Prologues - Do We Need Them?

[KSeriphyn]

I posted a prologue at a writing forum site and got a one word answer. Why? At first I was put off by the reply, so I prompted for a reason. I received an answer as follows.

Prologues can actually turn the reader off because they are usually set in a different time and place. Unless this story is a follow on from another, I don't see why it is needed.

So I pose the question? For fantasy stories, should we bother with prologues? Or should they only be necessary if you are writing the second book?

[Fried Egg]

I have read many books where the story jumps about a bit for the first few chapters. Each chapter appears to be dealing with new characters, unrelated in any way to each other. It is only later that a connection becomes apparent.

I don't see how this differs substantially from having a prologue. If readers can withstand this kind of writing without being put off, I don't see why having a prologue is such a problem.

On the other hand, I would struggle to think of a prologue that I would say was absolutely necessary to the story.

[JDP]

Hi KSeriphyn. I'd ignore the answer you received on this other forum; if a reader is put off by a prologue, they may be put off by any other chapter in a book. There's no way that you can successfully accommodate such people, so there's no point worrying about it.

If a prologue's relevant to your story and you, the author, deem it a necessary part of your masterwork, then keep it in (unless your agent/publisher tells you to scrap it! But that won't be for the nebulous reason 'prologues put readers off').

There's a critiques section somewhere round here where you will get much more constructive feedback on your work!

[fire_elf20]

i personaly think the prologue can be used as a hook for the story something to make the reader hungry for more. so like everyone else says its really up to you to decide but if its any help I have one in my current work.

[Paramour]

In my opinion, I believe it depends on the book, the prologue, the writer and the intended audience.

The prologue can be cleverly disguised as well. Turn back story that would be in the prologue into memory scenes, dreams, dialog, etc. That way, your important information is not just skimmed over. I know I have a really bad habit of skipping prologues, but that’s because they’re jam-packed with uninteresting back story. If you choose to do it in its own chapter form, then make it interesting, make it worth wile.

I don’t think you need a prologue in the general sense, if you can appropriately portray what you think needs said in other ways (dialog, memory, dreams, etc).

^_^

Don’t worry about what the other site said.

[SJAB]

If you feel your story needs one, write one. Do what you feel is right for your story. It can always be removed later while you are editing. you are not bound by the fact that you wrote one, you have to keep it

I personally find that sometimes writing a prologue gives me a way into the main story. It then over time becomes either the first chapter, or is removed.

The thing is to write the best story you can.

[Lith]

Wow, a one word answer? Talk about succinct!

The prologue can be cleverly disguised as well. Turn back story that would be in the prologue into memory scenes, dreams, dialog, etc.

Actually, I prefer a bit of honest-to-goodness prologue than ill-placed exposition. It has to be very cleverly done.

I like the sort of prologues that serve as a summary of the world and what it is about, how it developed, etc... actually I think it's a little neglected in modern SFF, in favor of introductory scenes that have little to do with the main story. I'm not so fond of those. But don't axe it on account of a single poster. Wait until a real publisher sees it. (Or keep waiting, if you really like it.)

[KSeriphyn]

Thank you everyone for your supportive comments. I did have doubts when I received the feedback. It made me want to scrape the prologue altogether.

The prologue requires a lot of fixes, so I won't post it here yet (and bore you all ). I will go back fix it up.

Thanks again. If anyone would like a story critique, I'll be more than happy to go through it and give an opinion and suggestions that may help.

[lin robinson]

I think I can safely say "Why not?"

Prologues are apparently in the canon of things like adverbs, passive voice, voice overs (passive voice overs?), flashbacks, etc. that have become "demonized" in writer ghettos, which keeps people from being able to discuss them rationally.

When that happens (try mentioning VO on a screenwriter site) you have to just shine on the internet approach and take your cue from the field of successfully published work.

Come on, post your prologue. We're out here waiting with our fangs dripping. :')

[Thor_Doomhammer]

I think prologues are optional. They seem to be a trend in fantasy - most seem to have them - but I don't think they really are necessary, unless you want to put one in. There's nothing wrong with them, but they aren't a must.

[Teresa Edgerton]

I've seen a lot of what appeared to me to be unnecessary prologues, mainly in unpublished fiction -- creation myths, meditations on evil, things that seem more appropriate to a cover-blurb than to the beginning of a book, etc. -- which may be the reason that some readers say they are turned off by prologues. Sometimes it seems to me that the author is standing up and shouting: "Look at this! This book has EPIC SCOPE!!!"


So my advice would be: Take a hard look at your prologue. If that is all it seems to be doing, you should probably cut it out, sooner or later. (As Sue say, sometimes it's useful to write these things down, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to keep them.) On the other hand, to say that nobody ever reads prologues and that you should never use one is patently untrue. If you really think the prologue serves a useful function in setting up the story, or that it ties in with important events later on in a really substantial way, then you should keep it.

[lin robinson]

It seems like that advice would apply to any aspect, or even any word or a piece of writing.

However, I am inspired to rename my WIP. As of now title is EPIC SCOPE

That ought to handle it. :-)

[bradHart]

I am going to agree with Teresa that there are just way to many unnecessary prologues out there. The purpose is to set the scene, give important background info, and introduce your main character quickly. If you write a whole chapter setting things up, then it is chapter 1 not the prologue. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but if something serious doesn't happen in chapter one you have most likely pissed off have your potential readers who are going to put the book down without ever buying it.

The same objections can often be made about unnecessary epilogues. An epilogue is supposed to be a quick tie up of lose ends, not a chapter in and of itself. You can get away with writing a whole chapter with filler information at the end if you do it well, but you need to be careful about it as well and last chapter x, instead of the epilogue.

[Interference]

Originally Posted by Paramour

Don’t worry about what the other site said.

Only Chrons has the answer

It might be that the response you got was to that particular prologue - that the information it contained wouldn't be essential to an understanding of what was to follow.

The temptation while writing fantasy, I imagine (not my genre), is to describe the worlds inhabited by my heroes and then get on with the story, while in fact the world can quite happily reveal itself through the story itself. Perhaps, and I don't mean to insult you if I'm off base here, but perhaps it was a variety of this that your original respondent was querying.

I just doubt somehow that anyone - even anyone as unenlightened as not to belong here - would say something he didn't believe. After all, he said, "I don't see why it is needed" (personal opinion) and not, "they are all unnecessary" (dogma).

I feel that any advice offered with integrity and respect should be assessed before you decide for yourself how your art should appear in public.

[lin robinson]

I am going to agree with Teresa that there are just way to many unnecessary prologues out there.

I guess I just don't get rattled by this, or really figure it's any of my business. If the writer wants to include a three page dedication to his third grade teacher, good on him.

If he wants to toss in a page of Old French before chapter one, hey...I won't read it.

This just doesn't seem to be a good/bad issue and I can't see second-guessing the writer in such matters. He's designing the thing. If he thinks a tail fin would look cool, well...how's the book?