostly just to get me on the right track. Sometimes, if it's really good, I leave it in. Sometimes, I just rework it and absorb it into chapter one. Mostly, though, it's the first thing I kill.

I will answer as a reader, not as a writer. I personally like novels which jump right into the story. I tend to ignore prologues.

The only useful prologues, in my mind, are in sword-and-sorcery fantasy, such as in David Eddings' The Belgariad where you sort of have to know the myth/legend the story is based on before you can start the "present day" story.

If the story will make any sense whatsoever without a prologue, I would say leave it out!

I always skip the prologue. Unless the writer tricks me by making me believe it's not a prologue.

sirensix said:

The only useful prologues, in my mind, are in sword-and-sorcery fantasy, such as in David Eddings' The Belgariad where you sort of have to know the myth/legend the story is based on before you can start the "present day" story.

If the story will make any sense whatsoever without a prologue, I would say leave it out!

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I've never seen a useful prologue yet. If I need a history lesson, it's because the author is too lazy or inept to weave the information into the story properly.

Mike Coombes said:

I've never seen a useful prologue yet. If I need a history lesson, it's because the author is too lazy or inept to weave the information into the story properly.

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I found the prologues in The Belgariad to be very useful, actually. The "history" in them didn't connect directly to the story in any way (but was information that deeply enhanced one's understanding of the story), they were very brief, and written in a style that called to mind those Greek Myth books you read in high school. It's been at least 10 years since I read The Belgariad, and I still remember the prologues. So they must not be that bad.

Though David Eddings doesn't write anything approaching literature, I don't think anyone would call him lazy or inept.

I think it depends on the book. I've written them in, and worked without them. It's important to decide if the prologue is necessary to your particular project. The disadvantage to prologues is that most readers skip them, so the writer needs to hook their audience twice. One thing to remember though, a prologue isn't a closet where you can chuck all "necessary" facts you couldn't hide somewhere else. If you write it, make it readable and relevent.

DivaNicoletta said:

What's the deal with prolouges and epilouges, is it good to use one, or is it better just to get down to business with the actually story. I am always tempted to use them, but maybe I should let the backstory explain itself in the main text. What is everyone's thought on this matter?

Many thanks
Nic

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I used to write prologues. Then I realised none of the books I was reading had prologues. So I don't do them now.

yes no

Write the prologue, then take it out when you're done with the novel. Take whatever elements were good in the prologue and add them to the first chapter. Also, I always hated when Stephen King did epilogues. I can handle a one page epilogue max. It almost ruined the Shining for me.

Before I began to write I almost always skipped prologues. I didn’t feel I was missing anything. However, when I began the sequel to my first novel I realized I needed a bridge to the first; assuming someone had got hold of the sequel in the first instance. While in the middle of getting the sequel published I began the third in what was obviously becoming a series. I had to decide if I was going to continue the prologue scheme. The answer was no. The reason is that the first two books are seminal in introducing the central character—why he is what he is and why he reacts as he does is. One can certainly read the sequel without first reading the first book but without the prologue it would leave unanswered questions in the readers mind. As we know one should strive to keep the reader’s attention focused. If you as a writer believe a prologue, forward or epilogue is needed then by all means employ any device necessary. It is, by the way, the author’s call and not the reader’s.

My third book does not have a prologue nor do I intend any for my other stories.



Michael Halfhill author of

Bought and Paid For & Scimitar & Sons



"I could never be satisfied with just the approval of the critics, and, boy, I've certainly had to be satisfied without it." Norman Rockwell

You write (and/or keep) a prologue because that particular story needs (or doesn't need) a prologue. That's it. Need it, keep it. Don't need it, cut it. There is no hard and fast rule that says Prologues = Bad writing or whatever. Personally, I hate any "this is the way we write our books, write our books, write our books" dictates about what you should or shouldn't do.

If you have the skill to pull it off and it works, do it. If the story demands it, do it. If you can cut it - cut it. Cutting stuff is usually a very good idea.

I sure don't get this I don't read prologues, stuff though. Why? It's there for a reason if it's not there for a reason then maybe you're just reading a bad book and you don't need to read any of it.

As a disclaimer I've written all kind of prologues including the ones that are made to NOT look like prologues. And plenty of books w/o prologues, too. Some books just need that glimpse into the past or the psyche of the protagonist. Some don't.

You're the writer, you decide.

Annie
Luanne Jones
Heathen Girls (available now)

I have a prologue in my WIP, and don't know if I'll keep it, but I'll leave that for revision. It's not the type of info-dump prologue that one might find in a fantasy novel - it's only about two or three pages long, and it's where my main character's wife is killed (which is quite an important event). I couldn't call it the first chapter, since my chapters are a lot longer than three pages. My main character is introduced immediately in my first chapter.
We'll see what happens to my prologue within the next year (that's my optimistic plan to finish the first draft).

Being a short story writer by nature, I tend to enjoy writing Prologue's, because I just turn them into little self-contained stories. Honestly, I have no problem with them.

I think when it comes time to edit, they're just another darling that is at risk of being killed, no more or less likely than any of the rest of your manuscript. I'm not sure I entirely understand why one would skip the prologue when reading. It's sort of like skipping over Chapter 13, because it's unlucky.

When I'm reading, I'm more or less an open-slate. The author wants me to enjoy something to feel something, to think something, and I'm happily willing to do all those things. By and large, I assume the author is a professional up till the point in the book when I realize he's not. By this assumption, if the author has a prologue, then I shall read his prologue.

But then, I read my books cover-to-cover. I especially delight in "Author's Words/Foreword/Afterword/Acknowledgements/etc." because love hearing author's talk. So if I'm reading your book, then anything between the covers is going to get read.

Maybe that's just me.

L.Jones said:

You write (and/or keep) a prologue because that particular story needs (or doesn't need) a prologue. That's it. Need it, keep it. Don't need it, cut it. There is no hard and fast rule that says Prologues = Bad writing or whatever. Personally, I hate any "this is the way we write our books, write our books, write our books" dictates about what you should or shouldn't do.

If you have the skill to pull it off and it works, do it. If the story demands it, do it. If you can cut it - cut it. Cutting stuff is usually a very good idea.

I sure don't get this I don't read prologues, stuff though. Why? It's there for a reason if it's not there for a reason then maybe you're just reading a bad book and you don't need to read any of it.

As a disclaimer I've written all kind of prologues including the ones that are made to NOT look like prologues. And plenty of books w/o prologues, too. Some books just need that glimpse into the past or the psyche of the protagonist. Some don't.

You're the writer, you decide.

Annie
Luanne Jones
Heathen Girls (available now)

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Thank God. I was starting to feel like an idiot.

I am using a prologue in a SF ms to cover some of the back story, so the reader has an idea when and why certain things are happening.

I read prologues, unless they are referencing a sequel I've already read. I tell you what I don't read—an introduction by the author and/or in-depth acknowledgements. I don't give a rat's patoot how the author felt or the funny things that happened while he/she was writing the story. Gimme a break.

As a reader, I generally prefer either no prologue or one that is mercifully short (say, no more than 2 or 3 pages). For example, I liked the book Empire Falls but I almost put the book aside when I was reading through the 14 page prologue.

But, as always, it depends...

ac

Most readers skip prologues.

If it's absolutely vital that your audience read it, call it chapter one.

If the information can go anywhere, put it anywhere ... chapter 42 is a good place ... to allow the readers to get into the story.

The Lord of the Rings had a prologue, Concerning Hobbits, that you could skip without missing a thing. The actual important prologue/backstory material was put into the Council of Elrond scene, well into Book One, after the readers had started caring about the characters and wondering how it would all turn out.

My reaction to prologues (epilogues, too, for that matter), is, if you need one, you probably haven't written your story as well as it needs to be written.

caw.

If you need backstory and history, write backstory and history. Print it out. Keep it handy, so as you write the real meat of the story, you can refer to your history and incorporate it as needed into the novel.

That's the only use for a prologue, as a writer's aid.

As a reader, I hate them and have never read one that actually makes sense to me until AFTER I've read the book.

I've never skipped a prologue in a book - it was put there for a purpose, even if 15 books later it is still meaningless (R. Jordan - I'm looking at you!)

I am torn with my WIP. The first scene (prologue or not) is a pivotal point in the MC's life. If I locate the main story 50 years later, that now becomes a prologue, and I can do some fun things with age and memory. If I wipe out the intervening 50 years, the action is more intense, but I lose some of the strengths this character was bringing to the table.

I would hate to start the story in chapter 1, then advance 50 years to chapter 2.

I don't have a prologue. Most of my "back stories" are written as flashbacks interspersed in the main story as separate chapters, AFTER the readers start to care about the characters and wonder how he got to be who he is now. I suppose I could have taken them out as well because they do slow down the story, but according to one reviewer, the flashbacks actually add to the characters and the enjoyment of the main story. However, I didn't put them in the prologue. Like Uncle Jim said, if it's important, it should be part of the story (Chapter 1 or Chapter 42).

MattW said:

I would hate to start the story in chapter 1, then advance 50 years to chapter 2.

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Start with Chapter 2, then do a flashback chapter of 50 years ago. Best of both worlds.

Would there be a problem with just starting the story 50 years later, and then having the childhood experience revisited later down the line through dialogue, or leaking the info in bits and pieces through inner monologue, etc.?

"Soandso froze as the smell of jasmine wafted up from the road. Jasmine. He hadn't smelled it in fifty years. Suddenly he was six years old again, hiding in a bush while his father bellowed his name, baseball bat in hand..."

or whatever. Heh.